Here it is, the seventh chapter in my latest Hearts Universe side story 'Problems of the Heart' technically released a week late due to the missed week a few weeks back. This is the first of May's three chapters and the first to not be followed by the second of her chapters as May's three will occur at different times with the third one not scheduled until sometime during Hearts 5. This is also the last chapter that will be released that isn't released around the same time as it would have occurred in the main Hearts timeline as it took place before the current events in Part XCIX. For those curious, this takes place after Ash's party in Winning during the battles the day after so it is set between Parts LXXXI and LXXXII and right after Dawn and Lucy's battle in Winning's Supplement. That is all the administrative stuff I have for this note and as there were no questions or guest reviews to respond to please time to sit back and get ready for the seventh Problem of the Heart.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
May I
Sabrina had been watching the battles with interest but at the same time she'd been straining her mind to listen on one particular person to see if she needed to talk to her. The girl was a brunette from Hoenn in a hot pink bike top that did nothing to hide her impressive assets and a matching bandana. Sabrina knew who she was, that she was Ash's traveling companion for 2 years while he was in Hoenn and again on the Kanto Battle Frontier, and that she was in love with him.
She didn't need her abilities to tell her that much. May had been one of Ash's cheerleaders in the final of the Indigo Conference, something that Dawn, Ash's girlfriend, had arranged with her various rivals and Ash's Unova companions. That alone meant that she was crushing on him as she'd willingly dressed up for the final. That had been confirmed by Anabel when the Salon Maiden had come to Saffron following the Conference. However, it was clearly more than that.
Sabrina had seen the way that May had looked at Ash the night before and during his battle with her brother. It was the same way that Dawn, Misty, and to an extent Anabel looked at Ash. It was clear that the girl liked him on a very deep level. It was also clear that her mind was in turmoil over it and something else that Sabrina couldn't quite place.
She'd first noticed it the night before shortly before Brock had arrived with his surprise fiancée which had shocked the entire party. That had been a whole different event and Sabrina had quickly shifted gears to try and keep Misty calm as her mind had failed to process the impossibility of Brock finding someone and her natural anger was trying to get out at that and how she'd failed with Ash. Before that though, Sabrina had picked up a worried dilemma coming from May.
With her past abuses, Sabrina's powers weren't fully stable. She could avoid using the more active ones like transmutation and telekinesis as they required a conscious effort to use. There was always a pull to use them of course but Sabrina's control was such that she could avoid it.
She could even use her telekinesis with little problem so long as it was instinctual or in a limited capacity but too much and she'd begin to feel the need to do more. When that happened, she shut it down. She'd had a scare recently, but she'd avoided any problem thanks to her years of control and was working harder to avoid it again. Her telepathy, though, was not so easy.
That was the power that was truly unstable thanks to her abuse of it. Her constant use of it in her youth to perfect it and become the best had failed spectacularly and now she couldn't turn it off. She'd gained a lot of control over it and these days it was nothing more than a low-level buzz in her head, but she couldn't get rid of the buzz, so it was a constant reminder of her past mistakes.
If Sabrina actively focused on it she could even suppress it for a short period or ignore it if she were doing something like battling or hanging out with friends. However, it took effort and mental strain to fully suppress it and she often needed to lie down after doing so as the buzz was louder for a few hours when she stopped suppressing it.
To compensate for things, Sabrina left it as it was when she was in company as the thoughts blended together into that buzz and she didn't hear specific things unless someone was thinking hard about it. Course the buzz got worse with excitement or other strong emotions and too many people could overwhelm her.
That had happened the one time she'd tried to go to a Showcase in Kalos when she was out there. She'd been slammed by so many excited thoughts from the large crowd at the event that she'd had a seizure and almost lost control. If that had happened, Sabrina shuddered to think of the damage she could cause in a crowded venue. Fortunately, her mentor Olympia and Haunter had gotten her clear and under control, but it had taught her a valuable lesson. Sabrina couldn't be near crowds.
However, despite her control, particularly strong thoughts could get through and that was what had happened last night. May's worry had been palpable, and Sabrina had taking notice before Brock's arrival, so she'd focused on May to get a better sense of her worry.
Sabrina had discovered that May was worried about how her feelings for Ash would affect things going forward and Sabrina recalled that May was traveling with Ash and Dawn in Kalos for the next year. That was a fair worry given her crush on Ash and only increased Sabrina's desire to talk to the girl and help her out the way she'd done twice over the last several months.
Already Sabrina had helped Misty at Misty's request when Misty realized that she had an anger and jealousy problem and needed help to avoid ruining her friendship with Ash because she couldn't act normally around Dawn because of her issues. It had taken a realization of her issues thanks to a talk Sabrina gave in Cerulean City, a true apology to Dawn, a week with Sabrina in Cerulean to talk about everything, and therapy but now Misty was good and friends with Dawn for the for the first time.
Anabel too had needed help, though she hadn't know it at the time and not in the same way Misty had needed it. Initially Sabrina had wanted to talk about Anabel's crush on Ash as it had surprised her given Anabel's personality but then she'd learned Ash had a girlfriend.
When she learned that, Sabrina had opted to focus on making sure that Anabel was good with her feelings for Ash and acceptance that it wouldn't work out between them. She was and during a week Sabrina had spent in Cremini Town Anabel had had the chance to truly let out about her feelings for Ash and accept her situation with them.
It had worked wonders and, in the end, when she had met Dawn by chance due to a Contest in Cremini Town that Dawn had decided to enter, she'd been able to handle it maturely and with limited pain. She had also confessed to Ash and fully cleared her heart to him.
Anabel had battled, shockingly lost said battle, and become friends with Dawn and was one of the girls who cheered for Ash in the finals. Course she'd been annoyed Sabrina hadn't told her about Dawn, but they'd talked that out as well right before they came to Pallet Town for Ash's party, so Sabrina knew that Anabel was good place.
That meant that it was time to help May. After helping two girls out, Sabrina had decided to help as many of them as possible, whenever she ran into one of the many who'd fallen for Ash that is. Partly to help them come to terms with their loss because they needed it lest they let love destroy them as it had so many others and partly because Ash was so dense that he didn't realize that he could do more harm than good now that he had a girlfriend and might lose friends because of it.
Sabrina was not going to let that happen because she knew how important friends were to Ash and how much he valued all of the people he met and befriended on his many journeys. She also owed Ash so much for what he had done for her that she could do this for him.
Now was the best moment to talk to May and offer her assistance if dealing with her problem if she wanted it. May was heading out to Kalos soon so Sabrina wouldn't see her again for a while, though she did intend to visit Kalos later in the year and might see her then. However, Sabrina wanted to make sure that May was good before she left.
A talk now would also help Sabrina as she was getting a headache from the excitement of the battles that was worse now that Iris and Georgia, two Unova girls Sabrina barely knew though she knew plenty about Iris, were slugging it out with a pair of powerful Pokémon. The girls clearly had an intense and heated rivalry and were really getting into it. Their excitement were starting to wear at Sabrina's control.
The rivalry seemed to be over their chosen types and apparently the only way the girls knew how to handle it was through extremely destructive Pokémon battles. Add in that the crowd was loving it and Georgia's girlfriend was really getting into it and Sabrina was going to need a break. What better way then to do it with May who wasn't battling today.
"Excuse me." Sabrina said tapping May's shoulder as she watched the battle raging before them. "May? Right?"
May turned around surprised by the interruption. She was watching and enjoying the battle as her brother commented on it and how Georgia was going to win this round thanks to her training in Hoenn. She was into the battle, so it was a surprise that the green haired woman had come up to her. May knew that this was Sabrina, the Saffron Gym Leader and a friend of Ash, Dawn, Anabel, and Misty's with the last one having spoken to her about some personal problems caused by losing Ash to Dawn.
"Yeah, and you're Sabrina, right?" May asked curious as to why the gym leader was talking to her.
"Correct." Sabrina said unsure of how to broach the topic so just dove right into it. "Would you care to take a walk with me. I need a break to clear my head and I heard you knew the ranch pretty well so figured I'd ask if you'd like to join me so that I don't get lost."
"Why me though?" May asked confused. "I've been here a few times, but Ash knows it better as he does live in Pallet Town."
"True but I want to speak to you in particular May." Sabrina said her eyes glancing at where Ash and Dawn were enjoying the battle nearby. "About somethings that are best said in private. I am sure you are aware of my abilities at the very least, if not the specifics of my current condition."
"I have heard." May said her voice going low just in case. "I know a little of what you can do but that's it. Why do you want to speak to me?"
"Well, thanks to what I can do or more specifically because of my past mistakes, I know that you're worried about Kalos and I know how you feel about Ash, though I didn't need powers for that." Sabrina said. "I've helped Misty and Anabel with their problems regarding him, so I want to see if you'd like to talk. Also, I actually do need to clear my head, that's not an excuse."
"You do?" May asked confused as she tried to recall what little she knew of Sabrina. "Is something up?"
"I'm getting a headache." Sabrina said with a wince. "So, I am going to wander but it would be nice to be joined by someone who knows the area so if you want to talk to someone who is objective and can help this could work for both of us."
"I see, alright I'll come." May said though she still didn't understand the headache. "You aren't wrong, and I guess having someone who will listen could help."
"Thank you May." Sabrina said. "Please, lead the way."
May just nodded and began to walk away with Sabrina next to her. No one noticed because at that moment Beartic and Dragonite clashed again each using a powerful physical attack and everyone cheered causing Sabrina to wince again, a wince that May didn't miss.
"Do you need some pain relief?" May asked concerned as they got out of the cheering range of the battlefield and began to walk deeper into the ranch. "I'm sure the Professor has some back in the lab that you could use."
"Thanks for the offer but no, I never take anything like that." Sabrina said shaking her head and sighing in relief as the buzz from before was gone replaced by May's worry her, but Sabrina quickly suppressed her telepathy and enjoyed the bliss of a clear mind for a moment. "I'm fine now, it's done for the moment."
"I'm confused." May said. "Why don't you take pain relief? I know the prescription stuff can be dangerous but there is the over-the-counter stuff that works fine for headaches."
"It wouldn't work with my kind of headache as they aren't caused by something medication can suppress." Sabrina said. "And with my past, I'm scared to take any medication unless absolutely necessary."
"I still don't get it." May said. "Nor why it is now gone."
"You said you knew of me and my powers." Sabrina said. "At least in part."
"Yeah, a little." May said thinking on what she knew. "You have psychic powers, but I honestly don't recall what they are. I've only heard about you once and that was in relation to you helping Misty with her issues."
"I see then I will give a little explanation, but I do want to focus mostly on Ash and your feelings for him today." Sabrina said. "And I know you're good with them and him, but you are also worried about Kalos."
"That is true." May said. "I take it telepathy is a power of yours."
"It is and it's the one that gives me the most problems thanks to my past abuse of it when I was too young to be messing with powers like that." Sabrina said with a sigh. "I overused it when I was trying to perfect it and my other powers and, in the end, they consumed me. I am an addict who's addicted to my powers and it split my mind and I began doing horrible things. It likely would have destroyed me if not for Ash and his stubborn determination."
"Ash is that." May said with a smile. "Once he has a goal in mind he won't give up on it until he has achieved it."
"So true and that determination saved me because he wanted to win a Marsh Badge with a wild Haunter who then made me laugh and broke the hold my powers had on me." Sabrina said. "It reunited my mind and was what I needed to begin a long path of recovery. I will spare you the full story for now, but it took me 3 years to return to a near normal state, but my telepathy was never the same. I can suppress it, as I am doing now, but I can't shut it off entirely. Usually, it's a buzz but excited groups like that give me a headache as the buzz gets stronger and stronger until I can't take it anymore."
"I see, I think." May said. "I don't fully understand everything, but I can see how that would cause a headache unique to you and how you'd need to leave the area to clear it."
"It's annoying but I can live with it." Sabrina said. "But that is why I needed to clear my head. It's just a bonus to what I really want and that's to talk to you about your worries and offer you my help. I know a thing or two about how emotions and feelings can corrupt the mind. For me it was a mix of pride, arrogance, and a desire to be perfect that led to my abuse of my own powers. I want to make sure that no one else that I could help does that. I am sure you've seen how feelings like love can corrupt a mind."
"Only too well." May said darkly. "Both seeing it in someone who was obsessed with Dawn to the point that it was scary and being on the receiving end of it though in that case I'm not sure it was love. I have made peace with my love for Ash and confessed to him as a way of closure when he was in Hoenn for the Wallace Cup. It's why I could cheer for him in the Indigo Conference and wear that outfit in the finals. It's also why I can come to things like this without a problem even if there will always be a small ache in my heart for what I lost."
"That is good that you have been able to have your closure." Sabrina said. "And it is really mature that you can be like this. That said, you're worried about a long-term adventure with Ash and Dawn."
"Yeah, I am and it's not just for me." May said deciding that it was best to finally speak them allowed to Sabrina. "I'm not the only one who's feelings might be a problem."
May felt she could at least unburden herself to the older woman. She clearly cared for Ash in her own, platonic, way and had singled May out to make sure she was ok for Ash's sake. Add in that Sabrina would be remaining in Kanto and May felt that there was no harm in telling her what she was worried about.
"There's someone else?" Sabrina asked confused. "That I wasn't expecting."
"My friend Serena, she hasn't confirmed it, but I know that she also has a crush on Ash." May said. "It began years ago, before even Misty's that's how long ago they met, and seeing him again at the Grand Festival, as well as hearing about him from me, relit it. She's from Kalos and is also going to be traveling with us. Ash may be dense beyond what should be humanly possible when it comes to this kinda thing, but Dawn is not, especially when it comes to people crushing on Ash."
"I see, that could be a problem." Sabrina said thinking on the situation that was going to happen in Kalos as they walked. "Alas I don't know this Serena and can't help but I will do my best to help you May and that might be useful for Serena as well. Ash once saved my life and gave me a second chance at a normal life, it's something that I will never squander again. I don't want to see him or those who care for him sad or worried because of things that are hard to understand. So, tell me May, what is your biggest worry?"
"That I won't be able to control my feelings around him." May said with a sigh. "I love him. I came to that realization when I saw him in Hoenn for the Wallace Cup. Yes, Dawn and I had a great talk before our battle in the final, a final that was more than what it seemed and really helpful for me even if I did lose to Dawn for the third straight year, and I got to tell Ash how I felt the next day. I thought that would be it but seeing him again for the Grand Festival and watching him in the Indigo Conference reminded me how amazing he is. Then when he asked me to travel with him and Dawn in Kanto, I couldn't say no."
"But you're worried now because you will be around him full time for months and most of that time it will be just the four of you." Sabrina concluded. "And you don't know if you can contain your feelings which might cause strain with Dawn."
"Yes." May said sadly. "I want this so bad; I love traveling with Ash and this is my chance to do so again but I'm also scared that my feelings could mess things up and make Dawn, who is one of my closest friends, not like me. I know she wouldn't but it's a fear that is still there."
"I see." Sabrina said thinking. "But you aren't third wheeling them, you have Serena as well. That is at least better than just the three of you."
"Yes but she's in the same boat." May said. "And she's only met Dawn once but Dawn was suspicious then so it will only be a matter of time before they have a talk."
"That is true, but it also means you have someone to talk to and help you through it as well as helping her." Sabrina said suddenly getting May's attention.
"What do you mean?" May asked.
"One thing I have learned from attending meetings for those with addictions is that having someone in a similar boat or experience to you is really helpful." Sabrina said. "That is because you understand each other and can be one another's support to not relapse. My addiction is different from most, it's why I set up a special program for those with more obsession-based addictions like mine that don't get the attention they deserve. Regardless, the people I know from going to meetings know what it is like to crave your next fix and how it controls you and not you it."
"Huh, I never thought about it like that." May said realizing that while she had no experience with addiction and her issue paled in comparison to what Sabrina had been through, she had a point when it came to supporting someone in a similar situation to yourself. "So, Serena and I can use each other if things get too much with our feelings."
"Precisely and I spent 2 years in Kalos, it's a beautiful region and rather romantic, albeit overblown a little." Sabrina said. "Not that I got to experience any romance as I wasn't in the state of mind for it, but I am sure Ash and Dawn would be really grateful if you gave them the chance to have those moments. They wouldn't even realize, well Ash wouldn't, and you and Serena can use that time to chat or just do something yourselves to take a break from them."
"True that would work." May said thinking on it and how she could use it both to score points with Dawn for being respectful and deal with her worries with someone who'd understand them because she shared them. "Plus, I am mentoring Serena as she competes on the Kalos Contest circuit this year so we can use that time to practice as well."
"A good idea." Sabrina said. "And Serena will appreciate all of it."
"She will, I'll talk with her about it when we get to Lumiose City, I was planning on doing so anyway to confirm it." May said suddenly feeling a lot better about the journey now that she had a plan to deal with her worries that wouldn't cause a problem, so long as Serena helped which May knew that she would. "Thank you, Sabrina, I hadn't thought about that."
"I'm glad to help." Sabrina said with a smile. "If there is anything else you wish to talk about, I am here if you need me."
"I'm not sure if there is." May said thinking on what Sabrina had said. "I've already unburdened myself regarding my feelings and how they came to be, along with the problems of my past relationship that I will not go into as it was very bad, with Misty this time last year but I will consider it. My main worry was traveling Kalos with them."
"I see well if you need any help on the other thing let me know." Sabrina said. "I don't know anything about relationships though so I may not be the best."
"I will, but so long as I don't run into him again it will be good, which I haven't so I think that is a dead issue, at least I hope it is." May said and Sabrina decided not to push it, the girl's tone implied that it was bad. "But I am excited to travel with Ash again. It's what I wanted last year but I had also planned on confessing to him when we were in Kalos. Alas I didn't see Dawn succeeding though I knew of her crush. This is at least part of what I want so I am happy with that even if I can't be with him."
"That is good then and it will be important to have it." Sabrina said. "It won't be smooth because matters of the heart never are."
"It will be." May agreed. "Even if it is painful, I need this I think, and Serena will be helpful as well. If she leaves though, I doubt I'd travel along with just them."
"Probably for the best as that would be uncomfortable." Sabrina said. "Four works but three puts you in an awkward position."
"Yeah, it would be." May agreed. "But that's a bridge to cross in the future and not for at least a year. I will deal with that in time."
"Well, I will be in Kalos later this year." Sabrina said surprising May. "So, if we cross paths while I am there, I would like an update and maybe I'll talk to this Serena as well if she needs it."
"I will let her know you are going to be available but why are you coming to Kalos?" May asked confused. "Shouldn't you be staying in Saffron? You are a gym leader."
"Misty invited me because she's going to the Wallace Cup there." Sabrina explained. "I can't attend due to my condition, I can't handle large crowds, but I haven't been to Kalos in 4 years now and there are important people to me there that I'd like to see again. People who I owe just as much as Ash for helping me when I was at my most fragile and vulnerable in the early days of my recovery. As for the gym, I always take a week off every month to reset my mind so it's ok to leave it in my father's hands. Plus, I haven't had a holiday in a while, so I need this. I'll try and get an update from you if I can."
"I'd like that." May said with a smile. "If we can meet that would be great. The Wallace Cup is being held in Snowbelle City so if you are seeing people nearby it shouldn't be too hard."
"I'll be in Anistar for part of it, so I'll be near Snowbelle." Sabrina said. "Though there is someone who I need to find, and I don't know where he'll be, but I'll email nearer the time to set it up."
"Works for me." May said with a nod interested in who this mystery guy could be but deciding not to ask. "I'll give you my details before you leave."
"Good now we should head back." Sabrina said. "I think that battle is over and that one was way too intense for me given the emotions involved. I should be fine for the rest of them."
"Yeah, those two have a feud unlike any I've ever seen." May said with a chuckle. "Add in Zoey and it gets confusing."
"Zoey?" Sabrina asked as they turned and made their way back to the battlefield. "Who is she again? I don't know most people here."
"Georgia's girlfriend and Dawn's best friend." May said and Sabrina knew at least who she was as she'd heard the emotions from Georgia's significant other pretty clearly during the battle. "The really confusing thing is that Zoey has a crush on Dawn and Iris was the one who got through to Ash and sent him on the path that ended with him and Dawn together so both of them are tied to this mess in some way."
"That is confusing." Sabrina said trying to wrap her head around everything and failing at it. "You guys really have a tangled web of complexity. Somehow the lesbian crush doesn't come as a surprise given everything."
"Yeah, it is a total mess and none of us saw Zoey's crush coming, that one was out of the blue during the Wallace Cup." May said with a laugh. "But at least Zoey was able to move on though for her it was more of a no hope situation which helped. She knew Dawn is straight so she knew that it wouldn't work and thus could find room for another. I'm not so lucky."
"You don't think you can move on from Ash?" Sabrina asked knowing that at least Misty and Anabel had the same problem. "Are your feelings that deep?"
"I tried once." May said sadly. "I had a small crush on Ash after we met but it faded quickly, and I started to fall for a rival coordinator who was wooing me a little. I though my crush on Ash was gone but when he almost died saving me and many others from a sinking Sea Temple, well I knew that the crush hadn't gone, it just wormed its way in deep and it exploded in that moment as I gave him the strength, through a Manaphy, to save the temple."
"That does sound sweet and so like Ash." Sabrina said noting the similarities to how Dawn fell for him, it seemed Ash's brave stupidity had unintended consequences. "Why didn't you pursue it? Just curious."
"I got routed in the semifinals of the Kanto Grand Festival because my opponent, the eventual winner in fact, realized I was inflexible in my style." May said. "Solidad realized that I relied on Ash's style that I'd subconsciously mimicked from 2 years traveling with him. I had a crisis after that and realized I needed to go on my own to find myself and fully grow as a coordinator. As such I went to Johto when he went to Sinnoh. My rivals were all there as well, so it made sense to be on the same circuit though in hindsight I shouldn't have done that."
"And I take it this is where you tried to move on." Sabrina said putting two and two together.
"Yeah, I had always had a small crush on Drew as well and well after seeing Ash in Sinnoh, where I first met Dawn, and thinking that my crush on Ash had weakened, which it hadn't, I was ready to date Drew." May said darkly. "My biggest mistake but one I think I had to make to know that Ash was the one."
"Do you want to talked it?" Sabrina asked hesitantly.
"No, I've already spoken about it with Misty and put it behind me." May said. "It was a bad time and Drew turned out to not be the man I'd fallen for. When he betrayed me before the Johto Grand Festival Final, I ended it and told him to not follow me to Sinnoh where I finally won the Ribbon Cup. He's gone though and that's where he will stay. I never want to see his smug fucking face again."
Sabrina had briefly opened her mind as May was talking and instantly regretted it. May had been thinking of all that Drew had done in their relationship and it had sent Sabrina reeling because of what had happened. She was so proud of May for getting out when she did because it seemed like this Drew character had no control of his insecurities and that was going to get really bad in time, but May had been smart and left him as soon as she realized. Hopefully May was right and would never see him again.
"That is the right attitude." Sabrina said. "And you turned your heart back to Ash who is a great guy."
"Not at first." May said surprising Sabrina. "At first I used my anger at what Drew did to me to fuel my Sinnoh run but it only took me so far. I came back to Johto for the Wallace Cup and saw Dawn again as she'd come from Unova to compete in it. Seeing her again and catching up with her ended my anger, and I was happy again. Add in that she'd just seen Ash and was, well, gushing over him like a schoolgirl with a crush, which she was minus the schoolgirl part, and I couldn't help but be remined of him. My own feelings for Ash returned again and I saw just how amazing he was and how foolish I had been."
"And that's when you embraced it." Sabrina said realizing. "You finally accepted your feelings for Ash."
"Fully for the first time ever." May said with a sad smile. "I used it to win my last ribbon and then a Grand Festival at last. Course I had my heart broken at this party last year, but Misty saw me through the worst of it and seeing them again in Hoenn, along with my talk with Dawn and confession to Ash, finally ensured I was comfortable with my loss. Sorry, didn't mean to actually tell you that story."
"It's ok, I have heard others' about Ash, so it is interesting seeing how it happens." Sabrina said. "And it feels good to talk about it even if it hurts a little."
"That it does." May said before asking something she'd been curious about since Sabrina had mentioned finding a specific guy in Kalos. "What about you Sabrina? Anyone special?"
"Not at the moment though I am still trying to decide how I feel about a guy I know who is special to me." Sabrina said with a smile. "He was my first friend ever and he helped me even if he didn't realize it at the time when we met in Kalos, but I haven't seen him in years, and he may have changed. We email a lot but that only goes so far. He seems happy now that his main goal is done and he's on a new mission that he's excited about, so I hope to see him when I come to Kalos and see what is going on. There is something else holding me back."
"What?" May asked.
"I'm scared of sex." Sabrina admitted surprising May. "Terrified in fact."
"Scared of sex?" May asked confused. "I'll admit I'm a virgin, but I am not scared of it, I just only want it with Ash and that won't happen. Dawn gets to enjoy that, I know they've done it, and only her as it should be. It's one of the many things I am jealous of Dawn for."
"Oh, I'm still a virgin as well and I've actually never been kissed either." Sabrina said shocking May with the latter given Sabrina's age. "I'm scared of it the same way I'm scared of alcohol, medication and gambling, hence why I never go to Celadon City as it is the center of the last one in Kanto. They are all highly addictive and if my past is anything to go on, there is a high chance that I have a highly addictive personality. I mean I was addicted to my own power, technically still am as your never cured of addition just in recovery, so I know I could fall victim to another addiction."
"I see." May said sorta understanding it but as she'd never experienced it she couldn't fully do so. "But surely if you're careful about it."
"I can do it if I am careful and the person is right, but I am taking this at my own pace as first I need to know if I feelings for him or not." Sabrina said. "It's for the best, trust me. You never saw me at my worst, but Ash, Misty and Brock did. They will tell you how bad I was when my powers had full control of me. Then you'd understand why I am cautious about addictive things."
"I take it that it was bad." May said.
"I turned Misty and Brock, as well as my own mother, into dolls and began talking through a doll I had that I made come to life and was always with me." Sabrina said causing May to shudder visibly at that, it sounded bad alright. "Yeah, transmutation is my strongest power, and the one that is the most corruptive and dangerous of the three abilities I have. I never use it again no matter what and I will never forgive myself for what I've done. I've made up with my mom and Misty so I guess I will do so with Brock this year when I have time."
"I don't have words for that." May said. "I can't imagine any of it."
"Just be glad you met me now and not then but let's not dwell on that." Sabrina said as the battlefield came within earshot and it sounded like Brock and Cilan were having a battle. "I have long since come to terms with and owned my past actions. I will never forget it; nor will I forgive myself for what I've done. I have more to atone for than I will ever be able to, but I will do what I can and being open about it so that others don't make the same mistakes I did is part of it. As is helping people."
"I see well I thank you for helping me today." May said smiling at Sabrina. "You did a lot, and I am finally ready to fully embrace the coming year and have a lot of fun now that I have a plan and that's because of you. I'll update you when I see you in Kalos if I see you that is."
"That makes me happy that I can help you." Sabrina said smiling back as she dropped her suppression and felt the buzz return, stronger than before as she was mentally weaker at the moment and knowing she'd have to lie down when the battles were over. "Now let's enjoy some battles again."
"Sounds good." May said as they rejoined the group watching the current battle.
No one seemed to have missed them which was good. Sabrina just smiled as May went over to rejoin Ash, Dawn, and Max to watch the battle between Brock's Croagunk and Cilan's Smeargle. Sabrina just joined Anabel and Lucy, Brock's inexplicable fiancée, and Anabel's fellow Frontier Brain, to watch the odd connoisseur from Unova use the equally odd moves that his Smeargle knew to frustrate Brock.
It had been a productive chat with May and Sabrina was glad she'd helped the girl find a plan for her year with Ash and Dawn in Kalos. Hopefully when she got an update May would be even better but for now she didn't need to focus on May anymore, there was someone else who Sabrina knew she'd be helping soon.
Sabrina's eyes fell on a girl with short dark green hair and a slightly lighter shirt watching the battle off to the side and not talking to anyone about it. She knew that the girl was called Angie and that she was the 4th girl at the party who had a crush on Ash but lost him to Dawn.
She would be next on Sabrina's help list but only when she reached Saffron City for a gym battle as apparently she was challenging gyms in Kanto this year so Sabrina could Angie come to her. That would be when Sabrina offered to help her. She just had to wait though for the right time, so Sabrina just got into watching the battle and enjoying her time with her friends.
So, it is pure coincidence that this is coming out right after Part XCIX and the events at the end of that Part. If I hadn't gotten sick and been delayed with my edits it probably wouldn't have worked like this, but I think it really works so a silver lining to the delay. This is also the last chapter that comes out in a predictable order as it takes place before Ash gets to Kalos, all chapters from this point will be released when they fit with the main timeline or as close as possible. That means that it will be a while before the Angie chapters, which will also be the last grouping for one character in this series as all 3 will occur around the same time, but they will be released during the Shalour arc of Winning as that is roughly when Angie will be in Saffron. Other than that, there isn't much more to say here so I will end this note now. As always, given the content all I will do is ask that if you want to read more that you favorite or follow it and let me know what you think of it in your reviews or PMs to me. Until next time.
Stringdog