As the morning finally began to arrive, the sun's rays found their way into May's bedroom through the closed curtain. They shone on her face, rousing her gently as she opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to remember where exactly she was, and the realization was bittersweet. She missed her home and still wanted to return, but there was also some excitement and wonder about exploring this new world with Ash. She slid out of bed and walked over to her window. She opened it and got her first look at the modern city in the light of day. The streets below are bustling with all kinds of different people and Pokémon, going about their lives without a care in the world. The view was just breathtaking to the ancient Princess.

"Wow..." she whispered. She couldn't help but smile softly at them all. Leaving her window open, she headed off into the on-suite bathroom and freshened herself up, changing into some fresh clothes. Just as she finished tying her bandana back around her head, she heard a knock at her door. "It's open." She called. The door opened and Ash entered, also dressed and ready to go. The sight of him made May's smile widen as she attempted to curtsy with her little skirt. "Good morning Sir Ash."

"Good morning May." He greeted.

"I take it we are ready to depart?" she asked.

"If you are." He replied. May nodded with a smile as she snapped the clip on her fanny pack, letting it lay across her waist as Ash gave her a small smile. "Do you want to retrieve your dress?"

"Oh right! Nurse Joy had it cleaned for me overnight. I can pick it up on our way out." She commented. Ash nodded and took the lead for them. May smiled and followed him to the lobby. After a quick scan of the room, Ash spotted Nurse Joy headed over to them with a cheery smile.

"Good morning. Heading out you two?" she questioned them.

"We are. We're going to continue on to Lavaridge Town and hope we can find a way for her to get back home along the way." Ash explained. Joy nodded in understanding and then handed May her neatly folded dress, now freshly cleaned.

"Here you are, dear. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you, Princess." She apologized.

"You've done more than enough for me Nurse Joy." May said politely as she accepted her dress and put it away in her pack. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome. I hope you can find your way home." Nurse Joy smiled.

"Thank you." May smiled back. Ash gave the two a soft smile before he spoke up again.

"Shall we May?" The young girl nodded and the two headed out of the Center, heading north on Route 111 towards Mt. Chimney.

The two travelers chatted amongst themselves as they walked. They both were surprised at how easy it was to talk to the other. It didn't seem like they were worlds apart, in fact, it was as easy as if they had known each other for years. Ash's attention was grabbed away from the conversation when they came back to the entrance to the Desert Resort. May notice his shift in attention, and upon following his gaze she understood why. Neither one could see the Mirage Tower right now, but they were both aware that could change in the blink of an eye.

"I know it's a long shot but…do you want to try the tower..?" Ash asked. May considered it for a moment but quickly decided against taking a one-in-a-million chance that it would bring her back home.

"...Only as a last resort...I don't want you to end up in this situation as well." She replied.

"I understand...I'd feel the same way in your shoes." He agreed.

"I'd rather hope that there is another way for me to get home out there and try to find it. If you don't mind me tagging along for a while of course." She wondered.

"Of course not May. You're more than welcome to stay with me as long as you want." He said without hesitation. May smiled softly as a blush crossed her cheeks.

"Thank you, Sir Ash." She replied softly. Ash smiled back and directed her back down the path to their left, which soon became Route 112. The two walked side by side towards the volcano as they continued their conversation without missing a beat.

"So I know this is probably too soon to ask, but how are you doing with all this?" he wondered.

"Well…to be honest, my thoughts and feelings are kinda all over the place. On the one hand, I really want to go home and back to my family…but on the other hand, everything here is so new...I mean with literally every step I see something I've never even imagined before. It's just...all so amazing..." she explained.

"Really..?" Ash wondered, surprised to hear her more upbeat attitude about her situation. He wasn't sure he'd be able to have such a positive outlook if he were in her position. May smiled at him and nodded in response to his question as he continued to admire her. He had to admit, there was something mesmerizing about the positivity in the air around her. Only when he noticed that she was looking at him curiously did he realize that he had been staring. He quickly looked away from her as a blush formed across his cheeks.

"Are you ok Sir Ash?"

"I'm fine honest." He quickly answered. "Well...are you in a hurry to get back home then?"

"Well…I guess not...if we find a stable way to return me home, I could return to the same point I left. It could be as though I never left in the first place." She pointed out.

"I suppose so." Ash acknowledged.

"So if that's the case, I don't see a reason to not try and enjoy myself while I'm here." May concluded. Ash nodded in understanding as they continued their walk and the topic changed again. "May I know more about you Sir Ash?"

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Maybe...your family?"

"Well...It's just me and my Mom...my Dad left when I was very little. I don't honestly remember much about him." He explained.

"Oh...I-I'm very sorry..." May backed down, worried she had offended in some way. Ash just shook his head and shrugged.

"It was so long ago I don't really care anymore..." he assured her.

"I hope I haven't upset you...I just find it hard to believe that someone such as you would come from a broken home..." she commented.

"Not at all." Ash casually responded with a shake of the head.

"Do you...see your mother often?" she wondered.

"As often as I can. I still call her from time to time on the road." He answered.

"Then I gather you spend a lot of time on the road?" she asked.

"Sure do." Ash nodded.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Just over ten years now."

"Amazing..."

"You think so?" he raised an eyebrow in surprise as May nodded.

"Getting to travel all over the world and experience adventure alongside other people and Pokémon...it sounds wonderful." She continued. Ash gave a small smile as he listed to her. "Such things were not common in my time."

"Well, then I'm glad I could share it with you while you're here." He responded. May smiled softly and Ash smiled back, the two sharing a comfortable silence for a few moments before May spoke up again.

"It looks like only the volcano is ahead. Do you know which way we need to go to find Lavaridge Town?" she wondered

"I think that's where it gets a little complicated." He answered as he pulled a map out of his bag. May curiously looked over his shoulder as he found their place on the map. "Yup. We need to take the cable car up the volcano, then take the Jagged Pass back down the other side."

"What's a cable car?" May wondered.

"Well, it's something that's made to carry people up mountainsides. It's definitely safer than trying to climb it on our own." Ash explained.

"Sounds like fun." she smiled. He smiled back at her as her enthusiasm began to grow. "Let's go there right away!"

"O-okay…" he replied as a bead of sweat rolled down the back of his head, surprised by her outburst. She grabbed his hand and started running towards the volcano. "Wh-whoa!" May ran excitedly down the path Ash indicated on his map with Ash's hand firmly gripped in her own. Ash was barely keeping up as she ran. Her burst of energy and enthusiasm had clearly caught him off guard. She didn't stop running until they arrived at the base of the volcano, where just ahead there was a cable car station.

"Is that it?" May asked, pointing to the station. Ash took a second to catch his breath before he answered her question.

"Uh-huh..." he nodded. May smiled upon receiving the confirmation and ran ahead towards the station. "Whoa! May!" he called as he ran after her. She ran inside excitedly and looked around at all the technology and maps of the volcano.

"Wow...!" she exclaimed. Ash finally caught up with her and placed his hands on his knees, panting completely exhausted, which May only now just seemed to notice.

"Sir Ash-"

"Hello? May I help you two?" the man behind the counter asked.

"Can we...get a ride…?" Ash panted as he regained control over his breathing.

"Yes of course. Two tickets?" he confirmed. Ash nodded as the man rang up the two tickets on his computer. "$10 please." Ash handed the money over to him as May's eyes widened as she watched the money exchange hands. She had never even considered the idea that she didn't have any funds to help pay for their trip. Suddenly feeling extremely guilty, she looked at him, drawing his attention.

"S-Sir Ash I..."

"What's wrong?" he wondered. May glanced at the money that he handed over and then looked back up at him.

"...I have no way to repay you..." she whispered. Realizing what she was worried about, Ash smiled softly and waved her concerns away with his hand.

"Don't worry about it. It's no big deal." He assured her.

"But...I couldn't possibly expect you to pay for me for the entire time we're together..." she pointed out.

"Well...we'll get to that when we get to it. Just please don't worry about it." He insisted.

"Sir Ash..." she whispered. The way she said his new title and the look on her face made Ash's face turn slightly red.

"That still makes me blush..." he mumbled. The man behind the desk handed Ash the tickets and he quickly accepted in an attempt to hide his blush from May. "Thank you, sir."

"My pleasure. The cable car will leave in just a few minutes." The man informed them.

"Sir Ash?" May tried to get his attention.

"Y-yeah..?" he answered.

"Are you ok?" May asked as she looked at him with concern in her eyes. Once again, the look on her face made him blush as he quickly tried to cover his fluster.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine. We should...get in the car." He suggested.

"Ok..." she agreed. Ash led her down the platform to the cable car and the two sat down inside. As they waited for the car to start moving, May's gaze drifted to the windows as she looked outside curiously. Ash meanwhile was sweating bullets as he tried to regain his composure and banish his blush. On his shoulder, Pikachu couldn't help but smirk a little at his trainer. You didn't need his Pokémon level senses to see where Ash's head was at when it came to his new friend. Suddenly the cable car lurched a little and began to move, which startled May. She gasped and gripped onto Ash's arm, making the young man's blush grow deeper.

"I-It's ok…" he stammered.

"I-Is that normal...?" she asked.

"Yeah…" he nodded. May sighed in relief and started looking back out the window again, but she kept her grip on his arm, only worsening his nerves and blush. He started mentally kicking himself for being so obvious and then he noticed the look on Pikachu's face. "What are you smirking at..?"

"I think you know." Pikachu whispered, glancing from him to May, then back to him again. Another smirk crossed the electric mouse's face and Ash groaned a little.

"Pikachu..." he grumbled under his breath.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Pikachu pointed out as he gave his friend a small nudge.

"Cut it out Pikachu." Ash warned, growing slightly annoyed. Pikachu still smiled at him and Ash sighed to himself.

"Oh wow!" May gasped as she got up from her seat and ran to the window, looking outside with wonder in her eyes. Ash watched as the car rose higher and she looked out at the landscape below. A small smile crossed his face as he watched her.

"Ever been this high up?" he inquired. May shook her head as she continued to look outside in awe, widening Ash's smile.

"Everything looks so...beautiful..." she smiled. She turned her head towards him and continued. "Have you been to all these places?"

"Not all of them." Ash said as he shook his head.

"Which ones have you been to?" she wondered. Ash got up and walked over to her side, pointing out different towns and cities he's visited so far. May smiled as the two started comparing their stories about the cities from their different times. They both were smiling and laughing when all of a sudden the cable car abruptly stopped on the line, jarring them both a bit. "Eek!" May yelped as the jerking motion made her stumble. Ash quickly caught her in his arms, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Careful. You ok?" he asked. May gave a small nod and held onto him as he helped steady her back onto her feet.

"Was that supposed to happen?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure…" he admitted. May looked back outside, noticing that the top of the mountain was still ahead of them.

"We're not at the top yet…" she noted. Her gaze shifted to the other cable cars outside. "And they've all stopped too..."

"Weird..." Ash agreed as he scratched the back of his head, trying to come up with an explanation. As she waited for him, May's gaze shifted again and she looked out the other window, noticing something.

"Um...Sir Ash?" she tried to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"What is that?" May asked, pointing out a window. Ash looked up and saw a red helicopter fly by them, heading for the top of the volcano.

"That's a helicopter-" he stopped short as he recognized the logo on the side. It looked like a red and black mountain in the shape of an M. "Shoot..."

"What's wrong?" May questioned him, noticing the change in his tone.

"We've got trouble..." he warned her.

"We do...? What trouble?" she asked.

"The people in that helicopter are from Team Magma. A group of criminals..." he explained.

"Criminals…? As in bandits...?" she gulped.

"Yeah…yeah I guess you could say that…" he nodded.

"What do we do?"

"Maybe if we could get a better look outside…"

"Up there." Pikachu piped up, pointing to a maintenance hatch on the roof.

"Good eye Pikachu." Ash said. He stood on one of the seats and forced the hatch open.

"Be careful Sir Ash..." May cautioned. He nodded to her and hoisted himself up onto the roof of their cable car. Pikachu moved from his shoulder to his head to get more height and spotted the helicopter again.

"Over there!" Pikachu yelled as he pointed to a ridge behind which they could see the helicopter landing. Ash grit his teeth, knowing that whatever those goons had in mind, it wasn't going to be good for anyone. He had run into them a few times since he had come to Hoenn, and it never ended well.

"Sir Ash...?" May suddenly called him from the inside of the car.

"Yeah?" Ash called back.

"There's another one." She informed him as she pointed out the window in the other direction. Ash followed her direction just in time to see a blue helicopter flying towards the same destination. On the side of the new helicopter was a different logo, this one was blue and white and resembled an A made out of bones.

"Drat..." he grumbled as he recognized the newcomers as well.

"What's going on...?" May asked.

"That's Team Aqua...Team Magma's rival group..." he explained.

"Oh no…What do we do...?" she questioned him.

"Well…first we've gotta get off of this thing..." he answered. May's eyes widened in surprise as her gaze drifted down towards the ground, several stories below them.

"H-How...?" she gulped.

"I think the only option is if we climb across the cable to that tower..." he offered, pointing towards one a few feet away from their car.

"A-Across the cable...?" May stammered.

"I know it's scary…but I'm not sure there's any other option." He admitted. May gulped and trembled as Ash weighed his options. He definitely didn't want to bring her anywhere near those two teams. But at the same time, he found the idea of leaving her alone in the car just as unpleasant. Ultimately he decided that if a fight did break out, he'd want to be able to make sure she was safe. So he leaned his upper body back inside and stretched his hand out to her, drawing her attention.

"Sir Ash…?"

"I've got you…I won't let you fall." He promised her. May hesitated for a moment before she held onto his hand tightly.

"O-Ok..." she conceded. Ash pulled her up through the hatch and onto the roof. May gulped as she looked at the ground far below them again.

"Just don't look down..." he told her. She gave a small and nervous nod and fixed her gaze onto him to keep herself calm. "Pikachu, can you test it first?"

"Yeah." Pikachu nodded. He hopped off Ash's head and tapped the cable with his tail, testing the cable for any electricity. "No electricity. Power must be off."

"Alright." Ash nodded. "Go on ahead and we'll follow you."

"Be careful." Pikachu nodded as he took the lead, carefully walking across the cable towards the tower. Ash turned his attention back to May.

"Just keep your eyes on me." He reminded her.

"O-Ok…" May nodded as she kept her gaze locked on him. Keeping a firm grip on her hand, Ash carefully started walking out onto the cable and May slowly followed him. She tried not to look down, but she was still very aware of the massive drop below her and she whimpered.

"It's okay..." Ash assured her. She gripped his hand tightly as they continued along the cable slowly.

"H-How much further...?"

"We're almost there." May kept her eyes on him as they walked the last few feet across to the tower. Ash gripped onto the tower with his free hand and pulled her onto the platform. May quickly wrapped her arms around his chest tightly, trying to keep herself from crying. Ash's entire face turned bright red with a blush as he felt her body pressed against his. Her body trembled a little and Ash gently wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her back to soothe her. "Hey...You're okay now..."

"Y-You weren't scared...?" she asked.

"Of course I was…I'd be crazy if I wasn't...but I knew we'd be ok." he gave her a small smile. The two locked eyes for a brief moment and a shared blush lit up their cheeks.

"...Thank you Sir Ash..." she smiled a little.

"No problem." He smiled back.

"Now we...climb down?" she asked. Ash nodded and May took a deep breath to find some more bravery. "Ok..."

"Just stay close." Ash reminded her. Holding her to his chest, he carefully maneuvered them to the edge of the platform. They slowly began to climb down, watching their footing carefully. After a few minutes, the two were close enough to the ground and they hopped off. May sighed in relief and Ash stretched out his arms and hands from the climb.

"That was scary..." she commented.

"Don't worry. It's over now..." he responded. May's eyes drifted towards the other cars full of people still stranded above them.

"But what about the other people up there? We can't just leave them stuck." She told him.

"We have to stop Team Aqua and Magma first. I have a feeling that they're the reason the cars are stuck." He informed her.

"But how do we stop them?" she asked.

"I…I'm sure we'll find out when we get there." He declared. May gave a nervous nod as Ash again took her hand. "Come on." Ash took the lead and the two started heading to the summit of the volcano.

To be Continued...