Chapter 3: Surrender, Pity, and Other Sad Things
Petalburg City was covered with a thick blanket of fog. From the city, cars honking their horns and the engines of automobiles could be heard through the thick and wet air.
As the morning sounds met Ash's ears, waking him from his sleep, only one thought crossed his mind.
Ow.
Sleeping on the hard ground was hardly rewarding, leaving the body with nothing but aches and pain. Ash twisted his spine a bit to feel a relieving cracking noise sounding from his back as he let out the kinks stiffening his body. He let out a yawn and stretched out his limbs, finding that wet, dewy leaves were sticking to his skin. Blinking a few times, the boy looked around at his surroundings in confusion.
His confused expression disappeared as he recalled where he was and memories from the previous night flooded back into his brain. Grumbling, he found his hat on the ground, and placed it back on his head. It was then that he noticed the spot where May had been previously lying was now nothing but a pile of leaves. May was nowhere in sight.
She left. Ash concluded. I hope she sticks to her promise.
Ash slowly stood up, brushing off the damp leaves from his clothing with his hands. He sighed in distaste as he looked up the steep and now slippery slope he was going to have to climb up.
The slippery, wet leaves made it no easy task to scale the slope. As Ash climbed up, he saw May's bike still stuck in the bush. With the light of the sun that made it through the fog, he could see the bike was badly damaged. The wheels had been bent out of their circular shape and the handle bars had been completely detached from the bicycle.
He eventually reached the top of the slope, finding himself back on the trail he had been chasing May on the previous night. He followed the dirt path until he was led out of the forest. He then made his way back to the Pokémon Center, wearily walking past the automatic glass doors and down the hall to his room. After fumbling his hand around in his pocket for a second, it dawned on him that he had left his key in his room and that he had to get in through the window.
This girl has been causing me so much trouble.Ash thought to himself grumpily as he made his way back out of the Pokémon Center and around the building to his window, which was still open.
With a sigh, Ash climbed through the open passage and into his room, finding everything was how he had left it and that Pikachu was still asleep at the foot of the bed. Ash closed the window before looking through the glass at the shattered window at the store several yards away.
Someone isn't going to be pleased.he thought. Turning back to his room, he took off his jacket and stepped into the bathroom, preparing for a shower.
He couldn't understand May. How could anybody be so selfish as to go as far as damage property in order to break into a building and steal from the place? How could she have such a lack of morals? The thought kind of aggravated him and he found himself in a bad mood.
She said her father was a criminal, and that stealing was all she knew. Ash thought as he showered. How cruel could a father be to raise a poor child into such a life style?
Something about the warm shower calmed the boy's nerves and allowed him to relax. He dried himself off and put on a fresh set of clothes, finding himself in a better mood and back to his cheery self.
As he stepped out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, he found Pikachu was now awake, and standing up at the end of the bed tiredly.
Ash grinned and lifted the mouse up, setting the tired rodent on his shoulder. "Man, you are not going to believe what happened last night."
The path to Rustboro City was long but peaceful. As Ash traveled down the path to his next destination, Treecko walked beside him to stretch his legs while Taillow flew above.
The morning fog had yet to lift, and the air was cool, sending occasional chilly breezes that tickled Ash's skin. With a shiver, the boy crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed them with his hands.
Throughout the day the fog never lifted or blew away. A sailor Ash had passed by during his walk said something about the thick fog coming off from the north, out in the ocean. Ash found it peculiar that the weather was so cool because he had always heard Hoenn was known for its warm climate.
"Taillow!" Ash's newest flying type called out from the air, flapping his wings and speeding forward. Ash exchanged glances with Pikachu and Treecko before dashing forward after the bird type, wondering what he seemed to be so excited about.
After a few minutes of running, Ash found himself standing at the entrance of Rustboro. Although fog continued to block his view of the city before him, he could hear the sounds of cars and sirens ringing in the air.
Sirens? Ash thought. I swear, if they're because of May...he quickly shook his head and snapped back to his main focus: gyms. He was going to have to trust that May made the right decision and turned a new leaf.
He returned both Taillow amd Treecko and began to make his way down the sidewalk, trying to find the rock type gym he had heard about in Petalburg. The fog wasn't going to make things easy for him.
As he looked around for the gym, he found himself standing in front of a large museum. Hanging on the front of the buildings were ads showing off various things the museum had up for display.
"Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds..." Ash listed off before looking at Pikachu. "It sounds interesting. Should we have a look?"
Pikachu grinned and nodded, displaying his interest in the museum as well. Ash smiled and ran up the steps of the building before racing inside.
The building was busy and bustling with people eager to see the rare and valuable stones. As Ash made his way around, he was constantly bumping into and brushing shoulders of other people. The museum was quite large, and as a marketing ploy, the three gems were spread around the museum, forcing visitors to take notice to the various other exhibits and walk through small gift shops around the building.
After what seemed like ages of fighting through the crowds, Ash and Pikachu finally made it to the room where one of the gems was being held. The room was even more packed with people and was littered with security guards, all who stood tall with straight faces and their arms folded across their chest.
Ash squeezed his way through the crowd, which just grew denser the closer he got to the display. He finally reached it and was able to clearly see a sparkling, blue sapphire.
The boy's eyes widened with admiration as the polished gem came into view. Its spotless and glossy edges were astonishing. Its stunning beauty left Ash at a loss for words.
It's… beautiful…Ash thought, falling into a trance as his seemed to become lost in the stone's luster. He would have been completely content with standing there gazing at the gem all day.
"Alright buddy, you had your turn. Step aside."
Ash barely had time to react much less realize the voice was referring to him. A hand was laid on his shoulder before pushing him to the side and deeper into the crowd.
His view of the glamorous sapphire became obscured by the crowd, as groups of people a head taller than him stepped in front of him.
Deciding to turn around and head back out, Ash once again fought against the crowd to make his way out of the museum. Considering the size of the building and the people in it, he would have no chance of reaching the other two gems before the museum closed. Letting out a sigh of relief as he took in the cool, outside air, Ash sat himself down on the steps leading to the museum entrance. Pikachu let out a tired sigh and sat down beside him.
"That was a really beautiful sapphire." Ash said, looking down at Pikachu with a smile.
Pikachu grinned and nodded in agreement. "Pi pikachu!" he said cheerfully.
Ash smirked a little. "It kind of reminded me of May." he said. "About her obsession for rare gems and-..."
That suddenly made sense to him.
"I think I'll just travel... I have... Things I want to see."
"Like what?" Ash asked in confusion.
May twiddled her thumbs and looked down at the floor. "Diamonds... Emeralds... Crystals..." May listed. "Priceless valuables, things of great value."
Ash squinted at her. "How come? It doesn't sound very fulfilling." he said, scratching his head.
May sighed dreamily as she thought about it. "They fascinate me." she said.
Ash's brow furrowed. May couldn't have had the intention of coming to Rustboro City to steal those three gems, did she?
"So where are you headed next?" Ash asked, tossing his now crumpled napkin on the table.
May dabbed her mouth with her napkin before also setting it down. "Rustboro City." she said. "There are supposed to be some really cool rocks and treasures there. It's the home of a rock type gym leader after all."
No... Ash thought. May is a small time thief. She would never go so far as to...
Ash frowned. ... Or... Would she...?
May was full of surprises, it seemed like every time they met she showed him some side of herself he would have never expected a girl like her to have. Upon their first encounter, he would have never guessed there was a dark secret behind the seemingly sweet female she appeared to be.
The Thunder Stone, Birch's Mudkip, that bike was probably stolen as well. Ash to himself. Back at Birch's lab, when I found her in our room "Checking up on Pikachu," who knows why she was really in there?
Ash took off his backpack and set it down in his lap. He unzipped it and began to rummage through his things to make sure everything was there.
Maybe I should just stick around the museum tonight in case she breaks her promise and tries to steal those gems.he thought, slowly realizing how gullible he had been to believe she might actually keep her promise. She wasn't even there in the forest when he woke up that morning.
Ash sighed and zipped up his backpack. "Pika pika?" Pikachu asked curiously, a worried look on his face as he watched his troubled trainer.
"I just have a lot on my mind..." Ash explained, taking off his cap and running his hand through his hair. "This whole May thing is getting to me."
Why was he here? It was late, dark, and still surprisingly cold. Ash was beginning to question his sanity. May wasn't his responsibility. She wasn't his problem. Yet there he was, standing in front of the museum to make sure she didn't try anything, and that if she did, he could stop her.
He felt some obligation. It was always in his nature to help out, to fix problems. He hadn't even contacted the police. He was planning on handling this whole thing himself, and he didn't know why.
Why?he asked himself as he paced back and forth, waiting for some senses to be knocked into him so he could retire at the Pokémon Center.
As time slowly went by, Ash kept himself entertained by walking, thinking, and fiddling around with his new Pokédex. Pikachu had fallen asleep on the steps to the museum.
The air was completely silent, and the ocean fog still lingered on the salty air. The city lights and mist blotched out the stars, but kept the street lights fairly well illuminated.
That silence was broken by the sounds of alarms ringing from within the museum. Ash quickly turned his attention to the building, and Pikachu woke up. Although he would have admitted to being bored, he had really hoped this wouldn't happen.
"You let me down, May." Ash said, adjusting his cap. "This time I'm not falling for your tricks. I'm not holding back."
Only a minute after the alarm went off, Ash glanced up at the rooftops to see the silhouette of a figure standing on the ledge of the building. Upon seeing Ash and Pikachu at the museum steps, it turned and dashed to Ash's right. "Oh no you don't." Ash murmured, not hesitating to chase after the person now hopping from rooftop to rooftop.
Ash ran on the sidewalk, his gaze constantly switching back and forth to see what was ahead of him to the figure above. Luckily, it was late and the streets were unoccupied. From Ash's shoulder Pikachu clung, watching the shadowy figure run and jump from building to building. The alarm of the museum was slowly fading away in the distance.
Ash reached the corner of the block, where two streets met to make an intersection. The figure above him turned and continued down the road, as there was no way possible for it to jump across a four lane road to the building on the other side.
Not giving up, Ash continued the chase, but he could already feel his lungs growing sore and legs getting weary.
Finally, the figure reached the end of its rooftop escape route. The building next to the one the figure was on was far too tall for the figure to make.
Ash figured the thief had yet to notice his presence, because the figure simply began to use the fire escape on the side of the building to get down.
"Hey!" Ash called out as the figure reached the bottom of the fire escape. The figure turned to him upon hearing his voice.
Ash's eyes widened when he realized the figure wasn't May. The thief was a man who was too tall and muscular to be the young and thin girl. He was completely dressed in black from head to toe. On his head was a black ski mask to conceal his face and a black backpack hung from his shoulders.
The man dashed in Ash's direction before swinging his arm and delivering a powerful blow. He hit Ash in the head causing the boy to stumble backward and fall on his seat.
Dazed, Ash simply watched helplessly as the man got away.
"That really wasn't a smart thing to go do." A concerned Nurse Joy said, placing an ice pack on Ash's left eye. After recovering from the blow, Ash and Pikachu had made their way back to the Pokémon Center. Although late, Nurse Joy was up and happened to see Ash walk into the building with a swollen eye.
She sat Ash down on the desk in the lobby and tended to him while demanding to know what had happened. Ash couldn't help but smile. Good ol' Nurse Joy, always caring about everyone.
"How did you know that the museum was going to be broken into?" she asked as she held the ice pack on Ash's eye for him.
Ash let out a long sigh. "I was actually expecting someone else to break in, not that man." he said. He placed his own hand up to the ice pack. Seeing that he wanted to hold the ice pack himself, Nurse Joy let go of it.
"Well next time call the police or something." she said sternly, but Ash could hear concern laced in her tone. "I'm sure Officer Jenny would have been able to handle the situation just fine."
Ash nodded and stood up. He thanked her for her kindness and concern before walking away with Pikachu on his shoulder and the ice pack still on his eye. Before long, they reached their room. Ash unlocked the door and stepped inside before letting out a tired groan and flopped down on the bed. Pikachu curled up comfortably beside him.
Within a matter of seconds, he slipped away from consciousness and into his dreams.
"Oof..." Ash grunted. He was looking at himself through a mirror, examining his now black eye. "That isn't pretty."
"Piiikaaaa." Pikachu said in equal surprise.
Ash sighed before standing up straight and putting on a grin. "Hey, no need getting down about it." He said, trying to sound upbeat. "Today we're going to get our first gym badge in the Hoenn region!"
Pikachu's ears perked up and eyes sparkled with excitement. "Pi pikachu!" He cheered.
With that, he and Ash stepped out of their rented room and into the main lobby. Ash walked up to the front desk where Nurse Joy was. The woman gasped and covered her mouth with her hands as she saw Ash's far from pleasant black eye. Ash grinned and gave her back her ice pack, thanking her once again before turning around and heading out of the Pokémon Center.
As the warm sunlight and morning breeze hit Ash's face, he stretched and let out a yawn, noting that the fog was now no longer present. Looking around he found people were staring strangely at his black eye as they walked by the trainer. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the looks he was getting, he pulled the brim of his cap down to cover his eyes. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to walk down the sidewalk, looking around for the local gym.
Unfortunately, the lowered brim blocked most of his view of what was ahead of him, and he didn't see the feminine figure hurdling in his direction.
*Wham!*
"OOF!" Ash grunted as he once again fell on his seat. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He looked up to see what or who he had walked into and found his eyes meeting with two sapphire ones.
"May?!" He blurted out, surprised to be bumping into the girl yet again. It seemed as though fate wanted them to constantly cross paths.
May gazed at Ash with an equally incredulous look on her face. "Ash?" she asked. "What happened to your eye?"
Of course that would be the first thing she noticed.
"I had an unpleasant encounter." Ash said. He pushed himself back up to his feet before reaching down and helping May up. "I was hit in the face by a man robbing the museum."
May's eyes widened. "A man?" she asked. "Robbing the museum?"
"Yeah," Ash replied. "I was waiting out in front of the building for-... Hey, wait a minute. I'm mad at you!" he said, stepping forward and poking May. He and Pikachu both had serious looks on their faces.
"Y-you are?" May asked, putting her hands up defensively. "H-how come?"
Ash huffed and out his hands on his hips. "You left me out in the forest, the only reason I stayed there was because I thought you were badly hurt!"
"I was badly hurt!" May insisted, rubbing her right arm with her left hand. "I-it just felt better after a while."
"What have you been up to?" Ash asked suspiciously, crossing his arms and leaning a little forward.
"Uhhh, nothing..." May said innocently. She out on a toothy grin and rubbed the back of her head.
"Stop that girl! She stole my wallet!" an older man farther down the sidewalk shouted. He had obviously been left behind after May pick pocketed him. He was well aged and used a cane to walk.
Upon hearing the old man's voice, May took off in the opposite direction. She dashed past Ash and down the road. Ash took a moment to react before spinning around and chasing after the girl.
He was clearly faster when it came to running.
Seeing Ash was rapidly catching up to her, May took a turn into an alleyway. Without a second to spare, she threw open a dumpster and jumped inside. She closed the lid moments before Ash approached the alley.
The boy stopped short as he came up to the entrance of the dark space between two tall buildings. Breathing heavily from the run, he and Pikachu looked left and right as he stepped deeper inside.
To May's misfortune, she let out a sneeze, likely because of the dust coating the dumpster.
Hearing the sneeze, Ash turned to the dumpster and threw it open, disgusted to see May lying on a few garbage bags. He grabbed her by her collar and pulled her up to his face. They were so close they could feel each other's breath. May could tell Ash was angry.
"Give me the wallet." he said coldly.
Without taking her eyes off his, May reached into her fanny pack and pulled out an old, worn out wallet.
"Pikachu, go take that back to its owner." Ash told the mouse on his shoulder. Pikachu saluted and took the wallet from May's hand.
"Hey!" she exclaimed as she watched the mouse run away with the wallet. "I stole that fair and square!"
Her eyes widened with surprise as she looked back at Ash, who now looked even more ticked than before.
"You broke your promise." he growled. "I trusted you, as stupid as that was, and you let me down."
"I-I'm sorry." May said defensively.
"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." Ash said sternly. "I hate to do this, May, but I have to turn you in."
May's eyes widened in fear. "N-no!" she stammered. "You can't! Do you know what happens to young girls in prison?"
"Can't say I really care." Ash growled. "You should have thought about that before you decided to choose a life of crime."
"No!" May exclaimed. She flailed her arms around and tried to squirm out if Ash's grip, but he held too tightly onto her collar for her to have any chance to free herself from his grasp.
Seeing she had no other choice, she slipped out of her shirt, and leapt out of the dumpster. With her top only covered by a bra, she attempted to make an escape. Ash shouted in protest from behind her, but she didn't stop. She only ran.
Pikachu rounded the corner, now without the wallet, just in time to see May trying to escape. Reacting quickly, he charged at her and leapt, head butting her in the stomach. The brunette winced at the impact and fell on her back with a grunt.
Ash had just enough time to pin her down to the ground before she could get back up.
"Let me go! Let me go!" May exclaimed, angrily kicking and squirming. Ash held her down tightly, waiting for her to tire down. "You can't take me! I can't go!" she continued, her eyes now watering and tears flowing down her cheeks as she realized she had been over powered and defeated.
"You brought this on yourself, May." Ash said sadly, pity sweeping over him as he watched the girl cry.
"Please! I'll do anything!" May pleaded, clasping her hands together. "I promise I won't do it again! I'll even pinkie promise!"
"How am I supposed to trust you?" Ash asked her. "We both know good and well that once you're out of my sight, you'll start stealing again."
"P-please..." May stammered again, this time weakly. "I-I don't care. I-I'll travel with you or something! You can watch me! Just don't make me go... P-please don't take me in..." By now the wiggling and struggling had stopped, and May had shrunk down to nothing more than a crying mess.
Ash watched her sadly. He could clearly see how badly she didn't want to go to prison. He didn't know what she meant when she had asked if he knew 'what happens to young girls in prison,' but it must have been pretty terrible. Being honest with himself, he really didn't want to turn her in. He felt it wasn't fair that her father raised her the way he had, dragging her into his problems.
Wait... he thought. I've fallen for this before.
"Oh right, let you follow me?" He asked angrily. "And then the second my back is turned you'll run or back stab me!"
"No! I promise I won't!" May insisted, still crying.
"How can I believe that?!" Ash exclaimed.
"I-I don't kno-ow!" May sobbed. "Handcuff me to you or something!"
...
That wasn't a bad idea.
Ash had returned May's red and black shirt to her, which she quickly put back on. He then put Pikachu on May's shoulder while Treecko sat on Ash's shoulder and watched the brunette carefully. Ash wasn't going to take any chances.
Not wanting to make a scene, Ash didn't deliberately drag May around, but threatened an electric shock from Pikachu if she dared step out of line.
As time passed on, May recovered from her crying fit, wiping the tears from her eyes and clearing her nose with a tissue, courtesy of Ash. Although she remained quiet, she followed Ash, seeming to accept that she was either going to have to follow his rules or be taken in.
"Um, okay, weird question..." Ash asked a police officer at the front desk. The two had entered a police station, despite May's protests. "Could I by any chance buy some handcuffs?"
...
There was an odd silence in the air as the officer behind the desk stared at Ash in disbelief. May kept her head down, hair blocking her eyes.
"Why?" the officer asked, he leaned forward in his seat, looking at Ash with curiosity.
"I have my reasons..." Ash said awkwardly.
The officer shook his head. "Sorry son," he said. "We don't sell our supplies." his attention then turned to May. "Say, do I know you from somewhere? You seem awfully familiar."
May cringed at this.
"Uh, oh, okay, sorry to bother you." Ash said quickly, already backing away from the desk and towards the door. Before the man could question further, the two were out of the police station.
"Never make me go back in there!" May exclaimed after they had exited the building. Suddenly, a worried expression crossed her face. "Um... Being that you can't buy handcuffs... you're not going to... You know..."
Ash looked at her for a moment before exchanging glances with Pikachu, who was still riding on May's shoulder, and Treecko, who was perched on his. "I don't think so." he said. "The system we've got going seems to work pretty well."
Ash suddenly yelped when May tackled him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, thinking the girl was making an attempt to attack Ash.
But instead, May just stood there hugging him.
"Thank you," she whispered, tears once again forming in her eyes.
Ash slowly drew his hands on and gently hugged the brunette. She was so confusing.
So my experiment on this entire fic is writing a story focusing on mostly May and Ash (I guess Pikachu as well) there's no Dawn, no Brock, no Max, and no Misty to take their spotlight. It'll be interesting to see how I like it and you guys like it. Sure I understand you would like to see some of these characters, but there are times when it isn't necessary to cram as many lovable characters into a fic as you can. Focusing on Ash and May the entire time will allow for character development and such.
So yeah, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
The Shiny Gengar
