Ashes in May Ch. 21 Days After Crazy
Now onto business: For those who have already read from this chapter onwards, let me explain what's happened. From here on out, I've done some minor editing on my chapter to about chapter 30. For the most part, the chapters are relatively the same just with new minimal changes or grammar fixes. So, yeah, I hope you all enjoy the reread. LOL
So, I think Ash's Staraptor was apparently confirmed male or something but in the English anime its voice is very feminine, plus, it'd be amazing to have the female Pokemon be cute at times and badass at others.
Pikachu slept warmly between Gary and May, all silent but for the random beeps of certain machines. It had not been long since he had been picked up from under the bed and placed between the two humans. Thankfully, sleep had overcome them, giving much-wanted relief from their woes. It started slow; Pikachu noticed as if his dream was recalling back to the joyful memories prior. In his sleep, he smiled and his ears twitched slightly as a sound began to transmit through the air. Slowly, Pikachu's eyes fluttered open with a cute little yawn escaping his mouth as the song grew loud and predominated. It carried with it something familiar, it carried a presence. Instantly Pikachu recognized the sound stirring the teenagers from their sleep. It didn't take too long for their human ears to catch the soothing melody that filled the room. In that moment the happiest memories they shared with Ash raced through their minds. The love he felt for his parents and brother, all of his friends around the world, his wonderful Pokemon every single one, Gary and May…his mom, Delia.
May gasped and brought her hands to her chest as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks; this time she felt glad that these tears were filled with relief and happiness, rather than pain and sorrow. It was Ash, somehow, he was sending them a message through a song. The typhoon soon was drowned out by the sound of a flute and the voices of those who gave the song power. May turned to Gary who gave her the same glad look she wore while Pikachu was jumping for joy atop the windowsill. They didn't know if others felt the song's power or saw the memories they saw but it didn't matter, Ash was alive and out there. Ash was letting them know that they were his strength and his future. Calm seas and open skies, it was the power of us. Suddenly, light shone through the window filling the dreary room with stunning colors and energy. Pikachu quickly patted at the glass window and looked out to the sea where the storm raged. He could hear the nurse and doctors outside the room exclaim in surprise, assuming that they as well were captivated by the illuminating lights. Slowly but surely Gary and May made their way to the window where they looked on in awe and to tell you the truth Pikachu chuckled because he understood their shock to a T.
Gary Oak looked out past the beach, passed the towering waves, and saw the largest structure he had ever laid witness to. There in the middle of the ocean was a building that glowed with energy, shining with pure light, brightly colored aura emanating from it like an aurora. From above the sea temple flew Lugia who polished silver and exuded majesty and took a flyby over the region of Alola. Gary's eyes were starry as he gazed over Lugia in real life. He watched as it flew in the distance towards Ula'Ula island as light from the moon reflected from atop its body and the colors from the structure reflected from its underbelly below. Soon it flew closer zooming over Akala island, then Melemele. All three of them were jay dropped when Lugia came to a stop right before the window flapping its wings every few seconds. It took the time to look into each of their eyes before an endearing smile came to display. "The song has given you strength. They, for which your souls strive and live for, will depend on you. Know the secrets among yourselves. Be well and strengthen your bonds for the Journey starts today!" With that Lugia roared its powerful melody and continued onward to Poni island then returned to the temple. Pikachu shook its head wondering if Lugia had really spoken to them. The electric rodent spoke to it once before sure, but he never thought he'd see this Lugia again, even with his and Ash's luck. May, straight up, couldn't talk as every word she tried to speak became stutters and mumbles. If she had been any more in shock she would have collapsed; thankfully Gary held her tight around the waist, holding her up. Though that's not to say Gary was faring much better. Gary could only hear his inner voice in his head, 'Ash is alive and Lugia just spoke to me!'
Returning to the temple Lugia roared once more before using its Psychic to bring about a massive waterspout to engulf the temple before submerging it once more, making it look as if it had been merely an illusion. Even with the temple gone the melodic sound echoed through the air bringing genuine happiness and a soothing appeal to the soul. "Gary, Ash is alive, he's safe!" May said hugging him with Gary. Gary just smiled holding her, he too was so overjoyed. Pikachu quickly jumped onto his shoulder and nuzzled against his chin. To the three of them, it was a sign, the three had literally made it out of the storm.
From her home Professor Burnet and her youngest son both looked out to the sea wondering if what they had just seen was real. If Lugia had truly appeared in Alola along with a mysterious shining building. Quickly, she ran back inside to get her key then stuffed her kid, Max, and Munchlax in the car and raced to the hospital. All the while Kukui did the same, calling out his trusted Braviary and taking to the skies to get to the hospital. Neither of them wasted time in getting there, they all rushed, however, Ash would not arrive until later, just as the sun was about to rise.
A couple of hours later…
Now a young man stepped onto the Hau'oli City Marina grimacing slightly, feeling the rough concrete under his bare feet, much worse in comparison to the smooth cool feel of the Temple's floor. Turning back to the water typed Pokemon who had brought him back. "Thanks a lot, Primarina and Wailmer, and Manaphy…thanks for everything. You've kept me safe and helped bring me back from my terrible nightmares." Ash said crouching down to get close to the legendary floating in the seawater. "Mana! Pheee!" it exclaimed lightly splashing Ash with a bit of water. Laughing Ash made a weak attempt to shield himself, "Seriously, though, thank you and I know we'll see each other real soon. I know the temple will probably start moving soon, but if you'd like, stick around for a while. The Alola region is a beautiful region with lots of friendly people and Pokemon, I'm sure you'll enjoy it." With that he said his goodbyes, it was time to return to the dreaded hospital, in hopes of finding Gary and May alive.
It took a bit to reach the hospital due to having to walk barefoot, thankfully, it was still rather dark with very few people out and about. Sure, the storm was gone but that didn't mean that everyone was about to head out on the town at 3am in the morning. Steeling up his nerves Ash walked through the automatic doors as those within barely even noticed him too busy with their own problems. That was until a trainer who had been taking the Island Challenge, like Max, noticed him and announced his name with shock. "It's Ash, the Champion of Alola!" Almost immediately, the large lobby became silent as they stopped what they were doing and turned to see if the claim was true. All of a sudden Ash remembered what he was wearing, and heat began to pool in his cheeks as he awkwardly waved at the masses. "H-Hi…" was the only thing he could mutter before getting bombarded by the crowd. Refugees, patients, nurses, doctors, trainers, police, you name it, all came to him asking what had happened. "Did you know about Lugia?" asked a male trainer. A female trainer with her Roggenrola at her feet fangirled, "Ash Ketchum you look so dreamy! Just like a wild man, ohhh! Those scratches and scars make you look so savage, Ahhh!" "Champion, sir, our officers have been trying to locate you for days," came the voice of a policewoman. "Are you hurt? If you would please allow me to check you for any wounds or breakages," said a doctor coming to examine him. He tried his best to answer them to appease their onslaught only to get worse when people began to take pictures of him in literally nothing but a rag covering his nakedness. Next thing he knew he was surrounded by people looking at him expectantly, taking pictures and a few fanboys and fangirls trying to get cozy.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" shouted a loud and defensive mother whose presence quickly opened a path for her to her son. She walked forward to stand before her son, Munlax, at her side with a stern expression on its face. With arms open, she embraced him in a much-needed warm hug then swiveled on her feet to face the crowd. "My son is not a show Ponyta nor a crowd-pleaser. Cease and desist or so help me you will all be sued for badgering and let me tell you we've got incredible lawyers," the woman was short but powerful, turning to her son she took his hand, "Now, Ash let's go." As they walked away Ash could not have felt more relieved to be pulled away by his saving grace. "Thanks, mom," Ash thanked his mom as she led him into the elevator and as soon as the door shut, she was the one to begin badgering him. "Ash, where have you been?! I was so terrified, I thought you were out there hurt or worse, dead!" Burnet exclaimed, rapidly spinning him around checking to make sure he wasn't seriously injured ignoring her boy's bashful complaints when she lifted his towel to check for damages. "Mo-AH-m, I'm fine, I swear! Can you ple-ease give me back my towel!" Ash shrieked, his voice cracking and reaching a higher octave, his face a deep crimson as he covered himself with his hands. The professor simply rolled her eyes returning the fabric to him then wiping the tears from her eyes. It's not anything she hadn't seen before; sure, he became her kid at ten but there were times where she took him in for physicals and things of the sort. Not the POINT! "Ash, I'm serious. Gary called me when the eye of the hurricane passed over Melemele and told me you were gone!" Burnet explained as her son tied the towel with the string, "How am I supposed to react?! I was worried enough that you had to be out there, but when you went missing…I was scared half to death!" Upon hearing Gary's name Ash's head shot up anxiously he asked, "Wait, Gary called you?! When?!" Burnet frowned at that and snapped, "Ash, I am your mother and I thought my child was dead!" Flinching Ash stepped back looking at his mother but didn't see anger on her face, instead, he saw agonizing agitation, at this, his shocked expression softened into one of sympathy, and quickly pulled his loving mom into his arms. Guilt quickly festered in his chest. He laid his cheek on top of her white hair holding her tight, wanting to assure her that he was real and was safe in her arms. Burnet wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his waist hugging him with all her might. "Ash, I was scared that I'd lost one of my babies," she whispered, taking in deep breaths to ease her heart. She was happy he was there, there in her arms. She had made a promise to protect him, to keep him safe, and damn it all she would not let a storm take her son from him.
The teenager sighed in his mother's hold, a hold he didn't know he needed and missed so badly, "I'm sorry, I worried you, mom. I honestly didn't know what had happened initially, but I can promise you that I'm not hurt. Okay, so I look like I got into a fight with a group of Meowths but they didn't catch my tongue," Ash said with a silly grin. Burnet snorted before laughing at how bad that joke was. "Haha, you're just as bad at jokes as your dad," she giggled, pulling away contently looking up at her son's cheeky smile. Just as they settled down the elevator came to a slow stop and with a small ding the doors opened, and they got off. Not two steps from the closing elevator did he get bombarded once more with questions only this time by those he knew. Max, Elio, and his dad all quickly rushed over to him. Kukui quickly reenacted the same things as his wife had done earlier except didn't try to pull the towel away. Elio quickly asked Ash why he had disappeared. Ash crouched down to the six-year-old giving him a bright smile, "I was being a bit dumb trying to surf the waves. At the very least I found a great big sea temple deep under the water! It was way too dangerous though, so I thought it was time to head home." This of course caught the attention of the other three especially Max because he knew he was talking about Samaya while the married couple thought he must've been referring to the larger structure seen out at sea. "Ash, do you mean the strange building that appeared along with Lugia?" Kukui asked, extending out his arm to Max, "Max told us that the structure is known as the Sea Temple." Ash nodded then before they could ask anything further, he stopped them, "I'll explain everything later, but please can you take me to Gary and May. I need to see them."
They all simply nodded leading him towards the room May, Gary, and Pikachu were sharing. Nearing the room the first thing Ash saw was Gary leaning against the door frame arms crossed and an Iv stand next to him. In an instant, Ash let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding in and jumped into a sprint towards the older teen. Without hesitation, he tackle-hugged the taller boy causing him to huff in pain, but Gary ignored it, arms rising to return the embrace. It wasn't long before the waterworks started up as Ash's tears could be felt by Gary as they soaked his shirt. "Hey, Ashy-boy don't tell me your cryin'?" Gary said trying to lighten the mood a bit. Ash snorted and shook his head, "Don't be funny you jerk. You died right in front of me!" Of course, it was all muffled, but Gary knew what he meant. "I wouldn't be Gary frickin' Oak, if I didn't sasth," Gary joked, mindful of his language for fear of Ash's mom, nevertheless his expression softened and patted Ash's back, "Ey, I'm alive. I'm breathinth' and ol' lighting isn't going to kill me. Ha! Pikathu's thunderbolt is stronger anyhow!" "Heh, I guesth you're right as alwayths, know-it-all," Ash chuckled as he teases his best friend. Gary didn't look impressed, "Hey, watch it Ashy-boy. Now get in there, they're waiting for you." Hearing this the boy only nodded as he took a deep breath and walked into the room. There he saw his starter Pokemon, Pikachu, and his beloved best friend, May Maple. Pikachu sat next to May who then jumped up and into his trainer's arms. "Pika! Pikapi!" he exclaimed gleefully nuzzling at his neck, "Chuuu! Pika chaa pika chii, pikachuuu!?" Ash smiled and held his Pokemon gently and pat his back. He had missed Pikachu, he knew that Pikachu was strong enough to be on his own, still, they were a team, after all. Truthfully, he regretted ever making Pikachu feel the way he did. "I know pal. I was gone and I scared you, I am so sorry for that buddy. I never meant to disappear like that, could you ever forgive me Pikachu?" "Pikachu!" came the rodent's small voice as it nodded. Still holding his partner in his arms Ash took a seat at the edge of May's bed and could only gulp trying to formulate words. Hey, it's not easy to talk to the girl of his dreams after promising to help her then putting her to work during a typhoon, plus worrying her for days.
The brunette didn't say a word, instead, she took his hand in hers and smiled, "Welcome back Champion." Ash could suddenly breathe letting out an awkward chuckle as his eye teared up, "Sorry, I took so long."
Kukui took action in pulling everyone out of the room but the trio and Pikachu closed the door behind him.
May sat with the bed leaned back a bit, wearing a white t-shirt with evergreen long-sleeves and shoulders. One of those sleeves was rolled up revealing that an IV was in place as well just like Gary. Beneath the blanket keeping her warm, she wore a pair of pajamas that matched the t-shirt. The clothes had been brought to her by Burnet, much to her gratitude. May was pale, her face showing her exhaustion and by the bags under her eyes, there was no denying it. When your mind has been in the places her's has been these past couple of days, you'd be drained too. Her hair was kept by a loose tie adjusted so her hair lay over her left shoulder. With the cast on her right arm putting the finishing touches, it was clear that May was not fine. Ash would come to be told of the broken bones and heavy bruising left from the horrid blunt force trauma.
Gary moved to sit in the small armchair beside May. By now Ash's parents had brought Gary a change of clothes too. He two a loose purple tank top and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Thanks to the minimal coverage the shirt provided Ash once again got a look at the lightning-shaped scar his friend had gotten. The left side of the young adult's neck showed the point when the electrical discharge had entered his body wreaking havoc over his skin and under. He wasn't looking much better as he also looked dead….no nope, not dead, tired just very tired. Dead was not a word he needed to keep in his vocabulary. Nope. He had a bad case of bedhead and by the sluggish way he moved, it was clear that he needed rest as well.
As for Pikachu, it was technically harder to tell, but it was clear by the way Pikachu attached himself to him, it needed just as much comfort as the other two. They were all so hurt and in pain…
"S-So, I'm glad you all are still, uh, here…" was all the boy could say. He just didn't have the words; truthfully, what was the best way to start a conversation after all a disaster. His voice meek as a Pichu the young boy asked, "What did the doctor say? Gary, you died in front of me. May, I-I don't even know h-how bad you were hurt. Are you guys okay?"
What they had seen that night had brought much-needed relief, yes, however, the physical trauma they experienced was evident and very present. May gave Gary a quick glance before clearing her throat, in hopes her voice would still be audible since all their previous lamenting did nothing for her poor voice. "Ash, (cough) Listen…(cough intensifies)..." Gary gently moved to lightly hold her shoulder telling her to breathe, wait a moment. He would go first and after she could go. So, with a quick nod form the girl, he turned to Ash with a half-smile, a weak one at that. Handing her a cup of water Gary explained what his doctor had told him.
"The doc. said a lot but long story short, I have to stay as healthy as possible as to not jeopardize my heart since once you've had one heart attack, it becomes much easier for another to happen." Gary began holding his hand over his heart. The other boy's eyes were drawn to said hand as the memory from a few days ago flashed in his head.
With a sigh, the redhead continued, "She also said that in a few months some symptoms of the lightning strike will most likely start appearing." "What kind of things?" Ash asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Well, (inhales) I might develop some muscle twitches due to damaged nerves, might even have some partial paralysis, among other things." Ash gritted his teeth as he processed. Though, he didn't notice when Gary looked down at his hand May did. She saw the worried look Gary wore as he looked at his own hand. It was subtle, but she could see it too, the way his pinkie finger twitched a bit every so often. Now, it may not seem too drastic as it obviously doesn't seem all that bad, but one can't know if it may worsen in a month or two. May reached over placing her hand in his, using her thumb to soothe his unease. He looked up with nervous eyes but she smiled gently. A pang hit the professor's heart, tightening his grip on her hand, comparing how small her hand was to his, so small and comforting. "As for right now, I've struggled with a few balance issues and a bit of insomnia. Still, I'm pretty sure the insomnia was because I was worried about you, you dunce, haha," Gary chuckled to lighten the mood slightly. Ash sniffed quickly, balling his fist to keep his tears from falling, nodding in understanding; proceeding to turn to May's direction, she met his gaze for a split second before looking away.
"May…"
May gave him a weak smile, "I'm…going to be okay. I just need some time to recover."
Ash gawked, "But May your arm, your leg?" His voice almost disappeared as the word blew past his lips, "What about the baby?" It was immediate, Ash looked into her eyes dull and sad, if he didn't already feel cold he certainly did now.
Pikachu gave a small whimper curling up into Ash's side. Gary leaned down glaring at the floor letting his hair cover his eyes. The usually peppy girl looked Ash in the eye, tears rapidly falling streaking over her cheeks. "Sorry, Ash, but what baby?" A sobbed echoed but who it came from was not whom you'd have expected. The raven-haired boy dropped to his knees beside the bed, directly in front of where Gary sat. He took her hands and brought his head down to meet her hand. "O-oh May," he whimpered, his voice trembling, "Sorry, s-sorry, sorry…" All the while closed her eyes leaning back, biting her lip wanting to keep from crying out, but when Gary moved to wrap an arm around her, she let go of what she was holding back. A struggled cry, an almost gurgled sob, came from her, "My, my baby!". Gary tried to remain stoic, he really did, but the rampant emotion from May's cry broke him, no it shattered him. Everything that had happened in the past few days was difficult for all of them and now that their group was finally back together they allowed themselves to mourn and seek comfort in each other. Pikachu once more came to nuzzle her side with his own tear streaming down from his eyes. They were a sobbing mess, allowing themselves to vent out their frustrations for the umpteenth time
the way the scantily clad boy's shoulder shook and small whimpers escaped his quivering lips. "I'm sooo, sorry! I'm so sorry. This is my fault, all of you were hurt because, because…" "Pi, pi, pi, chuu," whimpered the small electric type simply watching how his human friend broke down before him, the way their eyes reddened, their cheeks wet with salty tears, their quivering lips, the anguish. Ash took one of each of their hands in his, using them to hide his face. "I can't ask you to forgive me, I understand that. Know that, I truly wish that none of this would have happened. All the," Ash sniffed trying to get his words out, "the blame is on me, I did this to you, I'm just…I'm just so sorry."
They remained like this for a while, neither truly knowing how long they had cried. May would tighten her grip over their hands to brave the pain in her heart, the grief heavy in her chest. Gary felt his body heavy and numb yet felt anger. Anger at everything that dared to occur to them, the fear of the twitch in his hand, or the potential havoc to come from the lightning aftermath. The small mouse tried to comfort all three of them, yet as much as he tried he was too small to hug them together. Nevertheless, it took turns moving between them gently rubbing its soft fur against them in the hope to ease their pain. When the tears seemed to run out and the need to cry passed they remained in silence. It felt odd, so strange to know that they were scared, furious, in pain, yet here they were looking at each other as broken as they felt, they gave each other a small smile.
They didn't know where or what they'd do from here; knowing well that things between them will be a bit strange for a while, but at that moment they felt solace in each other.
Alright, here is the end of this chapter. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed