Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter done. College hasn't been very kind. But since Summer's coming up, I should have more time... I'll just have to apply myself more than I did last summer. I WILL finish this story, or die trying! Enough seriousness from me, though. Enjoy the admittedly short and slow chapter. The drama will return next chapter.

Dinner was eaten in silence, and very quickly. May had a lot she wanted to talk about. She seated everyone at a table on the far side of the Pokémon Center's Cafeteria. Since the Pokémon Center shared the Cafeteria with the Hospital in the same building, the room was quite a bit larger than an ordinary cafeteria. This suited May well, though, as she didn't want anyone to overhear what she and her friends were going to discuss.

Jessie, James, and Meowth continued to eat even after the rest of the group had finished. May looked across the table at the group that had been assembled. She had received the help and inside information that could only be supplied by Scott, the owner of the Battle Frontier. He had given her the hope that Ash Ketchum still lived. She had also been joined by three of the most persistent people she ever knew. The talents of Jessie, James, and the talking Meowth that accompanied them were often used against her, but now they were on the same side, fighting for the same thing.

Her cause was also receiving the aide of two of the powerful Frontier Brains, although one is not sure why she's been invited to help, and the other hasn't given a reason to want to help. But there they sit, side by side, waiting for May to start speaking.

And closest to where she sat were two close friends of hers. The older one had been helping her with her own Pokémon journey practically from the beginning. And the young girl reminded her so much of her brother, who was back home and not having to deal with this whole situation.

On her shoulder, of course, is the avatar for her beloved. He smiled when she looked up at him, his dark eyes happily sparkling and contrasting with his bright fur.

"So May?" Anabel asked. "What are we going to do? You said you wanted to help Ash."

May nodded as Pikachu leapt from her shoulder and sat on the table. "That's right. When Ash left to go see that Evergreen, or Giovanni, or whoever, I knew that I just couldn't let him go. But there was no way to get him to let me go with him. So, I decided to just follow him afterwards."

"Didn't he want everyone to stay here so that we wouldn't be put in danger?" Brock asked her.

"That's why nearly all of us are going!" she grinned. "There's safety in numbers!"

Brock smiled back. "Not that I ever thought that you wouldn't chase after him, of course."

"'Nearly all', huh?" Anabel lowered her eyelids. "Who isn't invited to this little party you're planning?"

"Well, I had to think about it," May raised her index finger to her chin, "but I decided that we should leave Scott and Cyndi behind."

The young girl stood up on her chair. "That's not fair! Why don't I get to come?"

Scott put his large hand on the girl's head. "I'm sure May has a good reason, now, Cyndi."

"Well, if we all go, we'll basically be bringing the Sapphire to them, right?" May said. "We'll need someone to watch over it and stay away. I thought Scott could take the Sapphire to Celio on One Island."

"You still haven't said why I can't come!" Cyndi shouted.

"If what Ash said is true, then it could very dangerous, Cyndi," May replied. "For your mother's sake, I don't want to put you in that danger."

"And just so you know, he isn't blowing smoke," Anabel added. "The fortress is designed as a gauntlet of Pokémon Battles. Who knows how many opponents we'll have, or even who they'll be. You should just stay with Scott."

"I've got Pokémon! I can help!" she continued to shout.

"Sorry, kid," Greta looked across the table to her, "but Anabel's got the right idea here. There may be strength in numbers, but we'll only be as strong as our weakest link."

"But-but I-" she continued fighting for a chance. "I won't be dead weight, I promise! Just let me come, please! I'll work harder than I've ever worked before!"

May's face softened. "Alright, you can come with us, Cyndi-"

The child leapt into the air. "Alright!"

"-but you've gotta stick near me or Brock, okay?" she finished. "Protecting you while we're in there running this gauntlet is going to be priority number two."

"Priority number one is saving Ash?" Anabel guessed.

May smiled widely. "Yep! If I can reach him, I know that I'll be able to convince him to come back with us."

"Pika!" the Electric-Type shared her enthusiasm.

"And I'm still going to One Island, then?" Scott asked.

"Right," May looked to him. "If we take the Sapphire with us, we'll basically be handing over to them. They could hold any of us hostage and force us to give it to them."

"But what about if they attack me while the rest of you are gone?" Scott asked. "Won't leaving an opening be just as bad as taking it with us? It'd at least be protected if we took it with us."

"That's why we're leaving for the fortress tonight," May replied.

"Tonight?" Meowth nearly spat out the noodles he was eating. "Is dat headkerchief on too tight?"

"That's where you all come in," May addressed the trio. "You all always have balloons to make your getaways in. You've gotta have at least one more that we can take to the island tonight before they have a chance to get to prepared for us."

"That's a good strategy," Greta nodded. "Take the fight to them before they have a chance to get their defense up."

"And since Ash is already back there, I bet they're expecting us to arrive soon," Brock noted. "If we want our element of surprise, we're going to have to get going early."

"So, you all have one more balloon, right?" the Pokémon Coordinator returned to Jessie, James, and Meowth.

James began stuttering. "W-well, it's just that-"

"I'll go get it."

James and Meowth looked over at Jessie.

She turned her head to her partners. "I said, I'll go get it."

"Jessie, it's our very last one, and we don't have a penny to our name otherwise," James explained to her.

"Jimmy's right, Jess," Meowth followed up. "If it goes down, we're stranded wherever it is. We don't have da money to get tickets or nothin'."

"Look you two," Jessie responded, "we said we'd help May in whatever way we could. If we don't use everything we have, we'll be breaking our word."

"You've never had a problem doing that before," James sighed.

"What was that?!" the female third of the trio screeched.

"N-nothing at all!" he smiled, waving his hands defensively. "Let's all go and get that balloon."

"It's going to be a while before we see a Pokémon Center, I bet," May spoke to everyone at the table. "If we're going to the Battle Fortress, we should make sure our Pokémon are in perfect health before we leave."

Jessie reached into her pockets and dropped three Pokéballs in front of Meowth. "Here, Meowth. While James and I are preparing the balloon, take our Pokémon to Nurse Joy and make sure they're fighting fit."

James reached into his pockets and dropped his two Pokéballs in front of Meowth as well. "Take care, Meowth. It shouldn't take us very long before we're able to rejoin you."

"Got it," the Scratchcat nodded.

Jessie turned to the rest of the group. "We'll be getting the balloon ready. If you all really want to go tonight, we'd better hurry."

"Right," everyone nodded in unison.

May led the group back to the lobby of the dual-purpose building. The rather scatterbrained Nurse Joy that May dealt with earlier sat at the front counter, twirling her finger through her hair.

"Nurse Joy!" Brock shouted, leaping to the front of the group. "How long has it been since I've last set eyes on beauty such as yours?"

Joy's wide eyes stared blankly at Brock without the slightest hint of recollection. "Wait… wait…" she cautioned. "I can remember this…" Nurse Joy turned around and began ruffling through her desk drawer, searching for something to jog her memory.

Cyndi stepped forward, reached up for Brock's ear, and yanked him down. "A swing and a miss," Cyndi sighed as she pulled him across the floor by his ear.

Joy turned around and looked very confused. "I'm sure there was someone here just a second ago…" she whispered to herself.

"Hello Nurse Joy," May smiled as she stepped up to the counter, filling the void left by Brock.

"Oh, Seashore Girl! Welcome back to the Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy began to babble. "Are you going to be staying with us for another four days?"

May sighed to herself. "And she says it with such a bright smile, too."

"Huh?" Joy blinked.

"My friends and I are leaving on a trip tonight," she began explaining. "Can you do a quick check on our Pokémon to make sure they're in perfect health?"

"Okies!" she smiled. May handed Pikachu to Joy from her shoulder, and dropped her five Pokéballs onto the counter.

Brock walked up next, still holding his pained ear. He handed his four Pokéballs to the nurse and allowed his hand to linger on hers. Joy began blushing profusely as she took the Pokéballs from the breeder.

Cyndi yanked Brock down once again, and handed to her aunt seven Pokéballs, as well as dropping Meowth on the counter.

"Hey, you can't fool me!" Joy snapped at the little girl. "Trainers can only carry six Pokémon! What are you doing here with eight?"

Meowth swallowed sharply.

"I'm holding onto these for some friends of ours," Cyndi narrowed her gaze as she glared up at the woman behind the counter.

Joy glared back at her. "Y'know, I think I've seen that face somewhere before…" she responded.

Anabel and Greta stepped between the child and her relation and set their Pokéballs on the desk. "Please take care of ours, too, Nurse Joy."

Joy forgot what she was trying to think about previously. "Okay! I'll get right on it!"

Joy scooped the Pokéballs up into her arms and headed behind a door directly behind her.

Through the automatic glass doors behind them, Jessie and James came into the Pokémon Center.

The leader of the trio approached. "We're all ready for the trip," she started, "but remember that this is a balloon and not a jet liner. It still may take us several hours to get there."

"That's fine," May replied. "Just as long as it'd be faster than waiting for a boat."

"And it is," James smiled, rubbing his hands together. "We'll be getting there probably around the time the ports open in the morning." He looked around the crowd. "Um... we seem to be short one furry friend," he noted, trying to see if Meowth was hiding somewhere.

"I handed him to Nurse Joy," Cyndi said. "I figured that he'd need a check up, too."

"Okie! All done!" Joy said, walking out of the back room with a box of Pokéballs.

"All done?" May blinked. "That was quick."

"Isn't tech-knowledge-y great?" Joy laughed.

"Where are Meowth and Pikachu?" Anabel blinked, staring at the box.

Pikachu's head sprung from underneath the pile of Pokéballs, with Meowth sprouting next to him. "Pikachuu.." he sighed.

"Talk about careless…" Meowth sighed.

May took the box from Nurse Joy. "We'll handle it from here. Thank you, Nurse Joy."

"No problem!" she smiled back cheerfully. "When you need to take a long nap again, just let me know, 'kay?"

May sighed, slumping over and nearly dropping the box. "Alright."

May carried the box outside, and under Brock's careful eye, everyone got their own Pokéballs back.

Dropping her five Pokéballs into her pack and lifting Pikachu to her shoulder, May turned to her comrades. "Is everyone ready?"

With a bright flash, Cyndi's Happiny appeared from her Pokéball. "Happi…" she cooed, leaping into her trainer's arms.

Brock smiled at the girl as she hushed the baby Pokémon. "Yeah, we're ready. Where's the last balloon, Jessie?"

"We left it in the middle of that group of trees," Jessie pointed. "We'd better hurry if we're gonna make it."

Jessie, James, and Meowth lead the way through the trees. May blinked for a moment when she set her eyes on the large balloon.

It was fully inflated, its color almost blending in with the night sky. The bright red "R" on its chest stood in contrast to its otherwise subdued blue hue. The balloon figure's mouth was open, and had one of its lanky arms in a salute.

"Hey," Cyndi blinked, "that balloon looks just like-"

"Woobbuffet!" the Patient Pokémon interjected, saluting right next to the small girl.

"So the last balloon was your back up Wobbuffet balloon?" Brock asked, turning to James.

"Right," he nodded. "Ol' Wobb's always been sort of our fallback when he works. It seemed fitting that we'd have a few balloons in his image."

"Wobbu-Wobbuffet!" he again announced, leaping over next to James.

A Pokéball on James' belt snapped open, and Mime Jr. mimicked Wobbuffet from the shoulder of his trainer. "Mime, mimemime!"

Jessie approached the balloon and opened the basket. "Alright. It's gonna be a tight squeeze with everyone in here, so let's just load up as soon as we can."

May furrowed her eyebrows at the rather modest sized basket. "I guess it's standing room only, huh?" she frowned.

"Pika…" he sighed in unison with May.

May boarded the balloon with Pikachu on her shoulder. "C'mon, everyone. Let's get moving!"

Brock, Cyndi and Happiny got on next.

"Are you sure there's even room for us on there?" Anabel said, having her doubts. "I don't think we'll all be able to get on there."

"If it'll save us some room," Cyndi piped up, "I can just ride Mom's Skarmory. I fly around on her all the time, so this little island hop shouldn't be anything."

"That sounds like a good idea," Greta smiled. "We could also let Meowth ride with you to give us a bit more room for the people in the basket."

Meowth grunted. "I don't take up dat much room."

"But space is limited as it is, Meowth," Jessie said. "Just ride with the kid. It won't take long for us to get there, anyway."

"Alright," Meowth groaned, accepting Jessie's order.

"Happiny," Cyndi said, talking to her Pokémon, "why don't you hang out in your ball for a bit while we get moving?"

"Happi, happi!" she chirped. Cyndi lifted up the red and white sphere and sent the Playhouse Pokémon inside.

Anabel and Greta stood as close to May and the others as they could without forcing anyone over the edge of the basket. Greta stood almost directly in front of Anabel, her back pressing against the Salon Maiden's chest. Anabel grunted in discomfort while the darkness hid Greta's small pigment change.

Finally, Jessie and James stepped onto the basket and closed the side. "Are we all set to go?" asked James to all of the passengers.

"I guess," Anabel grunted. "Let's get this over with. I'm going to suffocate at this rate."

"Hey Scott," May called to him. "Make sure you protect that Sapphire. We'll come back with Ash!"

"Good luck, May," Scott gave her a thumbs up. "I'll be waiting to see that kid again."

"Alright, Brock," called Jessie, "now that we've said our goodbyes, pull the rope that stokes the engine."

"Alright," he grunted, pushing the shorter Frontier Brains out of the way as he reached up and pulled down sharply on the rope.

May felt squashed in the corner until Brock's moving slightly forward gave her a moment to breath. The balloon began rising in the air and drifting away from Scott and out of the clearing. Just as suddenly as she was given room to breath, Brock stepped back, almost crushing her against the corner of the basket.

From the ground below, Cyndi's Skarmory began flapping her wings and took to the sky, following behind the Wobbuffet Balloon. Meowth held on tightly to Cyndi's waist, and struggling not to look at the ground.

Cyndi huffed. "Don't be such a fraidy-cat," she mocked him. "You fly all the time, don't you?"

"Yeah," Meowth gulped, "but most of da time, I've gots four walls surroundin' me."

Skarmory rode the air currents and caught up with the balloon. May had struggled and turned around, so that she could breath the fresh air from up in the air. The sky was clear, and she could see the reflection of the crescent moon on the ocean below. The entire scene was as peaceful as riding a hot air balloon with five other people could be.

Pikachu let out a yawn and curled up against May's shoulder. The Coordinator smiled and scratched the Electric-type's head. "Have a good rest, Pikachu," she whispered to him. After which, she let out a yawn of her own. "I've been up for a while past my regular bed time," she muttered, letting her eyelids slip. "I'll just take a quick nap while we float to the," she whispered to herself, pausing to yawn, "Battle Fortress." She leaned her back against Brocks and quickly drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

I don't think there's been a chapter this lighthearted in a while. Oh well, back to story stuff next time. I hope I'll be able to get it done faster for next time.