Chapter 40
"Norman, no!" Caroline exclaims as Shelly's Tentacruel hits him with a tentacle. Tentacruel missed Vigoroth, but managed to accidentally hit Norman. Shelly will take it.
Grinning victoriously, the pinkette says, "You should've stayed back in Petalburg."
Norman glares at her through his clenched teeth. "Vigoroth, quick attack!"
Tossing out her only pokemon, Caroline shouts, "Stun spore!" Her Beautifly flies over the distracted Tentacruel, and unleashes a gold powder, paralyzing the water type.
Shelly clicks her tongue. "Two against one. And I thought I was the bad guy."
"You attacked my husband." Caroline narrows her eyes at the younger woman. "No one hurts my family and gets away with it."
"Too bad." Shelly smirks while tossing out two pokeballs. "Because I will be getting away with it." Her Sharpedo and Crawdaunt emerge to quickly attack Beautifly and Vigoroth.
Norman gives his wife a grateful smile. Reaching over, he grips her hand tightly. "I love you."
She blushes from his words. "I love you too, Norman." They need to hurry this up and find everyone as well as Kai. They will not lose anyone while they search for Kai.
Tunnel
"Kai!" Drew shouts at the boy. This is not the same quiet boy Drew remembers. No. Kai seems a lot more distressed and angry.
"Leave now!" Kai exclaims.
"I'm not leaving you!" May pushes away from Drew to run towards the boy again.
Like last time, Kai has Azumarill send an ice beam at her feet. "I don't wanna hurt you!" The boy's eyes flash a bit of pain. "Leave."
"No way." Drew rushes over to May's side with a pokeball. "We're taking you with us!"
"I don't wanna go with you!"
"Why?" May asks. Her eyes are searching his for any sort of familiarity. She thought Shelly took him, but why won't Kai leave? Pam did say Shelly threatened Kai, though now May is here to protect him.
Ignoring the question, Kai repeats, "You need to leave!"
Drew shakes his head and tosses his pokeball. "Roserade, leaf storm!"
The boy looks away from them defeatedly. "I wish you would've left." He mutters to himself. After closing his eyes to take a quick deep breath, he faces them again with more ferocity in his demeanor. The adults can't even recognize him. "Blizzard!"
"Azu!" Azumarill jumps in the air as her blizzard combines with Roserade's Leafstorm. Having the type advantage, Azumarill destroys the leaves, causing her blizzard attack to hit Roserade, Drew, and May.
Drew grits his teeth as he's pushed back by the blizzard. He catches a glimpse of May in the corner of his eye, and she's stunned. Not from being frozen by the blizzard but by Kai attacking her. She isn't sure why he's doing all of this. Moreover, she can't attack him, like Drew can. It's one thing to battle for fun in a backyard, but this battle is different. It feels like only one of them will be getting out of here alive.
"May!" Drew shouts to get her attention. However, she's still in a daze. Why is this happening? Why won't Kai just come back? Does he feel neglected because she's been spending too much time with Drew? Or is it because she left him to go to Dawn's wedding for 2 weeks? May thought Kai was happy with how their Cianwood lives were.
Clicking his tongue, Drew faces the battle again. Azumarill's ice attacks are too much for Roserade's grass moves. "Sludgebomb!"
"Ice beam!"
Trusting that Roserade can handle herself for now, Drew runs over to shake May's shoulders. "I need your help, May!"
Her worried blue eyes finally meet him. "Why is he attacking us, Drew?" she chokes out.
He furrows his brows because he doesn't know. Drew has an idea, but right now, they need to survive in order to get answers. "Get Blaziken to melt the ice." There's too much ice in the tunnel, blocking their way to Kai. Plus, with Blaziken's heat, Azumarill's ice attacks won't be as strong.
May shakes her head. "I can't attack Kai." She doesn't want to scare off the boy. Shelly has already brainwashed him into attacking them, so May won't give Kai more reason to think he needs to keep attacking them.
"Rosa!" Roserade cries for help, making Drew return his attention to the battle.
Throwing out another pokeball, he says, "Air slash!" Absol splits the ice beam into two weaker ones with his airslash attack. This allows Roserade to deliver a powerful petal dance at Azumarill.
"We can have a double battle." Kai mumbles. He then calls out a Whishcash who attacks Absol, knocking the dark type into the side of the tunnel.
When the debris from the tunnel falls down, Drew pulls May towards him for protection. "Snap out of it!" He needs her right now. If they have any shot of bringing Kai back, he needs May to focus. "Kai, please stop!"
"I told you to leave me alone!" shouts the boy. Roserade manages to finally knock out Azumarill, but she goes down too. Absol is still battling Whishcash. "Earthquake!"
"Kai!" the earthquake causes the tunnel to shake and more debris falls. Absol abandons the battle as rocks block him from Kai and Whiscash. Moreover, Absol sees Drew struggling with protecting May, so he helps to cover them. Drew watches as more debris and rocks blocks his view of the boy walking away. "Kai!" He tries again to no avail.
Ketchums
"You feel that?" Misty whispers to her husband.
Ash stops in his tracks with Pikachu. The electric mouse worriedly looks at the adults. "The ground is shaking." It's barely noticeable, but it's there.
"Where do you think it's coming from?"
Pikachu hops off of Ash's shoulder to feel the ground and sniff around. They have yet to run into anyone, though they've had their share of traps to avoid. "Pika pikachu!" Pikachu points downwards.
"On a lower level?" Ash curiously asks.
"Pi!" Pikachu points down again.
"The basement?" Misty tries, and Pikachu nods. The redhead looks at her husband. "How do we get down there?"
Ash shoots her a mischievous grin. He's tired of walking around aimlessly setting off traps. He wants to battle already! "Just hold my hand, Mist."
"I don't like this idea."
"You don't even know what it is." He chuckles while they hold hands.
"But I already don't like it." mutters his wife. She watches Ash start stepping on all of the tiles in his path. "What are you doing?" Mew. He's really going to get them killed. Brock is gonna kill them again for leaving him on babysitting duty for eternity.
"There has to be a trapdoor bringing us down." Ash replies as he dodges an arrow with Misty.
"Pikaaaa…" Pikachu worriedly dodges the traps Ash is setting off.
"You're gonna kill us before that happens!" exclaims the woman.
"Mist. I've faced death countless times. I doubt this is gonna kill me." Ash smirks.
"No. But I'll kill you!"
Fortunately for him, his next step causes the floor to give, and all three fall through. "Told ya!" Ash chuckles from the fun of the slide.
Misty, though, sees their doom at the bottom. "Ash, the spikes!"
The man now follows her gaze where he sees large sharp spikes at the end of the slide. Throwing out a pokeball, he says, "Catch us, Charizard!" He holds Misty and Pikachu closely as the slide ends and he prays Charizard catches them. The lizard does, but the new room is too small for his liking. Thus, he quickly lands in a part of the room without spikes before forcing himself back into his pokeball.
Letting out a relieved breath, Ash looks around the small room. "Ash."
"Hm?"
To his surprise, she grabs his face to smash her lips on his. Of course he always welcomes a kiss from his wife, especially one as passionate as this. Pikachu shields his eyes in embarrassment. When the adults pull away, Ash is blushing profusely. "Okay. Let's keep looking for Kai." The woman backs away to gaze around the room, leaving Ash to stand with his mouth slightly agape. Mew. He loves her.
Saoris
"Norman!" shouts the salmon haired woman running up to the battle. "Caroline!" After falling down the chute, she and her husband followed the sounds to this battle. They now have Shelly trapped between them.
"I'm assuming this must be Shelly?" Harley asks.
Smirking at the four adults and Pokemon around her, Shelly calls back her Pokemon. "I know better than to fight a losing battle."
"You're going nowhere!" Caroline exclaims.
Solidad gets ready to pounce on Shelly, but the pinkette throws out a smoke bomb. "Don't let her escape!" People start grabbing around blindly, and Solidad grabs long hair. "Gotcha!" When the smoke disappears, she sees purple hair in her hands along with her wincing husband.
"Wrong person, sweetie." Harley squeeks out.
Norman and Caroline look around, but Shelly is nowhere to be seen. Hitting his fist against the wall, the man mutters, "She got away!" He is glad the Saoris came, though, because he wasn't sure he and Caroline were going to make it out of the battle. They were stalling for time since Shelly had the upper hand.
"Not quite." Caroline grabs his hand to lead him over to the Saoris. "Feel that?"
Harley and Solidad stop their bickering to wait. "What are you talking about, Ms. Maple?" Harley asks.
"The ground is shaking. Just a little bit, but it is."
Caroline answers.
"Then that's where we're going next." Norman assumes Shelly must be headed to the shaking.
Enbar Children
"Hey, watch out, Shay!" Shane exclaims as his sister falls back to him. After escaping through the air vents, the two found a room to enter. They managed to get out without triggering any traps, and they're currently roaming the halls.
"Sorry, Shane." the girl apologizes, but she sees he's struggling to stand too. Holding onto her brother and the wall, Shay looks around the hallway. "Is it another trap?"
"Feels like an earthquake." the boy replies as he also looks around.
Shay tugs at his arm. "Let's go to it!"
"No way! We're supposed to stay away from danger!"
"But what if it's mom and dad? Or one of the other adults we came with? They're all strong trainers, so we should find them!" Shay's hopeful eyes meet her brother's worried ones. "What if it's Kai?"
Sighing, Shane knows his sister is right. Even if it is one of the adults battling wild Pokemon again, they're better off with these adults than on their own. Shane has been lucky to not have to battle anyone yet. "Okay, but don't let go of my hand."
Shay obediently nods and follows her brother who leads them towards the cause of the intense shaking. Eventually, the shaking becomes unbearable, and they have to fight to stay walking. Shay won't give up, though. She's not leaving here without her best friend who she hasn't seen in weeks.
"May!"
The siblings exchange shocked glances. That was Drew's voice! And he was calling for May! "C'mon!" Shay pulls her brother's arm through the shaking hall.
Shane has to pull her back as the door in front of her swings open, almost hitting Shay in the face. "Watch out!" He warns his sister. The two fall to the ground due to the shaking and loss of balance. Shane tries to defensively get in front of his sister with a pokeball, but the moment they see who walks out of the room, they both freeze.
He doesn't seem to notice them until he hears Shay shout, "New!"
Stopping in his tracks, the white haired Aqua grunt fights the urge to look at her. If he does, his whole resolve is gone. It's why he was glad May didn't do anything in the tunnel. Plus, the tunnel wasn't bright enough for him to really take notice of her. This hallway, though, has plenty of light.
As if on cue, the shaking now stops, and Shay stands up to rush over to him. With tears in her eyes, she just wants to hug him and tell him how worried she was. She wants him to know how happy she is to see him. She wants him to know that they're all safe now. She just wants him to know she wants him.
However, he raises a stiff arm to push her back to the ground without even looking at her. "Leave."
The cold voice sends chills down both Shane's and Shay's backs. Shay wipes at her few tears that had escaped. Why is he acting like this? Why isn't he happy to see her? "Kai-"
"Leave before I have to hurt you too!" shouts the distressed boy with his eyes shut. He can't see them. He can't see her. It'll ruin everything and put her in danger too. He really hopes May and Drew are okay, but he had to abandon them in the tunnel. He knows he can't hurt Shay, so he needs her to just leave already.
"Too?" Shane stands to walk over to his sister. "What did you do, Kai?"
The younger boy shakes his head. He turns his back to them and walks away. "Leave before my mom finds you."
Shay clenches her fists. She has been crying nonstop for him and worrying about him. She's dedicated all of her time to finding him, and this is how he acts. This is not the same Kai she knows. She needs answers if he wants to leave them forever. Standing up, Shay runs over, but Kai hears her.
Pulling out a pokeball, he drops it on the ground before Shay can reach him. This releases a Luvdisc. "Ice beam." Luvdisc separates Kai from them with an ice barrier, stopping Shay in her tracks. "Finish them." Kai orders the water type and continues walking away.
"Kai!" Shay cries after him, but Shane grabs her before she can get hit by another attack. He has his Lanturn battle the Luvdisc. The siblings watch their friend disappear down the hall, and Shay fights her brother's hold while screaming for Kai.
When Kai rounds a corner, he croakily whispers, "I'm sorry, Shay."
Shane knows Kai must've only used Luvdisc because it's his weakest pokemon. Kai knows Shane can handle Luvdisc because Kai would never want to put Shane and Shay in danger. By the time Shane defeats Luvdisc, Kai is long gone, and Shay has stopped crying. The girl turns to her brother, and Shane flinches from her intense eyes. "He's gonna regret that."
Tunnel
"Thanks, Absol." Drew returns his injured pokemon who had protected them and then helped clear the rocks off of them. Lifting up the quiet woman, Drew sits her on top of a rock where he checks them both for injuries. When he doesn't see anything worse than scratches, he says, "May."
She hasn't said a word in a long time, and he's worried. Plus, they need to chase Kai down before he gets too far away. "May." Drew softly tries again. "We need to get Kai."
To his surprise, she shakes her head. "Let's go, Drew."
"Why?"
"He told us to."
The man furrows his brows. "Are you giving up?"
May's sad blue eyes meet his angry green ones. "I want Kai to be happy." He rarely ever asks anything from her. Thus, when he does, May listens and usually grants those wishes. Kai is always very considerate of her. The last time he gave her his opinion, it was about how he thinks Drew isn't too bad. Kai doesn't say much, but when he does, his words are true.
Drew shakes his head in disbelief. "You think he's happy right now?" What is she saying?
"He wants us to leave. We should respect his wish, Drew. Kai never asks us to do anything." May just wants to get as far away as possible and cry. It's not like she gets to keep Kai if he does leave with her. Since he wants to stay here, she needs to respect that. Maybe Shelly isn't a bad mother, and Kai belongs with Shelly?
"You wanted me to leave! And we both know I'm better off with you!" He grabs her face to look at his eyes. "I thought I wanted to leave you years ago, but I was wrong! We're better off together, May! So do you really believe Kai is better off without you?"
Taking in a deep shaky breath, she replies, "He wants me gone."
"What about you?"
"As his guardian, I need to sacrifice my selfishness for him."
Drew sternly tells her, "And yeah. As someone who's in love with you, I need to sacrifice my selfishness for you, but I chose to be selfish and enter your life again. Tell me you don't hate it."
"This and that are different, Drew."
"No, it's fucking not, May!" He's angry at her for giving up. They've come this far. They got an army of people willing to risk their lives for this. And here she is being the first one to give up. Everyone is doing this for her and Kai! "What is Kai to you?"
May closes her eyes to try and keep her tears back. She hates when Drew yells at her like this because he always hits her heart. "Brendan's son."
"I asked who he is to you. Not to Brendan."
"My friend."
"Is that it?" She weakly shakes her head as a tear slips out of her shut eyes. "What else is he?"
Taking in a deep breath, she croaks out, "My family."
Drew nods. "And family doesn't leave family behind." Kai is like a younger brother to him, so Drew won't stop until the boy is happy. It's also why the Maples are here. They're here for May who is their family. The Enbar family are family friends. The Ketchums, Oaks, Saoris, and Shinjis are close friends to May and Drew, so of course they'll help out. However, the main people emotionally invested in this mission consider Kai their family.
The woman slowly opens her eyes to gaze into Drew's determined emerald orbs. Drew is right. Kai is her family, and family doesn't leave each other behind. Even if Kai wants them gone, May won't leave without a good reason. She's come this far, so she needs answers. Or she at least needs one proper goodbye from the boy she views as a nephew.
Closing in on Drew, she's grateful for him being here. To think that she came to this island without him, but he brought a bunch of their friends to help on this mission. The two have always been each other's support through their traveling years. They always worked together and helped one another whole heartedly. They made the best team, and all of their missions came out successful. "Team Mayhem?" She whispers with her face mere millimeters from his.
Drew warmly smiles at her as a faint blush creeps his face. "Team Mayhem." And May closes the gap between them.
I hate typing action. I prefer pure romance. I hate typing love triangles too. However, if I want more views, then I can't just type completely happy love fanfics. I need drama/action and that bores me to type. Anyway, that's why this chapter is short compared to my recent ones. We're nearing the end because I hate action. :P