Hello Hello Hello. Well, this is a shorter chapter, only about 6,500 words of actual story. I know, pretty lame to come back from yet another long, random, unannounced hiatus from FanFiction in general, but hey, I started writing, and when I got to where I wanted the chapter to end, it came out short. Sorry...
Q&A
everyman52
Has this been discontinued
Answer: Nah man.
Nitrous
Hey are you dead?
Answer: Nah man.
Dillon406
Can you please bring back Ash's lucario back in or do you already have a plan for that?
Answer: I've got plans for that already :)
Major Come Back
How many chapters will u make in this story
Answer: At the pace this is going... 25-30 would be a good estimate.
NitrousWolf0123
Im glad to hear,you're staying with it. :D Also, are there gonna be more of Ash's pokemon? Or any battles really? Im pretty sure the answer is obvious considering this is pokemon, but i was just curious how it will come into play.
Answer: Not really. Pokemon will be used to aid and combine attacks with their human partners in this story. It's my way of avoiding writing traditional pokemon battles, because I hate writing them.
the core of justice
will mewtwo be in this story
Answer: Nah man.
stevexclax
Now for some questions. Will May/Rachel learn how to use aura too? Also, how did May change her eye color? Will May and Serena meet again, and will May/Rachel get to read "Aura Guardians: A Complete History"? Lastly, why is the cult giving out books about aura when they want to kill aura guardians?
Answer: Yes, colored contacts, yes, kind of, and maybe not all is as it seems...
Lover of Pokemon
What happened to May. I really hope she's still a virgin.
Answer: She is.
Alright, that's that. Enjoy Chapter 5!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own pokemon. But digimon? That shit's mine fam.
V
It was as if time had slowed down. May could do nothing but stare as Max, the brother she had left behind, now stood in front of her, accompanied by a vibrant display of Aura. Just the sight of Max would have been enough to render her speechless, but the fact that he was using Aura as well left her in a mental state comparable to that of a baked potato.
"Rachel?!" cried Rosa, frantically shaking May's arm. "Rachel! Is he really your brother?! Dammit girl, answer me!"
"Rachel?" asked Max, snorting. "Of all the names available, you chose Rachel? I don't even think the name Rachel is in style anymo-"
"Hydreigon, Dragon Breath!"
From behind May and Rosa emanated a green glow. Both girls turned around to see Wade's Hydreigon charging up its Dragon Breath attack, all 3 of the beast's heads targeting them. From behind the girls, Max could be seen making a quick, discrete gesture with his hand. Right as the vicious three-headed darkness dragon released its deadly torrent of draconic energy, the flames of Aura that surrounded the entire scene concentrated to one area: in front of May and Rosa. They coagulated to construct a wall of Aura, saving the girls from harm.
"A Hydreigon..." murmured Max, raising his hand forward. "Half Dark-type... Shouldn't be too hard then."
With another quick wave of Max's hand, the wall of Aura protecting May and Rosa began to surge forward, approaching Wade's Hydreigon. Knowing what Max was up to, Wade balled his hands into fists.
"Hydreigon, get away from the wall! Fly upwards, NOW!" he shouted.
"As if that'll save him." muttered Max, watching as the Brutal Pokemon took flight.
With yet another flick of the wrist, his wall of Aura collapsed back into a mass of blue flames. The mass of untamed Aura then rose into the air and concentrated itself into a single potent blast, one which came into direct contact with Hydreigon. The pokemon immediately fell out of the sky, landing on top of Rex's Garchomp, which would have recovered from Max's entrance attack otherwise. Now both pokemon were unconscious, leaving Rex and Wade out of usable pokemon. But no, they did not white out.
While May had managed to maintain the same dumbfounded look on her face for the past 5 or 6 minutes, Rosa had gone through multiple different expressions, each one displaying more and more awe than the last. She had just watched this mystery man swoop in from nowhere, save her, and, with the help of some absolutely bananas super powers, single-handedly take down a Garchomp and Hydreigon, two pokemon that she considered to be Grade-A nightmare-fuel.
"...How..." she exhaled, eyes wide.
"Of all the pokemon types, Aura's composition is most closely akin to the Fighting-type, which is why Aura Sphere is classified as a Fighting-type move. Hydreigons are half Dark-type, making them especially weak against Aura." explained Max, his eyes returning to their normal brown color. As they did, the remaining Aura in the scene vanished. With a deep exhale, Max looked at both Wade and Rex, and then turned to May. He frowned at the shocked expression on her face. "Okay, I get that's been a while since we last saw each other, but you're way too surprised, May. Yes, it's me, your brother, Max."
Once again, May neither said nor did anything. She remained still as a statue.
Rosa frowned. "Rache-"
"Her name is May." corrected Max, adjusting his glasses. "May Maple. She's my older sister. I'm Max Maple."
"Y'know, after getting a good look at your face, I do see the resemblance..." admitted Rosa, cupping her chin in her hand. "The features look a lot better on girl though-"
"OKAY!" shouted Wade, angrily shoving his right hand into his coat pocket. "Since our pokemon are out of the picture, it seems we'll have to resort to Plan B, Rex!"
Rex nodded his head, also reaching into his pocket. Max rolled his eyes, letting out a condescending snort as he did so.
"You guys don't know when to quit, do you?" he asked, tilting his head. "Can't you tell it's over? There's nothing you could have that I can't take care of-"
With confident smirks, Rex and Wade pointed their newly-revealed pistols at Max, May, and Rosa. Max's eyes widened.
"Oh shit."
"Oh shit indeed, kid!" laughed Rex, wiggling his gun. "Your Aura won't protect you and your friends from bullets, will it? Now, hand over the girls, and get lost. But definitely hand over the girls first."
Suddenly, things became very quiet and tense. Pokemon could be fought, but guns... not so much. In fact, even though this was a serious matter, Max couldn't help but wonder why pokemon were Rex and Wade's Plan A, when they had GUNS all along. Didn't make much sense.
Regardless, the situation was now a sticky one, and Max was forced to think his hardest to formulate a plan that would allow him to save the girls, while keeping everyone out of harm's way. But time wasn't a luxury to be had at the moment, and even though he'd just met them, it was obvious to Max that Rex and Wade were the type to have itchy trigger fingers. He could feel May's eyes fixed on him, probably wondering what mystical magical miracle he'd perform next. He could also see Rosa, but she was much more concerned with the firearms pointed towards her, like most people would be. Max sighed.
"They're all yours." he muttered, closing his eyes.
"Good choice." said Wade, nodding his head. "You, brown hair. Come here."
Rosa's eyes widened as she looked at her own hair... it was brown. She looked at Max, who's eyes were still closed. His hair was not brown. She then looked at May, who was giving Max the most incredulous look her terrified self could muster. Her hair wasn't brown at the moment either. This meant that Wade was indeed talking to her, and no one else.
"Come. Here." repeated Wade, more sternly this time.
Afraid for her life, Rosa decided to obey the man, shakily making her way towards him. It took her a while, given the intense shivers that plagued her legs during the short walk, but eventually she got there. Wade wrapped his arm around Rosa, holding her closely to his left side, his right hand still pointing his gun at May and Max.
"It's amazing how easy this got once we used our guns, huh Wade?" asked Rex. "Why was this our Plan B?"
"I was actually wondering the same thing not too long ago." answered two different voices.
Wade's eyes narrowed as he looked at Max, who's eyes were still closed.
"What did you sa-"
"Really," continued Max. "If you started with the guns right off the bat, I might not have had enough time to think of a way to get out of this mess. Oh well."
Max's eyes opened, revealing an azure glow in them. Suddenly, a burst of Aura enveloped Wade's right hand, disarming him... literally. The charred, mangled remains of Wade's hand fell to the asphalt below, his pistol landing not too far from it. The villain roared out in pain, but kept his hold on Rosa. In fact, his hold became tighter in an attempt to help him assimilate and accept the pain he was feeling. But it did not help in the slightest.
"Wade!" hollered Rex, dropping his gun out of shock from this sudden turn of events. "Are you okay?!"
"NO I AM NOT!" roared Wade. "SHOOT HIM!"
As Rex dropped to his knees to pick up his gun, Max snapped his arm downwards, prompting a miniaturized pokeball to roll out of his hoodie's sleeve into his hand. Without a moment's hesitation, he enlarged the ball to normal size and released the creature within in a flash of white light that lit up the dark alleyway, causing everyone but Max to close their eyes. Before the light even died down, the sound of Rex's gun firing sounded, three loud bangs echoing into the night.
"REFLECT!" roared Max, a fraction of a second after the shots were heard.
"AGH!"
When the light died down and everyone opened their eyes, they were met with the sight of May, Max, and a tall red, green, and white pokemon surrounded by a crystal clear, sparkling bubble. Rex was down on the ground, three fresh gunshot wounds causing blood to stain the chest area of his clothing. May let out a sigh of relief; both bad guys seemed to have been taken care of. She then looked at Max, her brother who she had left behind, the brother who had just saved her and Rosa from fates unknown. Was this really the same person?
Max smiled and placed his hand on top of his pokemon's head, gently petting it.
"Thanks, Gardevoir. You really saved us there..." he cooed.
"Garrrdevoiiirrrr..." sang the Embrace Pokemon.
Wade, having (at least to the point of regaining some sort of composure) gotten used to the pain of his amputated right hand, eyed Rex, who was most certainly dead... or at best near death. The situation was no longer in his favor, and it was definitely time for Plan C: retreating. But unfortunately for him, his thoughts were interrupted by the girl he was holding. Realizing she was probably the safest from the cold embrace of certain death as she had been in the past 20 minutes, the feisty teen within began to come to the surface.
"Get your gross, smelly, stupid arm off me!" she growled, attempting to wriggle free from Wade's grasp.
At the sound of Rosa's voice, May, Max, and Gardevoir turned to Rosa and Wade, realizing that they weren't out of the woods just yet. Wade glared at the people standing before him. This was supposed to be an easy mission, just a quick capturing. But instead, it had turned into a full-on battle, one that ended in the death of his right-hand man of many years.
"There's no way I'm returning to base with nothing whatsoever! Rex didn't die in vain!" he thought, leaning towards his arm that struggled to hold Rosa. There was a watch-like gadget on his wrist. As soon as his face got close enough, it lit up. "This is Wade Felix! Requesting immediate transportation back to base!"
Instantly, a black mass of darkness began to form behind Wade and Rosa.
"A portal!" thought Max, Aura lighting up his irises. "I won't let you get away!"
"Too late..." chuckled Wade maniacally, leaning backwards into the portal, taking Rosa with him.
"Stop!" shouted May, running towards Wade and Rosa, whose upper halves were already submerged in the festering shadows. t was then that she finally realized she had been silent for far too long. During the entire ordeal she had just looked around, unable to believe each and every turn of events. But watching Rosa being pulled away by a mysterious man had triggered her, bringing forth memories of the last time a dear friend had been taken away while she watched helplessly. She wouldn't let it happen again. "ROSA!"
"Rachel!" cried Rosa as both Wade's legs and her own disappeared into the portal.
May lunged forward, but right as she would have made contact with the dark gateway, it vanished out of existence, leaving nothing but hard asphalt for her to land on.
"Agh!" she screamed, her arm grinding against the rigid surface.
"May!" called Max, running towards his injured sister. He knelt beside her, grabbing her arm. "Hold on, I can help."
"Rosa..." murmured the 20-year old girl, her tone a depressed one. "Come back..."
"I'm sorry I couldn't save her, May..." apologized Max, using his Aura to heal May's arm. "I promise, one day we'll rescue her."
"Max..." answered May, watching as the glow from Max's hands soothed and erased her scrapes and bruises. She looked into her brother's eyes. "Where have you been...? What have you been doing...? You're so... different..."
"I could ask you the same things." retorted Max, a hint of irritation in his voice. "What on Earth have you been thinking, May? How could you leave Mom, Dad, and I like that? I know you were hurting, and I know it was the hardest time you'd ever experienced in your life, but why? We're your family for cryin' out loud! We love you, and we're always going to be here for you. What could running away from us solve? Did it solve anything? It doesn't seem like it did, because just a quick skim of your Aura tells me you're just as unstable as you were the last time we all saw you. Dying your hair, getting green contacts, and changing your name wont rid you of your troubles. Facing your demons head on rids you of your troubles. The whole world thinks poorly of you now, y'know. You were the Princess of Hoenn, you were admired by so many people... now look at you... mentioning your name in public can warrant jokes now... I know you have it in you to rebuild yourself, you just have to let us help you do it. You can come back from this. May Maple isn't gone, she's not dead. She's right here with me. I need you back, alright. We need you back."
Max rolled another pokeball out of his hoodie's sleeve, releasing the pokemon within. May's eyes widened, chills running down her spine. Standing between her and Max was the pokemon she had cared for and nurtured since before it was even born: Glaceon.
"Glaceon..." croaked May, her arms shakily hovering towards the Fresh Snow Pokemon.
Before she could even touch the pokemon, however, it launched itself into her arms, nestling its face into her chest. May looked down at the pokemon in disbelief, and suddenly, tears began to cloud her vision. It wasn't too long before she broke down into a full sob.
"Now here's the deal." continued Max, moving to the next phase of his speech. "First, we're going to get out of here. You and I both are going back home, to reunite with Mom and Dad."
"Y-you s-say that like l-like you've been missing t-too..." observed May.
"I have." answered Max, momentarily removing his gaze from May's eyes in slight shame. "Let's just say... Dad and I weren't on the same page when it came to me using Aura. He didn't want me to, but I knew that by using it, I'd have better chances of finding you eventually, so I left home... and never went back. It's been about 2 years since then. All of my Aura skills are self-taught, which is why, if you noticed, they're not all that aesthetically pleasing. And speaking of Aura... you don't seem too surprised that I can use it, May. You haven't even asked."
Max gave May a knowing look.
"May," he continued, "you can use it too, can't you?"
"N-no I ca-"
"Don't lie..." sighed Max. "I can sense that kind of stuff."
May looked down at her lap, which was occupied by Glaceon.
"I can use it..." she admitted quietly. "But I can't use it. It was a one time thing, and I haven't been able to use it since."
"What happened?" asked Max.
"It was before I met Rosa... I got myself into some trouble with some guys... my back was against the wall, and there was nowhere to go..."
"So basically, it was a situation similar to what just happened?"
"Yes... Anyway, right when they were about to... go through with their actions, I let out a scream, and then my body started to tingle... and there was some blue flashes of light... and when everything cleared up, the guys were knocked out... and I was light-headed. It never occurred to me that it was Aura that had saved me... until I saw you using it just now. I don't know, maybe since the circumstances were similar, I might have been able to tap into it again if you hadn't saved us, but I'm not sure..."
"Hm, sounds about right..." hummed Max, looking at Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon nodded its head. Max nodded as well. "Just like the book said... The Maple Clan's Aura is closely connected to their emotions... I awoke my powers out of anger, and you out of desperation..."
"Book...?"
"I'll explain later." answered Max, standing up. "Right now, we've gotta get home. We'll reunite with Mom and Dad, everyone will catch up with everyone, we'll get you back on your medication, and settle down a bit-"
"What about Rosa?" asked May, rising to her feet as well. "We have to save Rosa, Max. You said we would. She's only 15 years old, we cant leave her with those guys."
Max closed his eyes and sighed. "As much as I'd love to, it's nowhere near that simple. I don't know where she's been taken, as I don't know where the cult's bases are. It seems they use some sort of cloaking devices or something to hide their presences from Aura-users. And even if I knew where their bases were... I'm not about to go storm one. I'm nowhere near strong enough to launch a rescue operation by myself. I know you care about her very much, but Rosa's going to be with those guys for a while... But don't worry, they won't kill her though. Obviously they wanted you and her for something, otherwise they would've killed you right away. They're gonna keep her alive, for what, I have no idea. Someday she'll be freed though... We'll save her with the help of the Chosen Guardian, when he comes... which should be soon, if the book is right."
May looked at Max as if he were insane.
"Chosen Guardian? You've been messing with a cult?" she asked, tilting her head. "And what is this book you keep mentioning?"
"I'll fill you in on everything later, alright?" replied Max, placing a hand on Gardevoir. "Now, let's get out of here. Grab on."
Max outstretched his hand for May to hold, but instead, she put Glaceon in Gardevoir's arms and wrapped her own around Max, pulling him into a loving hug. Even though she was terrified of what could happen to Rosa, she couldn't let it dismiss the joy of being reunited with Max. He had grown in the past three years, that much went without saying. But even though he was taller, more mature, had a deeper voice, and had powers now, May still knew it was her little brother she was hugging. She only hoped Max felt the same way, given her own changes.
Max smiled and wrapped his free arm around his sister, holding her close.
"Gardevoir," he sighed. "use Teleport. Take us home."
"Gaaaardevoirrrr..." cooed Gardevoir, activating Teleport.
In seconds, May, Max, Gardevoir, and Glaceon vanished from the streets of Castelia City, their bodies being taken to their next destination: Petalburg City.
[Elsewhere...]
In a burst of dark energy, Wade and Rosa appeared in a setting completely different than the Unova alleyway they were just in. Pale white light lit this new area, giving Rosa a clear view of her surroundings. Instead of asphalt, smooth granite tiles covered the floors. Instead of brick, solid steel formed the walls. They seemed to be in a hallway, one that didn't seem to have an end, no matter which way Rosa looked. As expected, Rache- May (she had to get used to that) and Max were nowhere to be found.
"Son of a bitch..." swore Wade through gritted teeth, glaring at where his right hand used to be. As expected, blood was still oozing from the stub. "I swear I'll get that kid back one day... But first, I'll take care of you."
Rosa's eyes narrowed as she stuck her tongue out at Wade in the most defiant of manners.
"Eat a dick, Wayne!" she spat, once again launching an attempt to wriggle free from his grasp. "Where am I?!"
"Oh... you'll see." answered Wade, ignoring Rosa's deliberate use of a name similar to, but not his own. "Your stay here will change your life, that's for sure."
While Rosa stared at Wade in slight fear of what he possibly could have meant, Wade turned towards the nearest door and leaned forward. On the door was a small black dot, which Rosa assumed was a peephole or something. But, much to her surprise, it revealed itself to be an eye scanner when a red laser shot from it, scanning Wade's retina. After scanning Wade's eye, the laser went from red to green, and the sound of the door unlocking could be heard. The door then slid open, revealing nothing but pitch black darkness on the other side.
"Welcome to Hell," said Wade, tossing Rosa into the room. "Enjoy your stay."
Rosa screamed as she landed on her hands and knees, onto what felt like another tiled floor. She turned towards the door she had come through, and saw it slide closed at a speed far too fast for her to even think of challenging. With the door closed, Rosa was left in an absolute mystery of a room, with no light whatsoever to show her around.
"Is anyone here-"
Suddenly, bright light illuminated the room, causing a tingling sensation in Rosa's eyes. Shockingly, the room was all white, with absolutely no furniture. Everything was so blank, so void of any color or warmth, that it almost felt like the room wasn't suitable for humans. It felt completely artificial and void of any life... and the icing on the cake was the fact that the room was literally cold as well. Rosa folded her arms in an attempt to combat what must have been at least 40 degree (Fahrenheit) temperatures.
She exhaled. Her breath was visible. It was white. Everything was white. The tiles on the floor were white, as were two walls: the one behind Rosa, and the one to her left, the one which held the door Wade had thrown her in through.
The other two walls, however, were different.
They were clear. At first, the brunette thought the one on the left was a mirror, for it showed a sight nearly identical to her room; two white walls, one with a door, and a clear wall in front. It even had a brown haired person in it, but that was where the difference lay. It was not a brown haired girl in that room, but a brown haired boy. He was definitely an absolute stranger, because if Rosa had seen him before, she'd have not forgotten such a handsome face. He wore a red visor, a blue zip-up shirt, and white shorts, as well as skin-tight black sleeves covering his arms and legs. His auburn eyes met Rosa's blue ones, seeming to mirror her emotions... attraction included. Just one look at eachother, and they both knew they were thinking the same thing:
"Where are we?"
"You're probably wondering where you are." echoed a voice in both rooms, prompting Rosa and this mystery boy to break their eye contact.
They both looked around, until a large face appeared on the clear walls in both of their rooms. It was a relatively young face, no older than 30. Though their face was young, the man's hair was white as snow. His hair was long, curly, and unkempt, many locks of it sprawled across his face. Through the white bangs, the even brighter white of glaring glasses lenses shone, providing perfect contrast to the man's dull, yellowing teeth, which were displayed in a sleazy grin.
"Welcome to my lab, Rosalina, Nathaniel. Or, more precisely, a section of my lab. I am Dr. Feinberg, head scientist of the Shadow Order, as well as one of the 7 Grand Disciples of Master Brecht." greeted Dr. Feinberg, adjusting his glasses. His yellow eyes narrowed in demented joy at his next words. "You two have been given the stupendous honor of being my male and female test subjects for all the experiments I am to conduct for the next few years... I dearly hope you are excited as I am."
[Petalburg City]
...
And so, time passed. Upon their arrival home, May and Max were met with the loving embraces of their parents, as well as countless tears of joy. The Maple family had finally been reunited after 3 years of separation. But as one would most certainly expect, it was not all hugs and kisses. Once the displays of affection had ended, the scolding had begun. Both May and Max received earfuls of lecture, reminding them (though they never really forgot to begin with) of how much stress, fear, and despair their actions had put their parents through. The lecturing lasted for about 2 days, and then finally, everyone calmed down.
The next order of action was to take May to her psychiatrist, so he could prescribe her a new bottle of her old medication. The brunette (having removed the dye from her hair, as well as the green contacts) had no objections, knowing very well that taking her meds was the first step to regaining stability and rebuilding her life. However, it was not easy entering the psychiatrists office. It never was. It always reminded her of the incident that started her Manic Depression, A.K.A. Bipolar Disorder. It was a problem that had ailed her before Ash's death.
But that was a story for another time.
Determined to become the girl she once was, May took her medication daily without fail, and after many months of steady commitment and hard work, it was clear that the old May was back. If they hadn't experienced her absence, Norman, Caroline, and Max wouldn't have even been able to tell she ran away from home and almost destroyed her life just 2 years prior. She was planning on returning to the Coordinating scene when the next season started, in just a couple short months. She had not begun building a team yet, the only pokemon in her possession still being Glaceon. Catching more was definitely on her to-do list, but for some reason, she kept putting it off, which was very unlike her...
Regardless, May was back to normal, and the future looked bright.
After starting May's recovery, Max's Aura capabilities were the next topic of discussion. While they were undoubtedly the reason Max was able to track May down and find her, they were also the product of Max blatantly disregarding his father's wishes. Max was told only to use them for emergencies from then on, which he reluctantly agreed to. Of course, most of the emergencies that occurred in the following 2 years were of the medical sort, varying from healing wounded pokemon to soothing his father's head after accidentally bumping into open kitchen cabinets. This change in use of Max's powers resulted in him nearly forgetting how to use Aura offensively, while his healing capabilities only continued to grow and hone themselves.
Opting to stay home as long as May did, Max did not resume his career as a Trainer. But that did not mean he didn't train. His two pokemon, Gardevoir and one other, constantly spent their time with him, furthering their bonds to a spiritual level, which led to Max establishing empathy links to their Aura. he could hear his pokemon's voices in his mind perfectly, and they could hear his just as well. Such a sync would definitely come in handy when he got back into battling Gym Leaders and rivals.
But the bond with his pokemon was nothing compared to the bond he shared with his sister. They had become twice as close since her return home. They spent much of their time together, whether it be running errands, playing video games, or simply lazing around the house. Max spent a lot of his time teaching May about Aura, lore included. Once again, May asked how he knew all of this, leading Max to go to his room, open a drawer, and pull out a royal blue book.
"This," he said, opening the book. "Is Aura Guardians: A Complete History. It's a book that details as the name suggests, a near complete history of Aura Guardians and such. I found it just... laying on the street. Crazy right?"
He handed it to May, who opened the book. Just one look at the random page she opened caused her to close it and hand it back to Max. Max raised an eyebrow, opening to the page May had opened. It was one of the first pages, the one with the detailed sketch of an ancient Aura Guardian. Max put two and two together, realizing the drawing most likely resembled the man that had taken Ash away.
Even though May had recovered from her rough patch in life, Ash Ketchum was still a touchy subject. His name was given the Voldemort treatment by Max and their parents, usually being referred to as you-know-who or some other nickname, even when May wasn't nearby. From what Max had read in the book, there was an astronomically high chance that Ash was still alive, and the chance of him being the Chosen Guardian destined to save everyone was nowhere near farfetched either. But May didn't want to hear anything having to do with him. She didn't know it, but Max could tell that avoiding thoughts of Ash was the true reason behind May's reluctance to catch any new pokemon. Whenever he brought up catching pokemon, he could feel an uneasy sadness emanate from her Aura.
But it wasn't just memories of Ash that haunted May; memories of Rosa were swirling inside as well. It was those that really made Max sad. He blamed himself for her capturing, convincing himself that she could have been saved if he had acted differently. But there was nothing he could do now that she was taken, and similar to Ash, she became a subject not to be brought up. Eventually she had become such a forbidden topic that she was barely thought of anymore. Occasionally she'd cross someone's mind, prompting them to feel guilty and/or sad for the following hours, but in the grand scheme of things, Rosa ended up as close to forgotten as a person could be without actually being forgotten. But on the off chance that she did come to mind, the thought was always dismissed with a terribly cliché "We'll see her again someday... I know it." type of reasoning.
But as naive as that thought was... it was not far from the fate's plan. As time passed by, the pieces of the prophecy grew closer and closer, and soon, sooner than anyone thought, the puzzle would be on its course to completion...
...
[2 years later... [0 years til Ash's return]]
...
"May?"
"..."
"May... wake up."
"..."
"WAKE UP!"
A pair of sapphire eyes bolted open, slightly bloodshot from the loud voice that woke them. The eyes darted around frantically, until they found what they were looking for: a 19 year-old boy with dark hair and glasses. He sported a full set of facial hair; beard, mustache, and sideburns, all of them fully connecting into eachother. None of it was thick, but it had grown in enough to look less like a teen desperately keeping any hair that miraculously grew on his face, and more like a young man who liked to keep his facial hair at a short, manageable length. Either way, she was going to make fun of it.
"You need to shave, Max." said May, groggily sitting up in her bed. She pushed stray strands of her brown hair out of her face; it had grown long, a couple inches past her shoulders. "You look like a wolf-man."
"And you need to get your lazy ass out of bed." retorted Max, unknowingly confirming his facial hair insecurities by touching his stubble. "You have to start packing, we're leaving for Kanto tomorrow morning. Your nap is over."
"My naps are never over..." replied May, going back to sleep.
Max sighed. They were going to Kanto for the first time in years the next day. The first ever World Conference Games were going to be held there, in Celadon City. The games were the product of the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola leagues deciding that every four years, they'd send their best Trainers, Coordinators, and Performers to one place, where the best in the world in each craft would be decided via 6 separate tournaments. There was a Coordinating tournament, a Performing tournament, and a Battling tournament, as well as doubles tournaments for each of the three professions. Ever since the announcing of such an event 1 year prior, almost everyone who was anyone was rushing to either register themselves into a tournament, get tickets for a tournament, or simply learn more about the event.
Max had been able to get his hands on two tickets, one for May, and one for himself. Neither of them had registered for any tournaments, both of them much more content with the idea of simply spectating and enjoying the festivities. It was definitely something they were looking forward to, in fact, it was hard not to get all giddy when thinking about how amazing it was gonna be. But none of that fun was going to be had in the coming week if a certain brunette didn't pack her belongings...
"May, it's 6:00pm. The ferry to Kanto DEPARTS at 9:00am tomorrow. This is literally the only time you have to pack. You have to get it done tonight, there wont be any time tomorrow." warned Max.
"Alright... I'll pack..." answered May, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "Happy?"
Max walked to his right, exiting May's room. "Yes."
In actuality, May completely understood what Max was saying and fully agreed with him. It was just fun to mess with him and give him unnecessary difficulty. With a content sigh, May sat up in her bed once more, removing her blanket from her lower body. Energized from her nap, the brunette sprung out of bed, a smile on her face.
"This is so exciting," she thought, opening her closet. She pulled out her luggage. "I haven't been to an actual tournament since..."
May's smile faltered for a bit as she remembered the last time she'd been to such a large pokemon battling event. It wasn't with Rosa... they never finished their journey together. It was many years ago at the Ever Grande Conference, with...
"Ash..." thought May aloud, opening her luggage. She began packing clothes into the case, her face having gone from excited to just... present. "Come on... enough is enough. It's been about 5 years since that day already... His name shouldn't affect me as much as it does..."
May continued packing her things, though her smile was gone. She refused to frown though, determined to keep her face in at least blank state.
"I'm.. I'm tired of letting that define me... He's gone, and that's that... I can't live the rest of my life running from that simple fact. My life is back on track and almost everything is back to normal. I can't be like this forever... It's time to move on... Fully. I've come so far..."
May reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a small bottle. It contained her medication, which she had unfailingly taken every day since Max had brought her home.
"I've come so far..." she repeated aloud, putting the bottle in her luggage.
[North of Mt. Moon, outskirts of Kanto Region]
"I've come so far..."
Long honey-blonde hair swayed in the wind as its owner climbed up the rocky slope, the young woman unafraid of the drop below. Climbing up to high places had become child's play to her in the past few years of her travels. She had long ago ditched her silly teenage clothing in favor of a comfortable pair of khaki colored short shorts and a form-fitting black sleeveless top. A brown leather holster was slung across torso, holding 5 knives of different lengths, while a matching belt with 3 pokeballs attached was wrapped tightly around her waist. The most worn down of boots adorned her feet, a testament to the many physical obstacles she had overcome in her recent past. The rest of her belongings were held in a single-strap backpack slung over the opposite shoulder of her holster.
"You told me never to give up til the end..." she thought, reaching upwards.
Her hand came into contact with the peak of the slope she had climbed, prompting a sigh of relief to come from her mouth. With a light grunt, she pulled the rest of her body up, completing her climb. She was met with the sight of countless other mountains sprinkled with green vegetation and moving wildlife. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, with clouds of various shapes decorating it. And in the center of this landscape, its base just a short walk away from her, lay a landmark like no other. To many, it appeared to be a gargantuan tree, but to the trained eye, it was revealed to be a massive rock formation.
"But this is my last chance..." she thought, eying the tree-like structure. It was her destination.
She began her descent down the side of the peak she had just conquered. Her younger self would have stopped to enjoy the marvelous view for much longer, but the situation was too serious for anything like that. All she had worked for... nearly four years of searching... led up to the next few hours. Either she'd find what she was looking for, or leave with a dead dream.
'I've searched the world... every spiritual site there is to visit..."
She approached the entrance, cyan-blue eyes burning with conviction.
"If I don't find you here, Ash," spoke Serena Yvonne, 22 years of age. "then my journey ends today."
Okay. I know, I have quite possibly the shittiest track record when it comes to updating. For that, I'm sorry. I realize now that there's really no point in me saying when I'll update, because I am complete buns when it comes to meeting said dates. Just know that no matter how long it takes, I'll update again, eventually. In this case, I HONESTLY see the next couple updates coming out fairly often, as I have shitloads of free time with it being Summer and all. So... seeya soon.
Ta ta,
~DarkSlash9
