When the next morning's light finally began to creep into the barracks, it found Ash and Akari laying together in her bed. Neither one was wearing a thing any longer and the mess of Akari's sheets that were left over left little to the imagination. Ash was the first to stir, slowly opening his eyes when the new sunlight crossed his face. He blinked a few times to adjust to the change in lighting and clear his head. He slowly looked around the room as he tried to remember what happened the night before. It was all just a big blur at the moment, but he could tell that these weren't his barracks. Finally, he looked down at himself and saw not only his lack of clothes but also Akari sleeping in his arms. The sight of her suddenly triggered his memory and he started to remember what he did with her the night before. Extreme guilt suddenly hit him like a truck as he watched her sleep. He knew he used her and her feelings just to bury the pain he was feeling over May's possible death. He didn't love her any more now than before, but he was so desperate for a distraction that he let himself give in to her advances.
"Oh no…" he whispered to himself, absolutely horrified by his actions. His voice seemed to be enough to make Akari stir. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him, giving him a very happy smile.
"Good morning..." she whispered before pulling him into another kiss. His eyes widened as a blush crosses his cheeks. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and started to battle his tongue. But Ash couldn't handle the guilt and pulled away abruptly, surprising Akari. "Ash...?"
"I...I'm sorry..." he said. He got up and quickly put his clothes back on before running outside. He ran back to his barracks and quickly closed his door before putting his head in his hands. How could he have let himself betray May that way and use Akari? How had he let himself sink so low? He felt another anxiety attack like the one before coming on, but this time he stopped himself, trying to think as rationally as possible before he did something else stupid and tried to talk himself down. "I only did that...because I miss May…"
"Mm…" Pikachu mumbled nearby, Ash's voice having seemingly woken him up. Ash looked at his partner as Pikachu slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to be surprised to see Ash awake and dressed already and tilted his head curiously.
"Ash…? What's going on…?" he asked.
"I-I…" he stammered, trying to think of how he can explain. Biting his lower lip, he knew he had to come clean to his best friend or he'd never be able to control this. "I…I slept with Akari…"
"You what?!" Pikachu gasped.
"I-I was hurting so much thinking about May I just…I lost my head…I had to make the pain stop…even if it was just for a little while…" he said with guilt running through his voice.
"Ash…"
"I know it was wrong…and I wish to Arceus I could take it back…" his own comment suddenly made him remember that there was one being who could tell him the truth about what happened to May. "Arceus..."
"What…?" Pikachu asked, but Ash ignored him as he retreated back into his own thoughts again. He remembered what Arceus told him before coming to Hisui. That He couldn't talk with him again until the mission was complete.
"I need to complete the mission to talk to him. He'll know for sure what happened to May…" he explained. Taking a deep breath to resolve himself, he decided to continue with the mission. Once he saw Arceus again, he'd ask for the truth about what happened to May. And until then, he had to believe she was still alive somehow. He had to. He needed that strength to keep going. "She's still out there...it could have been that her ribbon just fell there..."
"I guess it's possible…" Pikachu acknowledged. Ash gripped May's ribbon tightly in his hand. He couldn't give up on her yet, not until he had proof one way or another.
"I will find you May..." he promised her.
After taking some time to calm down and clean himself up, Ash grabbed his things and headed outside with Pikachu perched back on his shoulder. Of course, as luck would have it, Akari walked outside around the same time and spotted him.
"Ash...?" she asked hesitantly.
"Oh…hey…" he answered, wincing at what was sure to be an unpleasant conversation.
"Can we...talk about what happened?" she requested.
"Yeah..." he nodded after taking a deep breath. "I need to tell you why I…did that with you last night..."
"Ok..." she said with a bit of hesitancy in her voice. The fear in her eyes made Ash hesitate as well. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. But he had to do this. Both for her and for May.
"...I only did it because I was in so much pain after yesterday…realizing really for the first time that my girlfriend could've actually been…dead...so I was looking for a way to just…escape that pain…I'm sorry for using you that way..." he explained as best he could.
"Oh…I see..." she said, her gaze shifting downwards.
"I'm really am sorry Akari...I never wanted to hurt you…" he tried to promise her.
"Well, I...I appreciate you being honest...but...if I could ask you something..." she replied.
"Of course…what is it?" he prompted her.
"What will you do now...?" she asked. "Are you still…going to look for her…?"
"Yes…and I need to finish my mission as soon as I can. That's the only way I'll know for sure if she's…" his voice trailed off, unwilling to let himself think like that again.
"I see..." she whispered, looking away as she carefully considered her next question. However before she could say anything further, Ash noticed someone walking by, someone he recognize from Unova in his time. He seemed to be wearing a Pearl Clan uniform underneath his iconic black overcoat.
"Huh?" he wondered aloud as the man walked by them and into the Galaxy HQ.
"What's wrong?" Akari asked, turning around to attempt to find what was more important than the conversation between them.
"Nothing I just…I thought I just saw someone from where I'm from walk by just now..." he answered her, surprising her slightly.
"Wait really? Who?" she asked, looking around for this mystery person.
"Let's head to headquarters and find out. He was heading there." He answered as he headed towards headquarters. Akari sighed to herself. She had wanted to talk about what happened between them more, but she guessed it would have to wait for now, so she followed him into Galaxy HQ where they were quick to meet up with Captain Cyllene, who looked up from her paperwork to greet them.
"Good. You're both here." She stated.
"Hi, Captain? Did you see someone come in here just a little bit ago? I thought it was someone I knew." Ash wondered.
"You must be talking about Warden Ingo." She deduced, surprising Ash with the name. So it was Ingo he saw before, which meant he and May weren't the only ones sent back in time. But how could Ingo have been brought back in time? Was it Arceus that sent him back? Or was it whoever opened the rift somehow?
"Do you know where he is?" Ash asked, hoping to get some answers from him.
"He's speaking with Commander Kamado right now. He has requested you two come up to his office as soon as you are able." The Captain responded.
"Yes ma'am." Ash nodded.
"Of course." Akari agreed. With that, they headed up the staircases and soon arrived in the familiar setting of Commander Kamado's office.
"Good, you're both here." The large man greeted them.
"Nice to see you both again." Adaman greeted them as he stood next to Warden Ingo. As Ash looked at him there was no question about who he was. While everyone else had similar looks to their descendants, Ingo looked identical to the last time Ash saw him. Ash had so many questions to ask, but he knew that they would have to wait. So instead he turned his attention back to the Commander.
"Is there another Lord in a frenzy?" he asked.
"Yes. Our Lord of the Hollow, Electrode." Adaman answered.
"So you want us to help Electrode's Warden calm him down?" Akari guessed.
"I do, but Lord Electrode's warden is a bit..." the Clan Leader's voice trailed off.
"A bit what...?" Ash wondered.
"He doesn't want you to help the Lord return back to normal." Ingo suddenly spoke up.
"Unfortunately Warden Ingo is correct..." Adaman groaned.
"What why? Why doesn't he want us to help change his Lord back to normal?" Akari asked with a hint of surprise.
"He believes that it's a gift from Almighty Sinnoh himself, which is his reasoning for ignoring how much pain his Lord is in." Ingo explained.
"That's just awful…" Ash huffed under his breath.
"Be that as it may, I want to help Lord Electrode get back to normal. And I'm hoping to have your help." Adaman continued.
"Of course, we'll help." Ash nodded.
"Sure will." Akari nodded.
"Good. However, getting to Lord Electrode is a perilous journey. That's why I've asked Warden Ingo here." Kamado stepped in.
"How dangerous is it?" Akari questioned them.
"The cliffs in the Coronet Highlands are impossible to climb alone. You'll need the help of a Pokémon called Sneasler. Luckily, the Pearl Clan's Noble Sneasler just had two young Sneasel offspring. Warden Ingo here has already agreed to help by allowing you two to look after those two Sneasel and helping to teach them how to climb those cliffs." Adaman explained.
"Sneasel? Coming from a Pokemon called Sneasler?" Ash wondered.
"Yes." Ingo nodded. "A Pokémon we've come to know as Weavile has recently started appearing in Hisui after evolving from some oddly colored Sneasel, but traditionally Sneasel in Hisui evolve into Sneasler. It's an odd phenomenon but one was haven't been able to thoroughly study yet."
"Really?" Ash wondered, surprised that what sounded like Sneasel from his time were appearing alongside Sneasel of this time. "How are these new Sneasel being found?"
"The dark-colored Sneasel are only being found after the sudden formation of Space-Time Distortions." Adaman explained.
"Space-Time Distortions?"
"They started appearing around Hisui shortly after the rift opened. We believe they're connected somehow but we don't know much more than that." The Commander added.
"I see..." Ash nodded. He was surprised that Pokemon from his time were actually being brought to this time seemingly at random. No wonder Arceus wanted the rift to be closed as soon as possible.
"Getting back to the matter at hand, I'm assigning you two to work with Warden Ingo to teach both the young Sneasel to climb and then help Lord Electrode." The Commander instructed them.
"Yes sir." Ash nodded.
"Yes, Commander." Akari agreed. With Ingo leading the way Ash and Akari headed out of the Commander's office and headed to the East gates.
After an escort from the Galaxy Team Security Corps, the Warden and the two trainers arrived in the Coronet Highlands, the part of Hisui closest to Mount Coronet. The sight of the large mountain was enough to strike awe into Akari and even into Ash. Though he had been near the mountain several times before, in the vast region of Hisui, it somehow seemed even bigger.
"I've never been so close to the mountain before..." Akari commented.
"The rift looks even worse up close..." Ash mumbled.
"Come along you two. We must go through Wayward Cave to find Noble Sneasler's home." Ingo called to them, pointing to a cave opening near two large waterfalls.
"Sorry, sir. We're coming." Akari apologized as she ran over to follow him. Ash followed them and the group started heading toward the cave entrance. They crossed over a bridge and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, but Ingo stopped abruptly as he gazed inside.
"Is something wrong?" Ash wondered.
"Yes...it seems someone's removed the torches from inside the cave..." Ingo answered. Both trainers looked inside and found that he was correct. The inside of the cave was nearly pitch black.
"Lord Electrode's Warden must've done this to stop us from coming..." Akari realized.
"Luckily I know this cave like the back of my hand. Both of you stick close and I'll guide you through. All aboard!" Ingo announced.
"Right." Ash nodded. Warden Ingo headed into the cave with Ash and Akari following close behind. Ingo seemed to be correct about his talent for navigation as he guided them through the darkness with ease, even avoiding the wild Pokemon as they went along.
"I must admit...this journey does feel familiar in a way..." he commented as they walked.
"Familiar? What do you mean?" Akari wondered.
"Truth be told Akari, I have no memories of my life before awakening in Hisui." Ingo revealed, shocking Ash.
"You don't…? You have…amnesia or something...?" he asked.
"Unfortunately yes..." Igno nodded.
"Oh…I see..." the young trainer said, lowering his eyes a little. That explained why Ingo didn't seem to recognize him when they first saw each other. And just like that his hopes for any answers to the situation went up in smoke. "I'm so sorry…"
"Thankfully the Pearl Clan took me in and I rose up through the ranks until I became Noble Sneasler's Warden." Ingo continued his story.
"That's really impressive Ingo." Akari smiled softly.
"Thank you, Akari. I'm grateful for the opportunity to assist those who helped me. I only wish I could remember my life before." He replied.
"... I wonder how Emmet is handling things without him..." Ash thought to himself. He couldn't imagine how hard being apart would affect any pair of siblings, much less a pair of twins.
"There we are. Up ahead is the exit." He suddenly announced as they found an opening where sunlight was able to leak inside. Next to the opening, they found what appeared to be over a dozen unlit torches.
"Hey look. Are those the torches?" Ash asked.
"They sure are. I'll get them back into their proper places. You two go on ahead towards the cliffs and wait for me there." Ingo instructed them.
"Alright." Ash nodded before walking off with Akari following close behind. They walked over to a clearing right next to the previously mentioned massive cliffs.
"Wow…the Commander wasn't kidding. Those cliffs look really rough." Akari commented. "No wonder we need help getting up there."
"No kidding..." Ash agreed. "Guess we wait here?"
"Yeah I guess so..." she nodded as she sat on a nearby rock to take a break. Following her example, Ash sat down on a neighboring rock. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Akari took a deep breath and spoke up, deciding to take advantage of being alone once again. "So...do you mind if I ask how you're feeling? After everything that we…you know…"
"I'm feeling fine...well…I guess as well as I can be…" he admitted.
"I'm sure finding that ribbon really shook you up..." she remarked.
"It did...I don't want to believe that she's gone..." he sighed.
"I don't want to be the one to say this but…you know that's still a likely possibility right...?" she cautiously reminded him.
"Or her ribbon just fell out of her pocket when she was falling somewhere else and ended up there...or she didn't realize it was gone when she left the volcano…I just…I can't give up on her…" he insisted.
"So...you've decided to hold out hope that she's alive…?" Akari asked a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah…I have to…" he nodded.
"Ok...but I have to ask…say...you get proof that she's not ok...what will you do…?" she wondered.
"...I don't know..." he answered honestly.
"I see..." she said quietly with a small nod. Another awkward silence passed as Akari worked up the courage to speak again. "Well...I hope you find her...but…if you don't…will you consider staying here with me…?"
"H-Huh…?" Ash asked, looking back at her as a blush crossed his cheeks as well as hers.
"I know you don't feel…that way about me…but I do feel that way about you…and if she's not ok…then I'd like to see if something could happen between us…" she explained honestly.
"I…" Ash stammered, unsure of how to respond. He knew he couldn't even consider the possibility without spiraling again as he did the night before. So instead of actually thinking about her proposal, he gave a quick response to let the conversation move on. "I'll think about it…"
"Ash?!" Pikachu asked in shock.
"Thank you, Ash…" Akari smiled.
To be Continued...
