May turned and looked behind her, surprised to see a teen with brown hair and a girl with bright orange hair running towards them. She was confident she had never seen either of them before, but the pace and determination with which they were running at her made her a bit cautious.

"Huh...?" she wondered aloud. Ash meanwhile gasped in shock. They had grown up a bit over the last few months like everyone else and were sporting new outfits, but he'd know their faces anywhere. They had found him. They had finally found him.

"Piiiiiiiiika!" he yelled, waving at them happily as they both ran up to him and May. She looked at him in shock. It was like…like he knew them?

"That's Ash alright!" the tall one grinned. He seemed friendly enough at first glance to May, but the girl behind him was already visibly angry. And it seemed all her attention was focused on May and Pikachu. May bit her lower lip and held Ash a little closer to her body in an effort to put some distance between him and the newcomers.

"W-What's going on...?" she asked him. He smiled up at her and happily waved his arms.

"Pi Pikachu! ChuPika Pika!" he explained.

"You...know these people...?" she questioned.

"Pika!" he nodded. Still unsure about the whole situation, May looked at the two of them with uncertainty as she took a step back.

"...Who are you guys...?" she asked.

"Sorry for the abrupt holler." The taller one began. "My name Brock and this is-"

"Give Ash back!" the girl suddenly yelled at May, causing the new trainer to take another step back in fear.

"Misty..." Brock sighed. Ash drooped his ears at Misty's hostile tone.

"PikachuPi..." he said, never imagining she'd be so hostile towards May. He knew they must've been worried sick about him since he saw them last, but angry? That he didn't expect. Suddenly Torchic's concerns from the day before began to creep back into his mind.

"W-What are you talking about?!" May demanded. Brock stepped between the two girls, hoping to stop the hostility between them before it got any worse.

"My name is Brock and this is Misty. And what she is trying to say is that a couple of months ago we lost our friend in Johto after an incident with Poachers...And that's him in your arms..." he explained.

"...N-No...you're wrong...he's wild...he doesn't belong to anyone..." May countered.

"Ch-chuPika..." Ash said sadly, looking up at her. May looked back at him, shocked that he didn't seem to be denying what Brock was saying.

"No...you told me you didn't have a trainer..." she reminded him. Ash shook his head. He needed to help her understand this time. No more backing out.

"Pi. Pi Pikachu...PikaPi..." he began, taking off his hat and slowly lifting it up to her. May frantically shook her head, refusing to believe it. In her eyes, her fears about someone from Kanto coming to take him away from her were coming true. And she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't. He meant so much to her and he had promised to stay with her.

"N-No...you can't be theirs…"

"Pika!" he tried, shaking his head frantically and nuzzling against her. "Pi Pikachu. PikachuPi Pikachu...Pi…" he tried again. "Oh how do I explain that while I don't have a trainer they're telling the truth..?" he wondered sadly. His gaze looked down, clear conflicted feelings on his face.

"We don't want to be any trouble..." Brock stepped in, still hoping to calm things down. "We've just been really worried about Ash...we're not trying to take him from you but-"

"You're wrong...!" May yelled as she started to cry. "This is Pikachu...! You got the wrong Pokemon...!"

"Ch-ChuPika!" Ash whimpered, holding her hand in his paw as she cried.

"H-hey, it's okay we just-" Brock tried, but he spotted Misty clearly fuming out of the corner of his eye. The redhead tightened a fist at her side and it didn't take Ash's Pokemon senses or Brock's knowledge about her to know that she was reaching a breaking point. They had finally found him alive after all this time and the only thing keeping them apart now? Another girl. Ash tried desperately to get May to calm down and listen.

"ChuPika..." he whimpered as he teared up as well. "May it's okay I'm not leaving you..." May continued to cry and held him ever closer to her body.

"Go away...leave us alone..." she cried.

"Pika!" Ash tried, holding onto her tightly. He had to find a way to calm the situation down before things got worse. "Pikaaaa..."

"Please just wait a moment." Brock tried again. "We don't want any trouble-"

"I said go away!" May yelled. "He promised to stay with me! I won't let you take him away from me!" Ash shuddered in a panic, sensing a growing storm as he looked between May and Misty. There had to be a way to calm this down before-

"That's it! I've had it!" Misty finally erupted.

"PikachuPi-" Ash gasped, but he was cut off when Misty yanked him out of May's grip in one quick motion.

"Ack!" May yelped, stumbling back from the sudden motion. Ash gasped in shock and began to struggle in Misty's arms.

"Misty!" Brock yelled.

"Pik!" Ash protested.

"No!" May panicked, making a move to try and grab Ash back. But Misty, anticipating the move, grabbed one of her own pokeballs and held it out towards May as a threat.

"I'll wipe the floor with you if you don't back off." She warned the young trainer. Ash struggled against Misty's hold in an absolute panic. Everything he feared about his two worlds coming together was happening. He had to do something! He watched as May backed away from Misty in fear, tears still flowing down her cheeks as Misty kept her threat firm. "I know you're just a rookie. Don't make me show you the power of a Gym Leader."

"Pika!" Ash yelled. He had no choice anymore. He loved Misty and Brock, but he couldn't allow them to threaten May like that. He tightly shut his eyes and used ThunderShock directly on Misty. She screamed out in pain and loosened her grip on Ash. Taking the opportunity, he leapt out of her arms and jumped back into May's. Wasting no time, the brunette caught him and took off running into the forest, not even bothering to stop for her bike. She ran as fast as she could until the groups completely lost sight of each other.

May ran through the forest until she found her way to a nearby lake where she finally collapsed on the ground after nearly an hour. Both she and Ash were in tears as they lay on the ground. Ash hid his face under his hat as he cried, ashamed that he had been left with no choice but to attack one of his best friends. May just cried, the weight of everything that just happened nearly too much for her. Ash's gaze shifted to her through his tears and he could see the hurt and confusion on her face.

"Ch-chuPika…" he whimpered. Even though there was no way she could've known what was going on, he knew that it was partly his fault. If he had just tried harder to explain, maybe he could have found a way. But…he had just gotten so used to being with her like this. He liked the time they had shared together and all the time they had spent helping each other grow. But now his old life and his new one were colliding, and violently at that. It was time for him to finally be honest with her. Completely honest.

"I just wanted to save you..." he cried. May's eyes widened as his words came through in her language, perfectly coherent to her ears.

"W...What...?" she gasped. Ash continued to cry, completely unaware that she had heard him. "Did you just...speak...?"

"P-Pi..?" he sniffled, looking at her in confusion.

"You said...you wanted to save me...?" she clarified. Ash's eyes widened. That was exactly what he had said. Was it possible that…telling her the truth was strengthening their bond? That if he opened himself up to her completely…they'd finally be able to bridge that gap? He had to at least try.

"Pikachu..." he nodded.

"H-How did you...?"

"Pi Pika…" he paused to think for a moment. How best to explain the story to her? Despite everything that had transpired just over an hour ago, he suddenly realized that no one had mentioned anything about him being human to her. Only that they had lost him and they were his friends. Maybe if he could convince her that Misty and Brock were indeed his friends, the rest would be easier to believe.

"Now I can't understand what you're saying...why?" she wondered aloud. Deciding to start small so he didn't scare her away, he started drawing in the dirt with his tail.

"When a human and Pokemon are close enough they can understand each other" he wrote out.

"Really...?" May asked after reading his message. Ash simply sniffled and nodded. May's eyes widened as she looked at him in shock suddenly. "Wait...you can spell...and write...?"

"Pi…" he nodded again.

"H-How...? How is that possible…?" Ash could see the panic and fear in her eyes at this revelation. Despite how little she knew about Pokemon, she knew that no normal Pokemon should've been able to write a message like that. Maybe that wasn't the best approach…? He looked down at the ground, unable to force himself to say anything out of fear that it would be the wrong thing. He was clearly torn and upset as he began to tear up again. Ash threw his hat off his head as he cried. May knew him well enough to know how much it was hurting him. Whatever he was holding onto inside, it was eating him alive. "Pikachu..."

"PikachuPi..." he whimpered, crying still. May wiped away her own tears before gently running her thumbs along his cheeks to clear his. Ash sniffled and hugged her leg.

"What do we do...?" she whispered.

"Pi-Pi-PikachuPi..." Ash sniffled. May had heard him say that phrase before. Several times since they had met those two people. "PikachuPi..."

"I don't understand...are you talking about one of them…?" he wiped tears from his eyes and looked back down at the ground before giving her a short nod. "Oh…"

"Pikachu…" he whimpered in response.

"I don't know what to do anymore...this was supposed to be a fun trip..." she sighed. Ash knew that she was right. He promised himself that he'd make her journey an amazing one. But partly because of his secrets, things had gone horribly off course. He hugged her leg tighter, trying to apologize for his part in all this. She gently picked him up and the two shared a tight embrace for several minutes.

"Pi Pikachu…"

"Oh, Pikachu..." she whispered.

"...ChuPika..." he said, looking up at her. He knew she needed to know the truth. But neither of them were in any kind of shape to have such an important conversation right now. They were exhausted, emotional, and just needed time to cool down. After a good night's sleep, first thing in the morning, he would tell her. For now, she needed her best friend to cheer her up. And that was him. He licked her cheek ever so gently and snuggled deeper into her arms.

"Pikachu..." she whispered.

"Pika..." he purred. She rested her cheek against the fur on his head. Even though she was still very confused about just what had happened that day, his presence still had a calming effect on her, just as it always had. Her breathing steadied as she calmed down. Ash could sense her calm nature returning and it made him calmer too, smiling ever so softly.

"...So what happens now?" she asked quietly. Ash lifted his head from her shoulder and pointed at the now setting sun before looking back at her, yawning to get his point across. "You're right...I think we've had enough excitement for one day...let's stay here for the night..."

"Pi pika…" he agreed. With his stamp of approval, May removed her pack from her waist and began setting up camp for them.

Meanwhile, still by May's bike, Brock and Misty were dealing with problems of their own. After Ash's attack had finally stopped, Misty had fallen back onto the ground with a few wounds and burns on her skin. Brock had begun treating her wounds immediately after May had run off. He was just finishing up the last of them as Misty tried to rub the pain out of her head.

"Ooww..." she groaned.

"Alright...that's the last of it..." Brock sighed, putting away his first aid kit.

"Thanks..."

"...Hate to say it...but I did tell you this would happen..." he commented, earning him a glare from Misty.

"And I told you about what would happen to him if he was captured in a pokeball...it's obviously brainwashed him..." she spat back.

"No Misty. That's not true and you know it. The longer you act like this the further you'll just push him away..." he countered.

"He wouldn't act this way unless something was wrong with him!" she insisted. Brock glared at her, finally having enough of her paranoia.

"MISTY!" he yelled. Misty stumbled back in surprise, never hearing such a serious tone come from Brock before. But Brock had given her enough leeway over these past months. She needed some straight talk and she needed it now.

"Brock I-"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! He hasn't seen us in months but instead of letting him be happy to see us, you were hostile right off the bat and demanded that someone he's had three months to befriend, and he KNOWS doesn't understand the situation hand him over, then THREATENED her when she had every reason to be upset, AND is a beginner! Imagine if someone came on you demanding Togepi the same way! Or think back to ASH when Team Rocket first started coming after Pikachu! As far as she knows you're no different from them! Ash didn't want to zap you, but you went and forced him into a position that nobody should ever be in, without even thinking about how he must be feeling! You're so caught up in what you want you're not thinking about how he's feeling at all!" Brock yelled.

"I-I…" she tried to answer, but he wasn't done.

"...The same worry and heartbreak you're feeling now...or what he'll feel when he finds out about Pikachu...that's what she'd feel the moment you took him from her...and he understood that...if he didn't miss us he never would have called the professor when he got the opportunity...he knows we're worried...but he also knows he can't just ditch his friend, who we've already been told was very attached to him..." he continued, a bit gentler as he did.

"Like a leech..." Misty muttered under her breath.

"Misty. That's enough...you're being selfish..." he sighed, but now it was her turn to fire back.

"Why shouldn't I be?! No one else seems to care what I feel!" she yelled as tears brimmed in her eyes. With another sigh, Brock placed his hands on her shoulders in one more attempt to calm her.

"Misty...that's not true. And you know it...I care and he definitely cares...but if you really love him, then you need to stop looking at this only through your eyes..." he reminded her. Misty lowered her head down and sniffled softly. Despite the fact that she'd never tell him directly, his words had gotten through to her. As much as she wanted to, and still intended to, tell him how much he meant to her, she hadn't been even being a good friend. To him or to Brock. She had allowed her desire to save him to override everything and turn her into something she wasn't.

"I…I've made a real mess of this…" she realized.

"But there's still time to fix it. We just have to find them again and try again." He gave her a small smile.

"Alright…" she nodded. Brock smiled, happy that he had finally gotten through to her.

"Besides, it probably hurt him more to shock you than it did getting shocked..." he chuckled.

"...Speak for yourself..." she muttered a bit. Brock put a hand on her shoulder with one more smile and the two headed off to find their friend once again.

To be Continued...