Chapter 41
"Oh! Hey, Paul! Hey, Dawn!" grins the chipper raven haired champion.
Paul grunts while his wife flashes the other couple a smile. After exiting the room, Ash and Misty ran down the hall towards the sound of a battle. The shaking had since stopped, but they figured the battle nearby must be the cause of the earthquake. They were surprised to see the Shinjis battling hordes of Pokemon. There are plenty of fainted Pokemon all over the battlefield too. It's like these Pokemon don't stop coming.
"We can talk later, Ash!" Misty scolds her husband who is asking the Shinjis countless questions. She tosses out three pokeballs, releasing Corsola, Starmie, and Politoed.
"Oh. Right." Ash sheepishly rubs the back of his head. It's not like the Shinjis are struggling with the battle. It's just tedious with all of the pokemon that won't stop coming out from the entrance ahead. "Let's help them, Pikachu, Charizard, Torterra!"
"We've been thinking of blocking that entrance." Dawn informs the couple. She's glad they're here because it gives her and Paul a breather.
"We just need someone dumb enough to go there." Paul mutters as soon as he sees Ash take off for it with Charizard.
Groaning, Misty shoots the purple haired man a glare. "You knew that was gonna happen, huh?"
Paul smirks and orders his Honchkrow to help Charizard clear a path. "We all knew that was gonna happen, Misty."
Dawn gives Misty an apologetic look, but the redhead can only giggle at the situation. She watches her husband and Charizard dodge a bunch of attacks. "This is such an 'Ash saving the world' type of thing."
"I know, right?" Dawn smiles. She then turns to Paul. "We need to get one of our bigger pokemon over there to help with the barrier."
Paul nods. He's already on it. They just needed Ash to be the one to cause the distraction, allowing Paul's and Ash's Torterras to bulldoze through. When Dawn looks back at the battle, she notices this, and it just makes her frown because she catches Paul's smirk in the corner of her eye. Reaching over, he grabs her hand, which causes her gaze to soften. "You're prettier when you smile."
The woman blushes profusely. Paul rarely speaks, and when he does, he doesn't ever compliment her. Thus, these moments are rare. Misty feigns vomiting. She and Ash are definitely not this corny. Mew, she wishes Pikachu was here with her, but he's currently with Ash and Charizard, leaving the redhead to be subjected to the Shinjis' PDA alone.
"Looks like you got Ashy Boy to do something stupid again." cackles the voice running up behind them. The three look to see Gary and Leaf running towards them.
After getting sucked up in the vacuum, they were sent back outside of the base and shot into the sky. Luckily, they were able to fly on their pokemon, where they spotted the large intense battle that had blown a huge hole in a part of the base. "At least he's only risking his life this time." Leaf mutters.
"I'd love to hear this story, but right now isn't the time!" Dawn tells them as she watches Charizard take a direct hit to his wing, sending him down with Ash.
"Ash!" Misty shouts, but when she spots her husband giving her a smile with a thumbs up, she realizes she needs to trust him. It's not his first time doing something like this before.
Throwing out a pokeball, Leaf hops on her Skarmory. "Ash can't have all the fun." She giggles before taking off. Gary curses under his breath for having such an unpredictable wife.
Smirking at him, Misty crosses her arms over her chest. "Looks like you got Leaf to do something stupid, Gary."
He shakes his head with a chuckle. Shooting Misty his own smirk, he calls out Aerodactyl. "That's why we're married." The man then takes off after his wife who is helping Ash.
"Guess we got the army here." Paul mumbles. These 6 really shouldn't all be in one group together. They are the best battlers, and all of the champions are here. Paul has no idea how tough this Shelly woman is, but if she's anything she sounds like, he figures one of these couples should be searching for her.
When he feels a squeeze in his hand, he looks over at his smiling wife. They haven't gone on a honeymoon yet, but he doesn't mind what they do as long as it's together. "Stop being a grouch, Paul." Chuckling, Paul orders Electavire to paralyze more of the Pokemon.
Basement
"Over there!" Shay exclaims to her brother. They have been searching the basement trying to find Kai again, and they finally heard a sound. He can't run away for long.
Following his sister, Shane says, "Wait up!" She doesn't have any pokemon, so he hates how reckless she is being. Although, Shane does understand the reason for her behaviour.
Rounding the corner, the Enbar siblings collide with someone. Everyone falls to the ground and groans. When Shay opens her eyes again, her face breaks out in a grin. "May! Drew!"
The adults had heard running footsteps and followed the noise too once they were out of the tunnel. They had climbed their way through the debris until they exited the part of the tunnel Kai ran out of. Once in the hall, they went searching for him.
May's eyes light up as Shay tackles her in a hug. "Shay! Shane!"
Drew smiles and shakes Shane's hand. "Nice to see you guys." The man is concerned about how these two got separated from their parents and the Shinjis. Shay and Shane should definitely not be roaming around this base alone.
Once everyone stands and Shay hugs Drew too, they continue walking and discussing their encounter with Kai. "He thinks he's so cool right now, but he's not!" Shay angrily mutters.
"I don't think that's what he's doing." Shane interrupts his sister's rant.
"It is! He thinks he's protecting us by pushing us away!" Shay glares at the path ahead. "But he's only making me want to protect him more!"
Flashback
"My mom left to protect me."
Shay looks over at her friend. The two are laying in the grass at May's backyard while Drew and May are inside cooking dinner. Shay and Kai were talking about what they want to do during their pokemon journey next year, and Shay had mentioned how she'd protect him from Team Rocket. Shane encountered a decent amount of criminals during his travels, causing the girl to ask Kai how he would handle the situation. The conversation then led to them talking about protecting each other. Now, Kai says this.
Kai has never spoken about his mother before. He usually avoids all talks about his parents and family, making Shay confused on how to handle this conversation. Nevertheless, Kai keeps his soft gaze on the clouds above. "After my dad died, she said she couldn't let it happen to me too." He sighs. "So she left me at the orphanage."
"Are you in danger, Kai?"
He shakes his head. "No." The boy has heard how his father passed away, and he hates thinking about it.
After a couple minutes of silence, Shay asks, "Do you miss your mom?" He has May now, so Shay isn't sure if Kai replaced his mother with her.
"I'm starting to forget what she looks like." the boy sadly replies. When his mother first left him, he cried for months, even after May adopted him. Kai only grew up with Brendan and Shelly, but with both of them gone within the span of a week, a five year old couldn't handle that much emotional distress.
"I'm sure she loves you."
Kai sighs. He doesn't remember much about his mother because his father mostly raised him. His mother was always in and out of his life when he was younger until the day she took him from his father. "She always leaves me though."
"To protect you, right?" Kai had said it earlier.
"She's not protecting me." The boy glares at the clouds. "She thinks she is, but she's not. She's just protecting herself."
Shay worriedly watches him. "What do you mean?"
The boy now turns to face her concerned green eyes. "If she wants to protect me, then she should stay with me and protect me, not leave me!"
Shay rolls over to put an arm around him as her head lays on his chest. She hears his fast heartbeat, which makes her hold him closer. "I'm always gonna protect you, Kai! And I won't ever leave you!"
Grateful for the gesture, Kai wraps his free arm around her too. He finds himself calming down just from her touch. Why did he speak about his mother? He isn't sure. Maybe it's because he's starting to feel like he has a whole new family here in Cianwood? The only family he ever knew is gone. His father is dead and his mother abandoned him. However, he has May and Drew now as well as his best friend Shay. Kai is finally happy again, and a part of him is wondering if he can be selfish and forget about his missing mother completely.
Flashback Over
"Water pulse!"
"Watch out!" May shoves Drew out of the way, causing her to land on top of him. The waterpulse attack misses them both. Shane and Shay look over at the voice everyone recognizes.
Seeing the white haired boy dressed in blue as well as his Sealeo, Shay exclaims, "That's not nice, Kai!"
"You should've left." Kai hisses at them. He already knows his mother is on her way, so he needs to get them out of here now.
"We're not leaving without you!" May shouts. She stands up to approach him, but he shoots an ice beam at her feet. Nevertheless, May's resolve remains unwavering, and she walks over the ice.
"Stop!" Kai warns them. "I don't wanna hurt you!"
"You won't." Shay also steps over the ice, making Shane furrow his brows at his sister. She has no pokemon! He calls out his Rapidash in case they'll need her.
Drew stands and takes in the scene. He can tell Kai is thinking about a lot right now. Just seeing Kai's eyes waver around nervously makes Drew more concerned for the boy. Kai has been through a lot during his 10 short years of life. No one deserves to go through this much emotional turmoil, especially at a young age. "Kai." He breathes out.
"Leave me alone!" The boy has Sealeo shoot an iceball at May and Shay.
"Why?" May questions him. That's all she wants to know.
"Just go." Kai pleads with her. It's the first indication she's seen of the Kai she remembers.
"Am I a bad guardian?" May's voice trembles because she's always feared she isn't good enough for him. "Did you feel lonely, Kai? Did I not take good care of you? Did-"
"No!" He cries out as he clutches his head. This just makes Sealeo shoot another ice beam barrier to stop May and Shay.
Shay takes in a deep breath. "Am I a bad friend? Is it because I didn't stop you from leaving?"
"Stop it!" Kai hurls over as he grips his hair tightly. This causes the blue aqua bandanna to fall to the ground. "Stop it please!" A few tears slip out.
"Then why won't you come back with us?" Shane asks.
Kai shakes his head. "I can't." the young boy whispers. "I can't let you get hurt."
"That's stupid!" Shay exclaims. "You're the only one hurting us!"
When Kai looks up again, everyone can see his tear stained face, but the tears are gone. His blue eyes have returned to their cold ones from earlier. He needs them gone, so he will resort to this method of forgetting about them again. "This is my final warning."
May takes a step forward so that she's in front of Shay. Throwing out a pokeball, she releases a Pokemon she hopes can get Kai back to himself. "Munch!" the curious normal type looks around. When his eyes land on Kai, Munchlax breaks out in a grin. "Munch munchlax!"
Unfortunately for him, Sealeo shoots a water pulse at him, keeping Munchlax away from Kai. "Brick break!" May orders. Munchlax worriedly looks at his trainer, but when May gives him a determined nod, he knows he should trust her. She's never failed him before. Dodging an ice beam attack, Munchlax delivers a powerful brick break on Sealeo.
Kai furrows his brows. Drew can clearly see the boy fighting with himself because Kai's gaze will soften and then turn into a cold glare again. Seeing Munchlax has caused Kai to hesitate, leading to Sealeo taking a lot of damage. "Bodyslam!"
"Let's hit them with our own bodyslam, Munchlax!"
"Munchlax!" Munchlax calls out. Both Pokemon jump in the air where their bellies collide. Munchlax, having a lot more emotion in this battle than Sealeo, sends the water type Pokemon falling to the ground in pain.
"Finish it with a brick break!" One final attack, and Sealeo faints.
"That's fine. I have more." Kai returns Sealeo and pulls out another pokeball.
"Stop it, Kai!" Shay scolds him.
"I'm trying to protect you!" screams the boy. He hates this. His head hurts. His heart hurts. Everything hurts! "Leave!"
"We're not leaving you." May tells him. She just wants to run over and hug him, but she knows she can't. He'll just call out another pokemon to attack her if she does. Right now, he's in a state where he's battling with his mind, but if she runs out, that'll send him back into his Team Aqua mode.
"Stop acting like an adult!" Drew yells. "You're a kid, Kai. Act like a kid." When Drew sees Kai stop shaking, the man smiles slightly. In a softer voice, Drew reminds Kai of their Olivine City talk, "Let the adults handle the adult problems."
Everyone hesitantly watches the boy with his head in his hands. Seeing his trembling stop, May decides to take the risk. She puts a foot out, and when Kai doesn't do anything, she slowly puts out another. In the corner of her eye, she sees Shay move, but May raises a hand to stop the girl. May doesn't want to risk setting Kai off again. They already have him somewhat calm right now.
As much as May knows Shay wants to be by Kai's side, May can't put the girl in danger like that. Shay has no pokemon on her. Fortunately, Shay reluctantly stops. The girl will run out there if May can't handle Kai. Shay knows her friend would never hurt her, especially because he knows she has no Pokemon on her.
When May is beside Kai, she kneels down to his eye level. She still hasn't touched him yet for fear of setting him off. "Kai." She warmly speaks to him.
He hears the voice loud and clear. He just didn't expect it to be so close. The boy was arguing in his mind on what to do. How can a 10 year old boy know what to do? He's just a child, but he was left to fend for himself, just like when he was 5. Knowing she's right beside him, Kai keeps his eyes closed with his head still in his hands.
Seeing that he's not attacking her, May slowly reaches her hands out to his. She grabs the hand with the pokeball and pries out the pokeball. Placing it on the ground, she resumes taking his other hand out of his hair. Kai still hasn't moved, but he's allowed May to move his arms. It's like he can't control his body right now because he is at war with himself. However, May is able to take care of him, like she always does.
Now, the woman notices something red in his shirt pocket. She slowly reaches in to pull out the red bandanna she gave him years ago. The same one Brendan gave her. With Kai's head still looking down, she wraps the bandanna around his head like a headband. It stands out compared to all the blue he is wearing.
Gently cups his face in her hands, she slowly lifts it up so that their eyes meet. May smiles warmly at him while she searches those scared blue eyes of his. They look like they did when she first met him. "Brendan would be so proud of you, Kai." She whispers to him.
The boy blinks back his tears to no avail. Just being reminded of his father causes him to tackle May in a tight hug. He weeps into her shoulder because he's missed her a lot. He feared he would never see her again. Knowing that he joined Team Aqua, Kai didn't want May to see him on the evil side. He didn't want to disappoint her, which is also why he continued to push her away. It's why he's been pushing everyone away. He wants to protect them as well as his own fragile heart that has gone through too much.
Shay takes this as her chance to run over and hug them too. Her face is on Kai's shoulder as her tears flow. "Please come back, New." She hiccups.
He doesn't say anything except cry more in May's arms. All Kai wants is to have a permanent home. However, it seems like he is constantly forced to move places and people. Like once he gets too comfortable, something forces him to leave what he loves to start over. Nevertheless, these people won't let him go, and he's grateful for them. Kai wants nothing more than to return everything to what it was before his mother came back for him.
Shane lets out a relieved breath. When Drew motions for him to follow, Shane and Drew also walk over to hug the boy. They're all in a group hug and grateful for Kai letting them back in. Everyone is relieved to know their mission is complete. They're all too happy about having Kai back as well as in tears that they don't notice the person approaching until she says, "Thanks for bringing them to me, Kai."
Forgot Kai had blue eyes instead of red, so there may be some missed errors in here saying he has red eyes. I tried to change them all lol.
Also, I'm basically done with this story. Just gotta type the next chapter and the epilogue, but we'll see when that happens. :P