Welcome back everyone! I'm sorry for the wait. The chapter took a little longer than I thought to finish, but at least I kept my word. This one only took 6 days to upload, not 8! . . . :) *slowly walks away*

As usual thank you to all of you who read and follow this story. Thank you for those that review as well! It may not be a lot, but honestly, if just one of you is enjoying this journey, that's more than enough for me.

A small side note concerning reviews: Its not much of a big problem but just a small perk of mine. I would greatly appreciate it if in the reviews, you guys tried to avoid any type of spoiler that future readers may stumble upon. I know I'm someone who will sometimes read reviews before reading a story, so let's try not to spoil certain parts of the story for our future readers! Thank you for understanding.

Before we begin, I would only like to point out that the two settings taking place during this chapter are occurring at different points in time. The end of the chapter, as well as the next will explain why.

Enough of my blabbering... Enjoy!


"Hello, my name is Ash Ketchum and this is my best friend Pikachu. We're originally from Pallet Town in Kanto but have travelled along several different areas such as Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos, competing in their respective battle circuits and placing as high as second in the recent Kalos League Championship. Our dream is to become the world's greatest Pokémon Masters, and eventually settle down and start a family of our own some day. This… is the story of how we died and were unable to accomplish any of that."

"So how was that one Pikachu?"

"Pikapi pi chu Pika chu."

"What do you mean you should be introduced first?" the aubern-eyed boy asked. "I think the one who's speaking should get to introduce himself first."

"Chu pika," the electric mouse fired back.

"I think they'd have a harder time understanding you buddy," Ash answered, laughing at his friends insistence. "I can't even tell how long we've been here. I feel like its been ages and that headache still hasn't gone away."

"Pi," the pokémon agreed, holding his head as he shook it slightly.

"Lugia really owes us an explanation like this, you can't just kidnap someone and hold them captive." Suddenly, Ash's stomach let out a loud grumble that echoed along the walls of their surrounding. "On top of that, I'm starting to feel really hungry," he complained, slowly getting up and immediately reaching out in the darkness for something to support him. "That little trip sure did a number on us though, huh? My legs feel like they just ran a marathon."

As he walked farther into the darkness, he felt a cold wall, moistened by the water he knew was nearby. Pikachu jumped onto his trainer's shoulder as he began to walk along the wall, hoping to find an entry of some sort that would lead them back out into the open sea or at least toward some sunlight. His inability to gauge the time of day though left him wondering whether the sun was still out to begin with. The boy spent a couple of minutes slowly walking along until he steadily increased his speed. Eventually Ash broke into a slow jog up until his hand hit a particular rock that was sticking out of the wall.

"I knew it Pikachu. This is the third time we walk along this same rock," he pointed out. "We've been walking in a circle for who knows how long."

"Pika…" he answered, clearly frustrated and disappointed.

"This whole not being able to see thing sure is annoying. I really wish we had…" he stopped to reach his belt. "Huh, how did these get here? I could've sworn I left my pokémon near my clothes on the beach. Well, I definitely won't be one to complain, Leafeon come on out girl." Ash tossed out the wet pokeball, mentally hitting himself for not realizing his pokémon were still with him. The flash of light lit up the cavern momentarily before it dimmed away, releasing the grass-type.

"Leafeon?" she seemingly called out to no one as her vision was obscured in the dark.

"Right here Leafeon," Ash answered back, reaching for her. "As you can see, or well, not see, we need a little help. Do you think you can fire a Sunny Day towards the ceiling so we can have a bit of light in here."

The grass-type was enjoying her time snuggling up to Ash before she gladly obliged and charged up the fiery ball of heat, firing it into the ceiling. The ball of light flew high into the cavern before crashing against the ceiling and transforming into a miniature version of the sun, illuminating the cavern and providing a warm sensation against Ash's cold body. Unfortunately, he was only wearing his swimming trunks, with his shirt and hat left at the beach.

"There we go. Great job Leafeon," he scratched the young pokémon under the chin as she cooed in content. "Now we can actually see where we are." He finished, before standing and taking in his surroundings. "Although… there's not much to see," he sighed, realizing he was right about them walking in a circle.

The cavern was small and round with a high ceiling covered with jagged rocks in the shape of icicles hanging down. The circumference of the circle was also rather small, explaining how Ash could jog around the cavern in such a short amount of time. The only surprising feature of the cavern was a medium sized pool of water in the center, although even with the light from Sunny Day it was difficult to determine how deep the water was or where exactly it led to. Ash knew that the pool of water was their point of entry and in order to leave they would eventually need to swim through there.

"Well thankfully we decided to follow the wall. If not, we probably would've gone for another swim." He shuddered, thinking of how cold they felt before Leafeon's attack helped warm them up.

Suddenly he began thinking of his friends and how they were coping with his sudden disappearance. It was difficult to believe they would react in any way other than in a frenzied panic, as their friend was taken right before their eyes into a sea of uncertainty. He was not sure whether Melody was conscious enough to realize what happened and who took him in order to explain to his friends of his whereabouts, but worried more about whether the girl made it back to their friends in time. The moment the water guardian rushed towards them, Ash knew he needed to act quickly, hoping his plan would work and his friend would be spared. However, the moment he pushed Melody aside, he quickly lost consciousness as Lugia slammed into them and carried them away. The last thought crossing the young boy's mind was whether he would ever see his friends again, in particular a certain brunette coordinator.

"I wonder if Melody made it back okay?" The trainer asked his two companions, an underlying worry present in his face. "And even then, I wonder if she remembers what happened." He sighed, much to the displeasure of his two pokémon who rubbed against him in hopes of helping ease his worries. "I'm worried about them. There has to be a reason we were brought here, and if it has anything to do with my dream, they could be in danger too."

From what I can remember, in the dream I was taken underwater while a terrible storm began outside. There was electricity and fire clashing together while I sunk deeper into the water. He began to rub the two pokémon laying by his side while trying to remember the important details of his dream. Were my pokémon battling while I was being taken away? Or were they my friends'? Did the storm start after I was taken away? Ughh, I wish I knew what was really happening. My friends could be in trouble and I'm here just wasting time. Not to mention there's still those mysterious figures that were angrily charging towards me. Ash started thinking of his last moments of consciousness before he woke up in the cavern. Obviously, I can't stand the thought of never seeing any of my friends, but for some reason, when I think of not seeing May again, I feel this strange pain in my chest, almost as if the thought of losing her caused me physical pain as well as the emotional toll it would take. For some reason, I feel like I need to be by her side, protecting her during times like this, making sure she's happy and smiling no matter the sacrifices.

"Pika," the electric type said placing a paw on Ash's face, worried about the facial expressions forming on his trainers face, from worried to almost painful.

"Its okay Pikachu. Moping around here is not gonna get us anywhere." He began getting on his feet, feeling the helplessness overcome him. "I'm tired of just waiting around here. We're getting out of here guys."

"Pika!"

"Leafeon!"

With the support of his pokémon, Ash was beginning to feel his confidence slowly come back. Unfortunately, he now needed to come up with a plan to get them back to the surface land and their friends. He knew that they needed to swim; the question was how far and for how long. Being able to breathe in the psychic barrier created by Lugia allowed the pokémon to transport them as far as he chose, and because they were unconscious, they were unaware how far the cavern was from the surface.

"Alright, you guys stay here. I'm gonna jump in and try and find a way out of here. Once I find it, I'll come back and get you two."

"Pikapi!" he defiantly shook his head in disagreement. He knew from experience that legendary pokémon preferred to stay as far away from humans as possible and therefore this cavern probably fit that description. The idea of Pikapi heading into the unknown in order to save him brought back memories of the Sea Temple and his near death experience. Pikachu, unlike Ash, witnessed first hand the worry both he and May experienced that day. He understood May's pain when she saw her best friend place them in the escape pod and leave, as the negative thoughts of what would happen if Ash were to fail rushed into her mind. He felt her heartbeat quicken, as she held onto the Pokémon tighter in her arms. Besides Ash, May was probably the human Pikachu felt closest to among his trainer's friends and watching the pain she felt that day was definitely on his list of things he hated most. Pikachu knew he would be distraught if anything were to happen to Pikapi, but that day he knew, by placing him in that pod his trainer also entrusted May to him in hopes that his companion would be there to console and take care of May if things went wrong. Because of this, Pikachu felt responsible to bring Ash safely back to May at all costs.

"What do you mean no, Pikachu? You want to stay here?"

"Chu pika pi," he emphatically shook his head.

"I know its dangerous buddy, but we have to at least try." He pleaded with him.

Crouching down slightly into a battle stance, Pikachu unwillingly began to spark his cheeks, ready to stop his trainer by any means necessary. Ash saw this and slowly took a step back towards the water, pleading hands up around his face.

"Pikachu just relax, let's talk abou-"

Before Ash could finish pleading his case, a large wave of water rose up high into the air before splashing down hard onto the surround area, dousing the boy in the process. He flinched as the cold water showered him and ran towards his pokémon, turning to find the reason for the pillar of water. In front of the three stood the large guardian of the sea, Lugia, his large wingspan taking up most of the cavern. From the looks of the legendary pokémon, he was recently in battle, having a couple of scrapes and scorch marks along his body. His eyes showed a mixture of worry and sympathy as he gazed across the three individuals in front of him. Ash and Pikachu looked defiantly towards the much larger pokémon, while Leafeon froze in awe of his presence.

"Pikachu is right Ash. Unfortunately, I can't let you leave." He telepathically spoke to the three.


After hearing her story for nearly the third time, Dawn felt the person in her arms slowly open her eyes. May was beginning to wake up from collapsing on the ground after she finished listening to Melody explain what happened the first time. Dawn was quick to grab her friend and hold her up, while Brock asked Melody to explain once and then twice more, hoping the girl would remember something more after explaining herself several times. Melody was beginning to calm down, although a couple of stray tears would roll down her face as she remembered Ash risking his life to save hers.

Dawn's attention was split as she tried to comfort May into waking up while trying to hear the details of Melody's story a second and third time. Although she felt the stream of emotions attempt to overwhelm her, the blunette knew she needed to be strong for the sake of her friends. May needed all the help she could get, Melody was in a similar situation, and even Ash would probably need Dawn to stay strong and figure out a way to help him. Paul tried his best to comfort Dawn without truly knowing how to do so, while Brock listened intently to Melody, occasionally reminding her that they would eventually find Ash and that in the end, things would be okay as they always are. Just as Melody was finishing for the third time, May stirred in Dawn's arms and slowly opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.

"W-where am I?" the brunette asked, slightly confused.

"We're still on the beach, May. After Melody explained what happened, you suddenly feinted." Brock answered her.

"Ash! Where is he? Did you guys find him?" she insistently asked, realizing that the events prior to feinting were a reality and not something she simply imagined. The realization caused the girl to go limp in Dawn's arms as she could feel the rush of negative emotions rise from within her. Her friends around her could feel that two individuals in particular were taking this harder than the rest of them. Melody was feeling guilty, almost blaming herself for everything happening, while May's reaction warranted a deeper understanding of the type of relationship she had with the boy, an understanding that only Brock truly came close to having.

For May, the idea that Ash was missing was not the reason behind her breakdown; this was only one of the many times she witnessed Ash be taken away from them by forces out of her control. The reason she was unable to control herself enough to stop crying was a looming thought that entered her mind after watching him disappear and Melody barely surface alive. What if this is it, she thought. What if this is the moment our luck runs out. What if he… what if he doesn't make it back to us… to me? She could feel her eyes begin to water as she slowly stood up and walked away from the group. This can't be it. You can't keep leaving me like this Ash! She mentally yelled. I still… I still need you here. The stream of tears once again began rolling down her cheeks, as her puffy sapphire eyes were unable to stop it.

Watching her friend walk away, Dawn knew what she needed to do. "Stay with Melody, I'll go talk to her," she told Brock and Paul.

"So you're giving up? Just like that you're giving up on him?" Dawn demanded in an angry tone, much to the surprise of the three sitting down; her words stung May but she continued to stare out into the ocean. "After everything Ash has done for you, now when he probably needs us most you're just going to mope around and do nothing? Its okay for Ash to go out of his way for you and your problems, but when he needs you most, you fold like a chair. I can't believe you May." She told the brunette's back, this time almost yelling at her. "What a best friend you are…" she added, hoping her words would have the effect she wanted.

To this point, the sadness filling May's chest was being replaced by a fiery irritation towards the blunette whose words were digging deeper and deeper into her conscious. However, the last implication left May breathing fire as she swiftly turned around, ready to yell and shout at the girl attacking her. Before she could speak, the scene in front of her caught her off guard and she stopped herself. Dawn was crying uncontrollably, the tears rolling down her cheek as she sobbed. Her eyes clearly showed the pain in her chest but also revealed a fiery conviction in her resolve.

"I know you're scared May," she told her. "I am too. Actually, I'm terrified. Especially when I have no idea where Ash is or what happened to him." Her voice broke as she finished that last bit. "What I also know, is that right now, he could be in danger and in need of our help, and I for one want to be there for him. I know that moping around in our feelings won't help him, so even if my heart telling me one thing, my mind is telling me to push through it and help my friend. The only thing left to ask is whether you're ready to go help our friend or you want to stay here and sulk?" She asked again, much more fiercely than May was expecting.

Without speaking, May simply walked over to Dawn and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly, much to the surprise of the blunette and the others who were intently watching the sermon the former was giving.

"Thank you Dawn. I needed that." She answered before letting go of the girl and wiping the stray tears from her cheek. "Now let's go find Ash."


It was clear to Ash and his pokémon that Lugia was speaking telepathically to them, as it was not the first time he experienced the sensation. What troubled the young trainer were the words to come from the large guardian.

"W-what do you mean you can't let us Lugia. Why not," he yelled back, unable to hold the frustration that was building inside him. "You can't just take me away from friends and expect me to sit idly by while they could be in danger."

"Your friends are fine, young guardian. A little worried…" he paused."Well more than a little worried, but still fine nonetheless." He calmly answered the boy, much to the relief of the latter, his tense shoulders resting easy.

"Well I still want answers as to why you decided to just abduct us like that and why we can't go back. What were you even doing there?" Ash demanded once again, although calmer than before.

"I will answer your questions in due time, young guardian. First, why don't you change into some dry clothes and eat something. I sensed you were all probably hungry," he added, much to the embarrassment of the three as their stomachs growled in unison. Lugia's eyes began to glow as he used his psychic powers to hand Ash a backpack with dry clothes and packs of food.

After hearing of the wellbeing of his friends, Ash was able to calm down and take up Lugia's offer to change and eat, although he questioned how the large pokémon gathered such supplies. In spite of this, the boy reached to his belt and released the rest of his pokémon, considering they were just as hungry having not eaten in who knows how long. The remaining pokémon were surprised to see their current location, but were completely taken aback when they noticed the large guardian pokémon carefully eyeing them. After reassuring words from their trainer, they all sat down to eat, as Ash recounted the events up until the present moment. Lugia simply rested nearby, watching as the cautious group ate their food in silence. Noticing they were almost finished, the large pokémon moved closer to them before sighing deeply.

"I think in order for you to truly understand everything that's happening, its probably best if I start with the events that happened last time you were in Shamouti Island. Where to begin…"


Seeing the resolve within Dawn and May's eyes, Melody knew she needed to muster enough strength to follow their lead in their quest to search for their friend. Ash risking his life for her was one of the many reasons she felt the need to help the boy now more than ever. She knew that if something were to happen to him, she would never forgive herself for bringing them into this situation and although her new friends would never hold it against her, there was no way to be sure, especially watching May's reaction to the possibility of Ash being lost forever. That and the fact that her relationship with the boy was an important part of her life pushed her through the gloomy state she was in and towards a resolution to find him. Just as she was lost in thought, Brock spoke up and broke her concentration.

"Well from the information we have so far, we can probably conclude that Ash was taken by Lugia," the older friend said with a pensive face. Brock could hear a slight gasp from Dawn and May while Paul's eyes widened at the mention of the guardian pokémon. "The description given by Melody of the large creature that approached them, along with the silver feather left after Ash was taken are the lead clues into that assumption. We need to assume that Lugia took Ash to his resting place or a home of some sort, which according to Melody, would be near the coasts of Shamouti Island. We can try speaking to some of the locals that know of Lugia and maybe they have information we can use to find him. If we find him, we more than likely find Ash. That's probably our safest bet in terms of where to go from here. What do you guys think?"

As Brock finished, he scanned around to look at the approving faces of his friends. May replaced the weeping face she previously had with a fierce and determined look. Dawn was much of the same, with Paul nodding in approval at the older friend's plan. Brock looked over at Melody and saw the girl gloomily looking at the floor, unable to look her friends in the face.

"I'm sorry…" she quietly let out. "This is all my fault. I'm the one who suggested we come here. If we had just gone shopping like you guys suggested," she said while looking at the two girls, "none of this would have happened. Ash would still… he would still be here." She started choke up again thinking about it. Before she could continue, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Melody. Trust me, Ash attracts these kinds of things. With him, he would probably get abducted while in the bathroom." May tried to joke, hoping to lighten the already glum atmosphere in the group. Melody giggled slightly while the rest of the group smiled at the truth behind May's words. "We can't control what already happened, but we can control what happens from here on out." She looked at Dawn as she said those words.

"Thank you May. I really appreciate it," she smiled at the brunette coordinator. "In that case, we can take my boat back to Shamouti. I think I might know someone who can help us track Lugia." As they started to pick up their belonging from the beach and make their way towards the resort, Paul came into a realization that no one else seemed to notice.

"I hate to break up the big hoorah, but don't you guys think we should let Ash's mom know about this? Does she even know about all the times Ash has ended up in these situations?" Paul abruptly asked. Melody visibly flinched when Paul mentioned Ash's mom and waited for someone to answer.

"Honestly… no." Brock nervously laughed while shaking his head. "If its in his power to do so, Ash usually keeps these small details out of his stories. He would rather not worry his mom more than she already does. Although I'm sure part of her mother's intuition probably lets her know something's up."

"Typical Ash to put other people's needs before his own," Dawn added. "It'll be interesting to see what Ash comes up with when his mother asks him how he enjoyed the trip."

Relieved to hear Dawn using the word 'when' rather than 'if', May giggled as she pictured the raven-haired boy's signature goofy smile. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." She added, before noticing something surprisingly unusual after putting on her shorts and shirt. "Guys, where are Ash's things? I'm pretty sure he at least left his hat on the beach before going in the water."

Noticing that May was right, they each began to search the beach for any sign of his belongings. Much to their surprise, his stuff was gone.

"That's so strange. You think someone took his things while we were in the water?" Dawn asked.

"I don't think that's it. I'm the only one that knows of this please so it couldn't have been another person. But maybe…" Melody began.

"Another pokémon!" May finished. "You guys think Lugia's not working alone?"

"There's a strong possibility that whatever Lugia is planning would involve another pokémon." Brock added.

With the new piece of information it was evident that everyone's brains were starting to process different scenarios and reasons for why a powerful pokémon like that would need help from someone else. As they silently walked towards the resort, May decided it was best to let a certain ice type out of her poke ball to give her the news. She knew that, like herself, Glaceon was very close to Pikachu and would probably take the news similar to how she did. However, it was probably best to tell her rather than keep the information and have her find out later. At least now, the brunette could help her cope with the situation, just as Dawn did with her.

"Glaceon," she nudged May's leg, happily greeting her trainer.

"Hey Glaceon, there's something I need to talk to you about," she started as she noticed the ice type searching for Pikachu among the group of friends walking. "Its not something you probably want to hear, but I think you should know." She started to tell her pokémon the situation, feeling her eyes water as her Glaceon began to tear up listening to Ash and Pikachu risk their lives and eventually be taken away to an unbeknownst place. May decided to carry her while telling her the details in order to hug her tightly during the hardest moments. After she was done, Glaceon was visibly saddened but quickly changed the expression on her face to one similar to May's after Dawn's talk. The ice type knew this was not the time for her to sulk in her emotions, but rather a time she, along with her trainer needed to be strong for the sake of their boys.

"I'm sure glad you took it far better than I did," she rubbed under her beloved pokémon's neck. "We'll get them back, I promise."

"Glaceon!"


Once they reached their destination, the gang was quick to run to their rooms and collect their belongings. Brock stayed behind and spoke to the attendant at the front desk, explaining that they would be visiting Shamouti Island for a couple of days and would try their best to make it in time to check out. He wanted to let her know that if they did not make it in time, they would call to let them know; either way, the gang decided to gather all of their things, leaving nothing behind. Paul was currently grabbing both his and Brock's items while Dawn and Melody were currently in their room, hastily rummaging through the room to make sure they did not forget anything.

"Dawn, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Mel, what is it?" Dawn stopped to look at the brunette.

"Does May like Ash?" she flatly asked, catching the girl by surprise.

"Huh? W-what makes you think that? And why are you asking now of all times while we're trying to go save Ash?"

"I-I guess you're right, this isn't the right time." She quickly agreed. "I just wanted to know. They just seem really close, that's all."

"Well yeah, they've always been really close. Ash just has that effect on people. He can make the worst of enemies into a friend; just ask Paul." She stifled a laugh thinking of the rocky relationship the two once had. "Part of the reason I was able to do so well in my contests was because of his support and encouragement. He'll do anything for his friends, and that's why we need to do everything we can to find him." She finished with a small smile creeping on her face.

"Yeah… He truly is one of a kind, huh?" Melody asked, also smiling slightly.


"C'mon Glaceon, if you were Ash's other sock, where would you be?" May asked as the two were frantically trying to gather all of Ash's things.

"Glaceon glace," she answered back.

"I know. These boys are such a mess but just wait until I see him so I can give him a piece of my mind." She warned, earning a nervous laugh from her companion.

The two were about done packing their things and were finishing Ash's bag before being able to leave. They were searching for the last of his clothes, cursing the boy for his lack of organization. Throughout the whole time, May could only help but wonder what kind of situation Ash found himself in while his friends were worried sick trying to find him. I really hope your okay Ash. I really don't want to think about what I would do if something were to happen to you. I need my best friend Ash…" she lost herself in thought as Glaceon called to let her know she found the missing sock. Glaceon is also pretty worried, even if she's trying to act tough. I know she's worried about you Pikachu, so where ever you are, make sure you keep you and that clumsy trainer of yours out of trouble, she silently begged. I wish there was a way of knowing you guys were okay though… at least that would calm all our nerves a bit. I know I'm not the only one worried about you guys. Everyone is pretty shaken up about the whole thing, but I don't know if they're trying to stay positive for my sake, or their own. I rarely ever see Brock shaken up like he was today. The only other time I remember is when you told me about your trip to New Island with Brock and Misty.

"Glace."

By this time, May had unconsciously walked out into the balcony and was staring out into sunset when Glaceon nudged her, worried about the thoughts running through her trainer's head.

"I'm okay Glaceon. Just thinking about them y'know?" She tried to muster up a genuine smile. "I'm sure they would love to be watching this sunset with us too." A single tear made its way down May's cheek before she cleaned it off, shaking off the sudden melancholy. Just please be okay…

As she turned around head inside and collect their things to meet the others, May froze as she saw a small white note taped to the outside of the balcony's sliding glass doors. The curtains on the inside did not allow her to see the note when she stepped outside, but it stood directly in front of her when she turned around. She grabbed the note and opened it before gasping.

May,

We're okay.

Ash and Pikachu.


I'm not evil I promise. Some cliffhangers are just necessary hahaha.

Once again, I hope you all enjoy and if you find it in the kindness of your heart, leave a review ;).

I also wanted to ask the readers a question. I noticed the last three chapters have been posted close to the weekend. My question is, would you all prefer i settled for one day, let's say, Fridays or Saturdays to post new chapters? Or would you rather I just update freely, sometimes uploading once or twice a week. Your answers will probably determine when chapter 8 will be posted.

Let me know in a comment or message or review.

Thanks again!

-HRS