Thanks for all the great reviews!

Chapter four, here is. bows

I won't be updating for at least 5 days. I will continue whenever I get back!

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Morning came a little too early for the two teens. Ash had thoughtfully opened the curtains before throwing himself onto the couch, so the early morning rays shown directly into May's face (Ash had the advantage of his hat). May groaned, trying to shield her eyes from the horrible light. Her shifting caused Ash to move as well. "Chaaa..." Pikachu yawned, awakened by the two teen's movements. He was surprised to see May cuddled up to Ash. His little yellow head tilted, questioning his sanity for a few moments. 'Ash? Sleep with May?' Pikachu dismissed this thought as he snatched Ash's hat off of his head. 'Nah. May probably had a bad dream.'

After regaining the use of his hat, Ash and May prepared to leave for Viridian City. "I think flying would be best," Ash said, situating his Pokeballs on his belt. "Charizard can carry all of us, Pikachu included." Pikachu looked up from the bottle of catsup he was trying to smuggle into Ash's pack at the sound of his name. "Pi?" May just nodded a few times, her mind on other things. They boarded Ash's Charizard at the grassy slope of Route 1. The flight was eventless, Ash sat at the front, one hand on his head to make sure his cap stayed on; Pikachu behind him in May's lap, gripping his vest with his tiny paws; May with her arms around Ash's waist and unknowingly leaning her head against his neck.

May's breath on his neck made Ash's insides squirm. Once in Viridian City, Ash recalled Charizard and started towards the PokeCenter. While Ash phoned Oak, May watched the clock on the wall while fixing her bandana. Eight forty-five when Ash went to call. Pikachu sat in her lap, observing the ebb and flow of Trainers going in and out of the PokeCenter. Most were Bug Catchers, but there were regular trainers, like Ash, as well. Pikachu could have sworn he saw J.T.'s dusty brown head in the crowd once or twice. May fidgeted, and then finally took the Pokemon up to Nurse Joy. Pikachu rode along on her shoulder, waiting for Ash. She noticed she stood and walked a little straighter. Giving a Pokemon a ride on your shoulder really improved your posture. And yet Ash was still short. Hmm.

It was nine twenty-four when Ash got off the video phone. The dismay on his face was clear to May that he had learned nothing. They ate lunch, and decided to walk around and listen for anything about something flying through the City. It was already dark, and they had no luck. The ones who were out claimed they saw nothing. Eventually, the two took a break. Close to the shallow dip of water to the west of Viridian, close to the entrance of Route 22, Ash let Totodile out for a brief swim. "I wish Professor Oak had given a description of what he saw flying," Ash sighed, leaning against the side of the plateau that created the narrow passage to Kanto's Victory Road. May sat beside him, watching the goings-on in Viridian City; it was unusually busy that night. The sky was clear and full of stars. Totodile took it upon himself to spray both trainers with a well-meant Water Gun to break the silence between them.

May wrung out her bandana, Ash wrung out his hat, and Pikachu wrung out his ears. "We have to find them," May said suddenly, grabbing Ash's hands, her eyes wide. "Who knows what's happening to them! I can't stand it, Ash! We don't have anything to go by but Professor Oak saying he saw something fly this way. Nothing more, not even a description to - !" She stopped when she noticed Ash's reaction. A tint had come to his face and he was staring at her, stunned, eyes wide, and he looked like he wasn't really hearing her. "Are you listening to me?" she demanded, giving him a gentle shake of the shoulders. "Wha – yeah, yeah, I-I'm listenin'." Ash grinned a little, pulling away from the worried girl, ignoring his tingling hands and squirming insides. "I'm worried to, but we gotta, um, we gotta ask around still, see if anyone saw anything..." he trailed away, unable to focus on anything but her face. May sighed, unable to put her feelings into words. She was worried about her friends and brother, and the fact they didn't know anything helpful bugged her. "Asking around didn't help," she pointed out fretfully, watching Ash recall his Totodile. "I know, tomorrow we can talk to Oak though; he's probably asleep by now. How can he sleep when a kidnapping took place less than a mile from his home?" Ash's voice was full of frustration and anger.

They rested in the PokeCenter, and in the morning called Oak. "It was pretty fast," the old Professor said, frowning, "But it looked like a Meowth. Not a balloon, but it was the white color of a Meowth, with black and yellow on its head." Ash pressed him for more details, bitter with his inability to find anything, and angry with the calmness around him. "Was it a machine or living?" he asked. Oak looked thoughtful for a moment, "It looked more machine, a small pod ship if you will, that could carry several people..." Ash could get no more information, and so they set out again to look around. The description helped a little, but not much – surely whoever had them hadn't stayed in the "pod ship"?

Eventually a young woman said she saw something resembling a Meowth flying towards Viridian Forest, so the team started up Route 2 to the forest. "It has to be Team Rocket," Ash said, trying to break the silence. "Pika," his Pokemon agreed from its perch on Ash's shoulder, nodding its head. "What if it isn't, though?" May asked, glancing at Ash. "Meowth is a common Pokemon, isn't it?" Ash looked around, gazing at the wild Pokemon darting through the grasses; Rattata, Pidgeys, Nidorans both male and female... Yeah, Meowth was a common Pokemon. "Yes, but do you know any other Meowth's that are trying to capture Pikachu?" Slowly May shook her head, too worried to continue arguing. They reached the small building that led to Viridian Forest. Ash opened the door, and they walked in.

The small building was nearly empty. A young man sat behind a counter, in a policeman's uniform, reading a book. There were two tables with chairs on the opposite side of the blue carpet that rolled from door to door. There were no windows. The man briefly glanced up, and then went back to his book. Ash reached for the silver handle of the door when the man cleared his throat hesitantly. "I can't let you go in." The two stepped back, looked at each other, and then at the man with puzzled looks. "Why not?" May asked, annoyed at being kept from finding her brother. Oh, and Brock and Delia too. Yes.

"How old are you two?" The man asked, marking his page and putting the book down. "Sixteen" came from Ash and "Fourteen" came from May. He cleared his throat again. "Yeah, I can't let you go through." Pikachu flattened his ears back, his cheeks warming up, but the mouse made no move to attack. He could feel anger flowing through his trainer. Ash clenched his fists. 'I just want to find my friends!' he thought in dismay. 'Is this guy working for them!?' "And why not?" May repeated, just as angry as Ash, her hands on her hips. The officer leaned back a little, "You don't have supervision. Things have changed, Mr. Ketchum, since you last came through; I can't let unsupervised teens into the forest. I'm sorry." Was she hearing correctly? May almost laughed out loud. Love and sex were like a Rubix Cube with all the stickers' unknowingly misplaced to Ash. Before May had a chance to point her simile out, Ash spoke up.

"Oh come on," he shouted, "we aren't going to do anything! I have to find my friends!" Ash glared at the man, who stood up and cleared his throat for the umpteenth time. "I'm sorry. I can't let you through." He walked out from behind the counter; he was very tall with short brown hair hidden under the officer cap. "It's a law now," he said, leaning against the desk with one hand, "too many teens raped or kidnapped in the past few years. A dark, thick forest is a place for that to happen." He looked at Ash like he was already on the sex offender's list. "Letting ten-year-olds wander the countryside was not one of our smartest ideas, no? But there isn't anything we can do to change the age of a beginning trainer..."

To make a long story short, Ash got a lecture and May watched. Pikachu smuggled food out from behind the counter. They left, both teens angry. It was around noon, so they rested briefly and had lunch. "We'll fly over the building and into the forest," Ash announced when May had finished her second bowl of ramen. After making sure no noodle had been left behind, May looked up at him, smiling. "Okay, Ash." Ash blinked, a strange feeling creeping over him. He shook it off and sent out Charizard again. Charizard stamped his feet impatiently, looking up at the sky. He was ready to fly. Ash, May, and Pikachu climbed on and without waiting for a command, Charizard took off. The flight wasn't that long, they just flew over the building and a little into the forest. In the forest, despite the shade, it was hot. The air was thick and humid from all the plant-life and such. The trees were thicker and taller than Ash remembered, and it was strangely dark. "This is weird," Ash recalled out loud, "the forest wasn't so over grown last time."

May shrugged, having never seen Viridian Forest before, and gazed around. Lots of wild Pokemon darted about, playing or sparring. There didn't appear to be any trainers. "That's odd," May commented. Ash nodded and started walking. They walked for a long time, doubling back and checking every path possible. Eventually, it got dark and they set up a fire in a small clearing. After a dinner of ramen for May, catsup for Pikachu, and a cheeseburger for Ash, they set out their sleeping bags. While Ash waited for sleep to come, he couldn't help but think about May and Misty. They weren't very alike, but he had met them in just about the same way: he destroyed their bikes. Misty argued at everything he did and said. May offered suggestions and alternatives or pointed out what was wrong. Ash stared up at the sky – or what he could see of it – his hands behind his head and Pikachu on his chest. It was very quiet, but it was cooler and peaceful. Ash closed his eyes and went back to his thoughts.

He dozed off in the middle of his thinking. Ash awoke to find May boiling her ramen. He sat up, Pikachu tumbling into his lap, and rubbed his eyes. "Morning," he yawned. May smiled and continued fixing her ramen. Ash put away his sleeping bag and joined May by the fire, watching the water boil. He dozed again and woke up when she said, "Hey sleepy head, you coming or not?" And so their journey continued. Not much was said between the three as they looked for any sort of clue, or at least another person. Morning passed to afternoon, and they found nothing and no one. They ran into the building several times in their double-backs. Finally, they took a break by a small stream. May washed her bandana in the cold water while Ash sat on a rock, deep in thought. The bushes behind him rustled slightly. Pikachu perked his ears and jumped onto the rock next to Ash, facing the bushes. The rustling continued, and then stopped. "Pi?" Pikachu jumped forward to investigate. The bushes rustled again before a flash of red, black, and off-white went flying straight at Ash's Pikachu.