Darkness.

Darkness as far as the eye could see.

A darkness that could be felt.

An endless darkness with no escape.

It was impossible to move.

Impossible to stand.

Impossible to feel.

He strained long and hard to see anything, yet he saw nothing. His arms hung rigid by his side, not responding to him, while his legs sat like stone. He could feel neither his fingers nor his toes, and it was extremely difficult to breathe. Only his neck was responsive, moving when he looked around. Yet it seemed to be a mockery, as no matter where he looked, he saw nothing but darkness.

A silently screaming darkness.

A devouring darkness that seemed to slowly slither around him.

It was hungry.

And it wanted him.

As he looked around, straining to find something, anything in this unending void, he spotted a small, formless sphere, colored a bloody red. Slowly, the sphere came closer. As it did so, it began to form into something. It stretched up, hovering over him, before fitting its form into a figure. Slowly, the lower half of the blow split in two and condensed into two long and slender...legs? He looked up and watched as the rest of the blob formed into a curvaceous figure with equally slender arms. Finally, the blob formed into a sphere at the top, two strings of it hanging to the side. The blob condensed into its form, which emerged as a Butterfree emerged from its shell when it evolved, and fell away as she looked down at him. Though he was happy at first to see who it was, he was very quickly unnerved when he gazed into her eyes...if he could even call them eyes. Rather than the radiant sapphire eyes he was used to looking into, he found dull, gray, lifeless voids staring down at him.

"Hello, Ash," the figure said, its voice frighteningly monotonous.

"M-May?" he whispered, trembling in fear.

The figure moved closer, its walking stilted as it moved towards him. "Are you afraid?" He opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself unable to speak. The figure let out a dark chuckle, despite its mouth remaining lifeless and unmoving. "It's frightening, isn't it?" it said. "You're helpless: completely at my mercy." It was leaning over him, its horrid breath grazing his face like poison. "I can use you any way I want to."

"N-No," he shivered, trying to pull away, but he was still unable to move. "G-Get away!"

"Why should I?" it sneered, now directly in front of his face. "Why shouldn't I do whatever I want with you? Why shouldn't I use you? It would only be fair. You've been using me this whole time."

"No!" he cried. "I would never do that!"

"Oh really?" it sneered, reaching up for its collar. It pulled the zipper down slightly, exposing part of its cleavage. "You can't lie to me anymore, Ash. I know who you really are."

"Stop, please!" he cried. "That's not true!"

"All you've been doing this whole time is pretending that I'm your precious Misty," it sneered, its mouth starting to curve into...something. He could tell that whatever was hiding inside was not what he was used to. "You couldn't live without her by your side, so you've been using me to pretend that she's still here."

"Get away from me!" he screamed, trying desperately to break free.

"You've used me to pretend that you're not alone," it hissed, its mouth now beginning to show rows of hideous fangs as it curved into a wicked grin. "But you are, Ash. You have no one to help you now: no friends, no Pokemon, nothing."

"STOP IT! PLEASE, STOP IT!"

"You are all alone. FOREVER."

He was about to scream again, but then he felt a sharp pain in his arms and legs. He looked down and was horrified to find several plant-like ropes tied tightly around his body. Worse, he caught a glimpse of blood trickling down his arms.

"Roses?!"

"Yes," the figure chuckled darkly as it stood up. Only now did he notice another figure had joined them. This one was nothing more than a silhouette wreathed in shadows so that its features were invisible. But he saw enough to know who it was.

"No," he whispered, horrified as he realized what was happening. "NO!"

"Ah, my love," the figure sneered, turning to the shadow as it pulled the rest of its zipper down. They embraced each other before locking their lips together. Tender at first, they slowly intensified the kiss until any modesty they started with was gone. Worse, as they became more feverish, their hands began to grope each other's waist, slowly pulling off their jackets.

"PLEASE, STOP!" he screamed in agony. They ignored him and continued to grow more and more intense, doing things too carnal for the eyes. He desperately tried to shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to watch this horrifyingly erotic display, but his eyelids refused to snap shut. Worse, the two of them seemed to be leaning closer to him, dark tentacles slowly snaking around his legs.

"GOODBYE, ASH," the figure's voice came one final time, not breaking its lip lock as he felt himself go numb all over: numb to all feeling, except that of being consumed by the figure's void.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Ash's eyes shot open as he bolted upright, breathing heavily. He looked around him, assessing his surroundings, and realized that he was back in his tent, the moon shining through the roof. His breathing slowed down as he sighed in relief.

"It was just a dream," he whispered, still taking in deep breaths. He looked in front of him and saw Pikachu sleeping quietly at his feet. He then looked to his right and saw his friends, Brock and Max, sleeping peacefully on their backs. Finally, he turned to his left and saw his other friend, May, curled up in her sleeping bag, her back to him.

His breathing finally calmed down, and he laid back down in his sleeping bag, only to find it soggy and damp. He caught a whiff of something, grimacing at the stinky smell of his sweat.

"Ugh," he muttered, sitting back up. "I hate it when that happens." He slowly got up, put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt before quietly sneaking out of the tent. He sat on a small log and looked up at the moon, sighing sadly.

"Another nightmare," he said quietly to himself. "That was the worst one yet. But why? Why do I keep having these nightmares?" He shivered as a cold breeze blew past. "Ever since I realized the truth, they've just been getting worse and worse." He hugged himself close. "Is it true? Am I only using her? I never would've thought I would be that kind of guy, but what if I'm wrong?" He buried his face in his knees, unable to control his emotions. "I can't...I can't do this to her. I can't hurt her like this!"

Inside the tent, May's eyes fluttered open as she rolled onto her back. She gazed up at the moon shining through the tent, a small smile forming on her face as she gazed at its beauty. She closed her eyes softly, sighing peacefully as she did so. As she laid there, she heard a quiet sound outside the tent. She blinked and looked towards the tent flap, confused, before slowly getting out of her sleeping bag and slipping on her shoes. She quietly stepped out to investigate and, after looking around, found a figure sitting on a log, hunched over as his shoulders shook from crying. She slowly came forward and discovered that it was her best friend.

"Ash?"

Ash looked up, slightly startled, and saw May staring down at him. Seeing her, he quickly looked away. She knelt down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Ash, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said bluntly. "Go back to bed."

"You sure?" she asked. "Because if nothing's wrong right now, then I'd hate to see what it looks like when something is wrong."

"I'm fine, May," he replied curtly. "Please, leave me alone."

"Ash, don't be that way," she said, standing up and walking around before sitting next to him on the log. "I know you well enough to know when you're upset. You shouldn't lie to me like that."

"Why not?!" he erupted suddenly, glaring at her. She recoiled in shock. "Why should I tell you anything?! You think I owe it to you?!" Although stunned by his outburst, May didn't budge. She could faintly see his eyes in the darkness and found that they were auburn; they only changed to that color when he was emotional. He blinked and turned away, putting his head in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he started to cry again. "I'm just having a hard time right now. Please just go back to bed."

May relaxed before moving closer to him. "I can't," she whispered.

He looked up at her, confused. "Why not?" he asked. "You having trouble sleeping? You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, smiling at his concern. "It's just harder for me to sleep when I'm worried about my friends." At this, Ash sighed and turned away, leaning his head into his hands again. "Ash, please talk to me. I know it's hard, but isn't that what friends are for?" When he didn't budge, she put her hand on his back and slowly moved it up and down, soothing him. "We're always there for each other: to remind each other that we're not alone." This caused him to tense up, and he turned farther away from her. She frowned slightly, when she saw this. "Ash -"

"Stop it, May," he said.

"Why? I'm trying to help you feel better, Ash."

"Why would you care how I feel?"

May's eyes widened as she struggled to believe what she was hearing. "Why would I care?!" she repeated. "Because you're my friend, Ash! You're always so optimistic and happy, and you're always there for me when I'm upset. I care about all my friends, especially you!"

"Yeah?" he muttered bitterly. "Then why don't you go show Drew how much you care? You obviously care about him more than anyone else!" He buried his face in his hands.

"What?" she said, surprised. "What's Drew got to do with this?" Ash said nothing and just started to cry again. Fed up with his attitude and determined to help him feel better, May stood up and knelt in front of him. "Ash, look at me."

Ash froze when he heard her say this and considered going back to the tent to try and go to sleep again. He didn't want to listen to her, remembering what he saw in his nightmares. He didn't want to look into her cold, hurtful eyes again: eyes that saw every dark secret he kept hidden far away from his friends so she could pull them out for him to see. More than that, however, he didn't want to hurt her either. The thought of that plagued him to no end, and he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if it became a reality.

Ash didn't know what compelled him to not run away, but he slowly lifted his head until he was face-to-face with May. As he gazed into her eyes, however, his nightmare faded into his memories. Her deep blue eyes glimmered in the moonlight as she gazed at him, and he realized the truth: seeing him like this already hurt her more than he realized. Her eyes showed no condemnation, no desire to hurt him. There was only kindness and concern for his well-being.

She gave him a soft smile as she gazed at him – a pretty smile, the same one he fell in love with – and pulled him into a gentle embrace. He hugged her back, leaning his head on her shoulder. Of course she was worried about him. Why wouldn't she be? He sighed softly as he caught a whiff of the remnants of her strawberry-flavored perfume from the day before. It wasn't much, but he would gladly take it over the horrific filth he smelt in his nightmare any day.

"May?" he whispered. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of...course," she replied as she slowly pulled away, confused. They were still face-to-face, gazing into each other's eyes.

"Do you like Drew?"

She blinked again and raised an eyebrow. "You mean...do I have feelings for him?"

"Yeah."

"Um...no, not really. He can be a romantic sometimes, but I don't like him like that. But...why do you ask?"

"Well, the truth is," he started to say, swallowing audibly as he thought about what he wanted to say. I can't do this he thought sadly.

"What? What is it?" May asked, eyes wide. Maybe? she thought.

"The truth is," he said, "I had a nightmare." From there, he proceeded to tell her about his terrible dream and what she said about him in said dream.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered when he finished, eyes wide in shock. "That's awful! No wonder you're so upset."

"Yeah," he said sadly. "The truth is, I...I really like you, May, and I've wanted to tell you for a while, but...I'm so worried that I'll just end up hurting you or using you, and…" He trailed off and broke down again, crying softly. May immediately pulled him back into a deep embrace, slowly moving her hand over his back to soothe him. For a moment they just sat there, hugging each other tightly under the warm light of the moon. May felt a small tear leak from her own eye as she shared in Ash's sadness.

After a while, they pulled apart again but stayed close together, continuing to gaze into each other's eyes. He looked down, seemingly ashamed. "You're such a sweet girl," he said, "and you deserve the absolute best. I would hate to be the one who broke your heart in the end." He sighed again. "I'm sorry."

She smiled softly and gently placed her hand on his cheek, prompting him to look back at her, slightly confused.. "Do you really mean all that?" she asked "Do you really feel that way about me?"

"Of...course," he said, blushing at her soft, caressing touch. "You said it yourself, didn't you? I would never lie to you. I'm just scared that I –"

She hushed him, putting her finger over his lips, her smile widening as her eyes glimmered in the moonlight. Slowly, she lowered her finger and moved towards him. Captivated by her beautiful eyes, he started moving towards her. Their eyes slowly closed as they moved closer, until finally their lips connected. Tentative at first, they started to press harder, although the kiss remained gentle. After a few seconds, they pulled apart, their eyes slowly opening as they gazed at each other once again.

"Ash," she whispered, still smiling at him, "I understand what you're feeling. You're afraid that if you act on your feelings, you'll end up doing something that hurts me. You're trying to protect me from harm, just like you promised me you would, even if that means protecting me from yourself. But I know you, Ash. You're kind, compassionate, and always looking out for your friends' well-being. I know that you would never try to hurt me like that." She leaned closer to him, her forehead now leaning against his own. "The truth is...I like you too, Ash. I like you a lot."

His face lit up and, for the first time since he woke up, he smiled softly at her. "Really?"

"Really," she replied, winking at him. He pulled her once again into a deep, loving embrace, overwhelmed with happiness. Small tears trickled from his eyes, although these were tears of happiness rather than shame. They didn't know how long they were out there, nor did they care. Before either of them knew it, they fell asleep on the ground, still in each other's arms, under the warm, protective light of the moon.

And there's another one. Two other fanfics inspired this: one was a psychological horror fic I think, and the other was extremely bizarre. Both of them ended on an inconclusive note that didn't leave much room for things to get better, so I decided to fix that...sort of.

What did you think? Personally I don't consider this my best work, but if the past several years on this website have taught me one thing, it's that, with two despicably narcissistic exceptions, the author is usually their own worst critic.

Feel free to rate and review; just be civil about it. Catch ya later!