The pause that seemed to grip both young adults continued on for what seemed like an eternity. May looked at him and Ash looked at her. Suddenly Ash somehow regained his motor functions and ran towards her in a full-blown sprint. He grabbed her and hugged her with all his might, making her yelp slightly in surprise from the force of his grip.
"Oh May thank Arceus…thank Arceus you're alive…I've been looking for you for weeks…" he said breathlessly, trying to hold back the flood of emotions that were threatening to break his control.
"You...have...?" she asked, in a tone that normally would've given Ash pause, but he was too overjoyed at the sight of her to notice it seemed.
"Of course I have…I'd do anything to find you May…you have no idea how worried I was and then when I found your-"
"I'm sorry but…" May suddenly interrupted him, finally seeming to catch his attention. "Do I…do I know you from somewhere?"
"W-What…?" Ash asked, suddenly feeling like someone punched him in the gut. Finally looking past his own joy, he suddenly seemed to notice the confusion on her face. She seemed to be genuinely confused by his presence and there was no indicator on her face that she recognized him at all. "M-May…?"
"How do you know my name...?" she asked, cautiously moving out of his arms. Ash couldn't understand what was wrong, but then a horrible realization crossed his mind, evaporating the joy he felt all in an instant.
"May…what's the last thing you remember…?" he asked, trying to be gentler this time.
"Nothing before waking up on Firespit Island…" she answered, delivering another gut punch to Ash with her response.
"You don't…remember anything…? You don't remember me…?" he tried again, hoping against hope that it wasn't true, but she only shook her head to confirm his fears. He was left speechless as Volo walked over and began to fill in some blanks.
"I found her when I was exploring around Firespit Island. When she woke up she didn't remember anything. Not even her own name." he explained.
"Only reason we know her name was from a small card she had on her when Volo found her." Cogita added, describing May's Trainer's Licence.
"So she has amnesia..." Ash realized. "Just like Ingo..."
"I'm afraid she does." Volo nodded. "That's why I brought her here in the hope that in time her memory would return in time. Unfortunately, it has not."
"I…I see..." Ash said, trying to come to terms with this revelation. He was still overjoyed that the woman he loved was alive and well, but the fact that she didn't remember her love for him felt like a steak being stabbed through his chest. May could only rub her arm awkwardly as she stood next to him. Able to still read her like a book, Ash could tell by her face that she felt sorry that she couldn't remember anything, but she was also frightened of all the fuss being made over her. He wished he could just tell her everything about who she was and who he was, but he knew that without her memories, he'd just come off as even crazier than he already seemed to her. And he couldn't bare to push her away, not after everything he'd gone through to find her. At least for now, he had to curb his enthusiasm, even as hard as that would be.
"Ash!" Pikachu suddenly yelled, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"H-Huh? What's wrong?!" he stammered. Pikachu sighed and looked at him with a look that Ash recognized all too well. After all, if his girl was here, then Pikachu's girl couldn't be far. "Oh…alright. May, by any chance, was there a Pokemon with you when you first woke up? A companion…?"
"Oh…well if you mean the Glaceon that was with me at the island, she's resting in the tent right now." She replied. That was all he needed to hear. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and ran into the tent as fast as his little paws would carry him. Inside the tent, he found Glaceon sleeping peacefully on the bed, also without any injuries for which he was very relieved.
"Glace!" he happily called to her. His voice roused Glaceon from her sleep and she lifted her head. After she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she looked over and gasped at the sight of him.
"Pika?!" hearing her say his name may have been the sweetest thing he'd heard in weeks. Pikachu ran up to her and jumped onto the bed beside her.
"Please tell me you still remember me..." he begged her, nearly on the verge of tears. Glaceon began to tear up as well as she happily nodded.
"Yes...oh, Pika I've missed you so much..." she said as tears began to flow down her cheeks.
"I missed you too..." he whispered as he pulled her into a hug, finally letting his own tears flow. Glaceon happily cried and nuzzled him with all the love in her heart. The two Pokemon stayed wrapped tightly in their embrace for as long as their muscles would allow. Finally, Pikachu loosened his hug but dared not let her go for fear of losing her again. "I love you so much..."
"I love you too...I knew you'd come eventually..." she echoed his sentiment.
"Sorry it took this long...it's been a crazy few weeks…but I wish our reunion was under better circumstances..." he continued, hinting toward May's condition. His hint was picked up by Glaceon and her ears drooped down with the realization.
"Then she still doesn't remember...?" she asked.
"No...we just ran into her outside and she doesn't recognize Ash at all...I could tell it was breaking his heart…" he explained.
"Poor Ash…" she whispered.
"Please tell me what happened…what happened to you two after we got separated in the rift…?"
"We were pulled through the rift for a while longer until we suddenly emerged in this land and were falling from the sky and we landed on some kind of volcanic island. May hit her head on impact and blacked out...ever since then we've been here...I wanted to try and find you guys...but I had to watch out for her..." Glaceon explained.
"I see...that explains how we found her half of the ribbon on Firespit Island..." Pikachu realized.
"I was hoping seeing Ash again would restore her memory..." Glaceon sighed.
"Sadly it didn't..." he informed her.
"Well…at least we know one thing for sure. Ash won't give up until he finds a way to help her…"
Meanwhile outside in the camp, things were finally starting to calm down. May took a deep breath and calmed herself down as Ash steeled himself against overwhelming her. The woman he loved was still in there. And in time he'd find a way to help her remember. That was a promise to himself and to her.
"Well then." Cogita announced as she finished her cup of tea. "Now that we have both lost children, it's time to finally begin solving this crisis."
"What do you mean Mistress?" May asked as she looked at the older woman in confusion. Ash took a deep breath as Cogita nodded to him, letting him know it was ok to tell May some of his story.
"May the truth is…you and I arrived here through the rift above Mt. Coronet." He said slowly. May's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the rift above the mountain and then back at him.
"You think we came out of that...?"
"You did May dear. You two are partners on this quest. And he'll need your help to save all of Hisui." Cogita assured her.
"Mistress…" May said, obviously concerned about the information that had just been revealed to her. Ash gave her a worried look before returning his attention to Cogita.
"What is it exactly that we're supposed to do?" he wondered.
"You must create the Red Chain and bind our world back together." Cogita answered, piquing Ash's interest with the familiar terms.
"The Red Chain? The only ones I know who can make those are the Lake Guardians." He realized.
"The Lake Guardians?" May wondered aloud as Cogita nodded.
"Precisely. You'll need to go to each of them and complete the trials they will present to you. When you complete the trials, each will give you a piece of material that you need to create the Red Chain." She continued.
"The…the lakes you're talking about…" May chimed in. "Are they the three Great Lakes of Hisui…?"
"That's right May. Lake Valor is in the Crimson Mirelands, Lake Acuity is in the Alabaster Icelands, and Lake Verity is in the Obsidian Fieldlands." The older woman confirmed.
"Then the two of us will go to each lake right away and convince the Lake Guardians to help us." Ash declared.
"Now there's that trademark determination." Volo smiled. Cogita smiled as well but May still looked unsure of herself and Cogita noticed. She walked over and placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder.
"May, I know you don't know him or what's happening. But you can trust him. And he needs you." She assured May. May glanced at Ash nervously as she remained quiet. Ash noticed her look and faced her as well, trying to show her in any way he could that she could count on him.
"I'll be there for you May no matter what…and I can't do this without you…please May can you trust me just for a little while...?" he begged her.
"…Well...If Mistress Cogita trusts you, then I will too." She decided, shaking off her nerves. Her answer made Ash smile a little, hoping that it was the first step to restoring her memories.
"Thanks, May..." he said with a sigh of relief. She gave him a small nod before both of them turned back towards Cogita.
"Once you two have completed your quest, return here and I will give you your next instructions."
"Yes, Mistress."
"Understood."
"Good luck you two." The old woman smiled.
"Pikachu we gotta go!" Ash called out towards the tent, catching his partner's attention and prompting both him and Glaceon to dash outside to join the group.
"What's up?" he asked.
"We've got a job to do. I'll explain more later." Ash answered. Pikachu nodded in agreement as Glaceon stood loyally at May's feet, giving her trainer a sense of comfort enough that she cracked a small smile. With their partners returned, the two trainers left Cogita's land and set off on their mission.
Once the pair of trainers were a good distance away from Cogita's home, May turned toward Ash, hoping to discuss what their plan of action should be.
"Which lake should we go to first? Does it matter which?" she asked him. Ash thought for a moment as he considered his answer. Cogita never mentioned anything about there being any particular order to visit in, but he figured that he'd need to build May's trust more before he tried to convince her to fly on Braviary with him.
"Lake Valor is the closest one. We should start there." He answered.
"Alright. Let's go." She nodded as she began the walk towards the Crimson Mirelands with Ash walking by her side, never daring to let her out of his sight. Not again. The two walked quietly, May, in particular, keeping her eyes on the road to avoid his gaze, which hurt Ash more than he'd ever admit openly. Eventually, his gaze became too much for her to ignore any longer and she turned toward him. "What is it?"
"Nothing…I'm sorry I just…I feel bad..." he admitted with a heavy sigh. The honesty and hurt in his voice seemed to peak May's interest as her tone softened a little bit.
"Sorry? About what?" she asked.
"It's just…" Ash started, weighing his options about what would be ok to tell her without scaring her. "While we were coming here in the rift, it suddenly became unstable and it started pulling us apart...I tried holding you as best I could but you wound up slipping away..."
"...I see..." she whispered, surprised to hear such vulnerability and guilt in his voice.
"If I had just held on a little longer...you wouldn't have lost your memories...and we could've faced all of this together…" he sighed, lowing his gaze to the ground.
"...Well it...it couldn't be helped I guess…" she finally answered.
"May...I'd do anything to help you get your memories back…and I will help you get them back…I promise." He assured her, actually causing her to blush with his tone.
"Thank you Ash…" she responded, allowing her blush to fade before continuing her comment. "I would like to remember anything about my past...so far I only get a sense of familiarity when I look at certain things..."
"I see..." Ash realized, getting an idea. He dug in his pockets and took out both halves of their Terracotta Ribbon. Then he placed her half of the ribbon into her hand, drawing her attention to it.
"What's this?" she asked, sensing a familiar feeling in her chest as she looked at it.
"It's your half a ribbon we won." Ash explained as he showed her his half next to hers. "We won it in a tie battle. And it's one of my most cherished possessions."
"Wow…It um…it does feel familiar." She admitted as she curled her fingers around it, almost in a protective fashion, which made Ash and both Pokemon smile hopefully.
"I'm glad that it does...you should hang onto it then." He smiled.
"Really…? Are you sure…?" she asked.
"I am." He nodded. "It is yours after all. Just promise to take good care of it."
"I will…I promise." She said with a small nod as they finally arrived at the first lake, Lake Valor. The sight of the massive lake drew Ash's attention as May put her half of the ribbon away safely in her pack.
"Well, here we are." He announced.
"So I guess we have to somehow find this "Lake Guardian" Pokemon then?" she wondered.
"Right. I imagine we'll have to get to that island in the center." Ash explained, pointing to a small island in the very center of the water where a small rock formation seemed to be situated.
"That's a pretty long swim…" she commented, looking at the water teeming with Pokemon.
"Yeah, but I have someone who can get us across." Ash smiled as he tossed out a pokeball. "Basculegion let's go!"
"Bas!" Basculegion roared loudly as he appeared in the water.
"Oh wow. That Basculegion looks amazing." May commented, surprised to see Ash in possession of such a powerful Pokemon.
"Thanks." Ash smiled as he got onto Basculegion's back and then offered her his hand. "Hop on."
"W-Well I…" she stalled nervously. Pikachu and Glaceon smiled at each other as they each hopped onto Basculegion, Pikachu sitting back on Ash's shoulder and Glaceon situating herself on the tail, leaving a space right behind Ash for May to sit. After another moment's hesitation, May blushed slightly and accepted Ash's hand, climbing onto the large Water Type behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and Ash couldn't help but smile. "Ready..."
"Alright, Basculegion. To the island." Ash instructed his Pokemon. Basculegion roared in approval and started swimming towards the island at a high rate of speed as May hung onto Ash tightly. Her actions left Ash blushing, having missed feeling her arms wrapped around him. He could feel her bury her face in his back to keep from looking and unlike when Akari did the same thing only a week or so ago, this one only made him want to tell her how much he loved her. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sensation of her touch as long as he could until finally, Basculegion arrives at the island and pulled up along its shores. Ash hopped off Basculegion and then held a hand out to her once again. May's blush only deepened as gently accepted and he helped her off and back onto dry land.
"Wow…" she said breathlessly.
"You ok?" he asked, worried he'd scared her as he recalled Basculegion to his pokeball.
"This...this feels familiar too...holding your hand I mean…" she admitted, the blush on her cheeks getting even deeper somehow.
"I'm so glad May..." he said, unable to hide his smile. Determined to stay focused, May shook off the nerves and faced the large rock formation.
"Anyway...it doesn't look like there's much to see here…is it possible that this is just a random island?" she wondered.
"It can't be...there has to be something we're missing." He answered, puzzled just as she was. Suddenly, however, they both heard a sudden beeping coming from his pocket.
"What in the world?" she wondered. Ash quickly dug into out and pulled out his cell phone, surprised he had completely forgotten about it and its bizarre transformation since he discovered it weeks ago.
"Huh?" he wondered.
"What the heck is that?" May echoed even more confusion than he did.
"It's uh…it's hard to explain…" he admitted, hoping he could skip over a complex discussion about what the heck a cell phone was. Especially since even he didn't know why it was responding to the island.
"I...I guess I'll trust you on that..." she sighed, resigning to his explanation. Ash sighed in relief, but then his cell phone started glowing on top of the beeping. "What the?"
"Ack!" Ash yelped as the phone suddenly jerked itself and his arm towards the island's rock formation. All of a sudden, as the phone's glow got brighter, a sealed entrance in the rock face suddenly exploded open, seemingly after reacting to the phone's mysterious light. Both trainers and their Pokemon stared at the new cave in complete surprise. "Whoa…"
"Well uh…guess that's where we should check next…?" May guessed.
"Looks that way..." he agreed as he put the phone back into his pocket. Both of them shook off their surprise and then cautiously walked into the mysterious cave. After walking down a short tunnel, the two trainers arrived in a larger cavern where the floor was wet, seemingly from the lake water sloshing below. However, what caught more of their attention was a Pokémon Ash hadn't seen before and seemed to be waiting for them. The Pokemon looked very similar to a Quilfish, but had much different coloring and was much larger. "What the? What's that Pokémon?"
"An Overquil..." May informed him, taking a battle stance as she pulled a pokeball from her pack.
"Overquil? Is it somehow related to Quil-" before he could finish his question, the Overquil launched out a Poison Jab at both trainers, forcing them to dodge the bows quickly. "Ack!"
"Ask questions later! We have to take him down!" she yelled at him.
"R-Right!" Ash nodded as he quickly turned towards his partner on his shoulder. "Let's go Pikachu!"
"On it!" Pikachu agreed as he leaped from Ash's shoulder and onto the field.
"Rapidash let's go!" May called as she threw her pokéball onto the field. The ball opened and from it emerged a large horse-like Pokemon with a blazing mane of fire. There was just one thing…the flames on this particular Rapidash were a purplish-gray color instead of the red and orange flames that Ash had seen before, catching his attention.
"Whoa! May where did you-" he was about to ask when May cut him off.
"Focus! Rapidash use Flamethrower!" she yelled.
"Dash!" Rapidash neighed as she fired a powerful Flamethrower attack from her muzzle.
"S-Sorry! Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Ash called, quickly refocusing his attention.
"Take this!" Pikachu growled as he fired Thunderbolt right alongside Rapidash's Flamethrower. Overquil glared at the two incoming attacks and suddenly knocked them both down with Venoshock, rendering both attacks useless. "What the?!"
"It's strong..." May commented.
"It sure is..." Ash agreed.
"But so am I. Agility Rapidash!" she called her next move. Rapidash neighed loudly as she increased her speed, now moving much faster around the cavern. "Now use Flamethrower one more time!"
"Rapi! Dash!" Rapidash yelled as she moved quickly behind Overquil and before he could spin and face her, she fired Flamethrower and landed a direct hit.
"Quil!" the large Pokemon cried out in pain.
"There's our opening! Pikachu use Quick Attack then Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Pikachu charged in with Quick Attack, getting up close to Overqwil before he could recover from the earlier Flamethrower. He then fired Thunderbolt at close range and Overquil cried out in pain massive pain. "Alright nice work!"
"Wrap this up with Wild Charge!" May called to Rapidash. The Fire Type heeded her order and ran at Overquil with Wild Charge, slamming into him full force and sending him flying. Overquil crashed into the back wall of the cavern and fainted, winning Ash and May the battle.
"Alright!" Ash cheered.
"We did it!" Pikachu echoed his enthusiasm. May gave the two of them a small smile before she walked over to her partner and stroked her muzzle.
"Nice work Rapidash." She complimented. Rapidash happily neighed and nuzzled her hand as May recalled her to her pokéball and Pikachu returned to Ash's shoulder. "Well now that that's over, where's this Lake Guardian?"
"I'm not sure…" Ash admitted as he looked around the cavern hopefully. He'd hate to think they just went through all of that for nothing. "Azelf?! Azelf are you here?!"
"Zelf!" a voice suddenly called out to them. In an instant, Azelf teleported into the cave and caught their attention. Ash looked at him, seeing the same Pokemon he once bonded with in his time. Of course, he knew that this Azelf knew nothing of their adventure together, but even so, it was still nice to see a familiar face. Just as he was about to talk to Azelf, the Legendary Pokemon suddenly started glowing and both Ash and May both heard a voice echo in their minds.
"You seek a piece of the spirit?" the voice asked.
"What in the world?" May wondered. Quickly putting two and two together, Ash realized the Psychic Type was using telepathy.
"Yes. We do." He answered Azelf's question.
"Show me your unyielding willpower. Strike me if you can." Azelf instructed them as he began to glow with a soft light. Suddenly a basket of balms appeared in front of Ash and May. Realizing right away what Azelf wanted them to do, Ash picked some up, but May blinked in utter confusion.
"Huh?"
"Come take some of these balms May. We're aiming to hit Azelf with one." He explained to her. She raised a curious eyebrow and picked one up, looking at him curiously.
"With these things?" she asked.
"Yeah. Don't worry they won't hurt him." He promised her.
"Well...if that's really what Azelf wants…" she conceded as she picked up several more in her arms. Both trainers then faced Azelf and took aim at Azelf before each throwing one at him. However just before their balms could hit, Azelf teleported away and then reappeared nearby.
"What the?" Ash gasped as he tried throwing another balm at Azelf. But the same thing happened again as Azelf disappeared and caused the throw to miss completely.
"We're not going to get very far like this..." May informed him.
"We can do this. We have to keep trying." Ash said with determination in his eyes as he kept throwing his balms. May tried to throw some as well, but Azelf dodged each one with ease no matter from which direction they threw. Finally, he appeared back in front of them and his voice echoed in their heads once more.
"Your efforts are futile. Will you abandon this quest?" he asked them.
"Never! We won't give up!" Ash yelled as he started throwing balms once again. May followed his lead and threw as well, but once again they both missed every time. After a few more attempts Azelf again appeared in front of them and asked them again.
"Will you yield?"
"Not a chance! We'll do anything to help the people of Hisui!" May yelled this time before she threw more balms. Ash smiled at her a little bit as he followed her lead with more balms of his own. Azelf continued yet again to dodge each throw with ease for several more minutes until he appeared before them once more.
"Your persistence is pointless. Will you abandon this folly?"
"No! We will never give up till the very end!" Ash yelled, quoting another good friend from back home. Both he and May reeled their arms back and both of them threw another balm at Azelf. Giving them a small smile, Azelf allowed himself to be hit by both balms. "Alright!"
"We did it!" May cheered.
"You both have demonstrated unyielding willpower. I grant you this piece of the spirit that will help bind the world together once more." Azelf told them as his body began to glow once again. Suddenly a small fang appeared in Ash's hands and he looked at it curiously. However before he could ask Azelf any questions, the Legendary Pokemon disappeared, leaving Ash and May alone in the cavern with their Pokemon.
"So…this is what we needed?" May guessed as she looked over his shoulder at their new acquisition.
"I guess it is." He shrugged.
"Well then, I guess that's one down..." she commented.
"Two to go." He finished her thought, earning him a small smile from her. He smiled back at him as the two headed out of the cavern together, with their Pokemon happy to see the two of them working together once again.
To be Continued...
