Chapter 2

"You break it, you buy it!"

The four kids looked before them as a shadowy figure began to emerge from the house. As the sunlight revealed his character, the group looked at him a bit reluctantly. The elderly man who appeared to be in his early 60's had frizzy gray hair sticking out from the sides of his head. He had a large, oval-like nose that was almost humorous to look at. His balding head reflected the sunlight that battered down upon his scalp. The old man was wearing a white lab coat that stretched down to his knees. His dark black pants contrasted his shirt which was full of dirt patches underneath his open lab coat.

He gazed upon the kids with both a nervous and convulsed demeanor. Without saying another word, the man took out from his coat pocket the frisbee that Ash had accidentally thrown through the window.

"Which one of you did this?" he asked in a gruff, curious voice.

Ash's nose twitched before he stepped forward, "I…was the one who broke your window…I don't know how I could say this but…"

"Never mind!" the elderly man interrupted while tossing the frisbee back up into the air.

As Brock jumped forward to catch the frisbee as it fell, the old man turned to the group as a glimmer sparked in his eye.

"I hope you kids know that you're going to have to reimburse me for the window," he said, cracking a smile.

"Wha…really?" May asked, startled.

"When you break other peoples things you're going to be expected to pay for it, little girl," he snickered, "Anyway, come inside. I'd like to take the names down of you kids you know."

Ash and the others took a glance at each other before reluctantly walking forward into the small building. As the group walked into the building they were aghast by all the high-tech devices around them. Mechanical arms moved erratically placing small objects on conveyor belts. Bubbling chemicals were being mixed and remixed in test tubes by machines. Various computer screens were displaying numerical data and mathematical formulas.

The gang realized that they appeared to be inside some type of lab, and judging by the elderly man's appearance, he was the scientist or professor of this particular lab. The gang continued walking a few steps behind the man as he motioned for them to follow him.

"Wow, what is with all this stuff?" Max asked curiously.

The others continued to gaze around as the elderly man motioned for them to sit on an orange couch in front of a coffee table. Ash sat on the left side of the couch while Pikachu jumped on his lap, as May, Max and Brock sat next to him respectively.

"Nooooooooooow then!" the elderly man exclaimed, "Whose names should I be taking to report this vandalism?"

"Hey hold on, I told you it was an accident!" Ash said defensively, waving his hand.

"Now, now, now. It doesn't matter to me, all I want is the cost of my window repaired," the man exuberantly exclaimed as he twirled around.

He then suddenly stopped spinning and put his face right in front of Ash's. Ash jerked his head back with a nervous gaze as the others looked upon them.

"Unleeeeeeeeeeeesssss," the man said cheerfully as he grinned, "You're willing to work for me to pay up your debt."

"But…we don't even know who you are or what you even do here," Brock interrupted.

The elderly man turned his face away from Ash and turned toward Brock, "Well then, let me introduce myself as, "Mr. I just got my window broken by four kids and their Pikachu!"

The group stared at him with blank expressions.

May raised her hand in order to get the man's attention. "Um, Mr. I just got my window broken by four kids and their Pikachu?" she asked naively.

The man raised an eyebrow as he stared at the petite young girl, "Yes…?"

"I think your lab coat is on fire," she said softly.

The elderly man's eyes opened wide as he glanced down at the back of his lab coat. He had been leaning against the fireplace that was a few feet ahead of the coffee table. The back of his lab coat ended up catching the flames blowing from the opened fire place during his spontaneous movements.

"GAH!" he screamed as he jumped in the air flinging his coat left and right.

The man continued trying to put out the fire by rubbing his back against a wall, only to find out that he wasn't doing a very good job at doing so. As the gang continued to watch him prance around muttering various phrases to himself, Ash decided to get up to help him.

"Don't you think we should help him put out the fire?" Ash asked his friends.

"That would be a good idea Ash, it doesn't look like our friend here is having the time of his life," Brock replied.

"Why don't you take off your lab coat?!" May shouted.

The scientist looked up at the girl and said, "Gee, why didn't I think of that?"

He then removed his arms form the sleeves of his lab coat as the fire still spread across the fabric. He dropped his coat to the floor as Ash and May ran up to it and started to stomp on the fire in order to put it out. Max stood holding Pikachu in his arms watching from the couch.

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING? YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR PANTS ON FIRE!" the man warned.

"Wuh?" Ash and May said while noticing their attempts to put out the fire had been pointless.

Brock yelled, "Move away and just douse the flames with your water Pokemon instead!"

Ash and May stepped back a bit and reached for their Pokeballs. The elderly man stood behind his lab coat watching the kids send out their Pokemon.

"Squirtle!"

"Corphish!"

"Bubble Beam!"

"Water Gun!"

The small timid turtle and jolly lobster spouted aquatic attacks from their mouths and pincers respectively. The water attacks successfully doused the flaming lab coat but they put out too much pressure as well!

As the splashes cleared, the kids saw the man drenched with water while sitting on the floor, along with the fireplace behind him completely dry. The man looked even more fed up than he was before, as he wiped his brow with his soaking arm sleeve.

"Eh, I think we overdid it a little Corphish," Ash said, frowning.

"Well we put out the fire, he can't be mad at us can he?" May asked reluctantly, feeling a sweat mark run down her face.

The man finally stood up as he stared at the young teens completely dripping with water as it made a puddle on the floor underneath him.

He stared at them with a stern expression and stated very quietly, "I don't know why I invited you kids in here, as I know I probably just made the biggest mistake of my life."

May took a glance at Ash for reassurance but he continued staring straight at the man.

The man continued, "I am going to go into the other room to change my clothes. My name is "I cannot stand the lot of you", and when I come back, I want to see you kids RIGHT on that couch."

"Uh, of course," Ash said nervously.

The man began to walk through the doorway before turning around, "And for the love of God, do NOT touch anything. Do NOT look at anything. Do NOT even think about doing ANYTHING at all. You do NOT want to upset me anymore than you already have, as I think my blood pressure has already risen since you kids entered my place."

Brock stepped forward, "Sure, we won't do anything until you get back. Right guys?"

Ash, May and Max replied with, "Yep!"

The scientist shook his head again before exiting the room.

"Phew, at least he's gone," Max breathed a sign of relief.

"Hey Brock," Ash asked, "Why didn't you help us put out the fire with your water Pokemon?"

Brock quickly answered, "Don't you remember Ash? I sent all my Pokemon except Foretress back to my brother in Pewter Gym. I just sent them over yesterday if you recall."

"Ah, yeah. I forgot about that," Ash said, putting his hands on his hips.

Max again glanced around the wide open room they were in, with various electronic and mechanical devices moving at alarming speeds.

"This place is AMAZING!" Max shouted gleefully, "Just look at all this cool stuff going on!"

"Don't get too carried away Max," Brock reminded him, "The professor told us not to touch anything. We don't even know what all this stuff is for or what it even does."

"Oh you're right. It's still fun to look at though. It's no fair that we can't at least get a little closer and touch some of this stuff," Max sighed.

"Yeah, but let's just sit still for the moment. Right Ash?" Brock asked as he noticed Ash wasn't near him.

"Uh….Ash?" Brock said again looking around the room.

"May?" Max added as he noticed his sister also wasn't in the vicinity.

Pikachu uttered, "Pika." and cocked it's head.

At the other side of the large open room behind some rather large machinery, Ash and May stood side by side admiring the equipment.

"OHMYGOSH!" May exclaimed.

"Wow, what could all this stuff be for?!" Ash added while drooling at all the nice shiny equipment.

The two stared in awe at two sets of mechanical arms as they continued putting together metal cylinders at a fast speed.

"I bet you can make your breakfast really fast with a pair of these robot arms!" Ash bemused while gawking at the invention.

"Or better yet just imaging getting a massage from these arms. After my back aches from walking so much I would love to program these arms to give me a little relief," May said eagerly while putting her pointer finger to her lips.

"Heh, imagine if you could get these things to tie your shoes for you?" Ash added.

"Or even comb your hair? One arm would hold the brush and the other the hair dryer!" May said placing her hands on her cheeks blushing heavily over her own comment.

The two young teens continued to look in awe as if they were two kids in a candy store.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it ran toward it's trainer.

"Ash!" Brock shouted.

"May!" Max added.

Ash and May turned around to see Pikachu, Brock and Max run up to them.

Max scolded his sister, "Why did you walk all the way over here? Didn't you hear when he told us to sit still? We're in enough trouble as it is!"

"I agree, you two pretty much disappeared in an instant," Brock said.

"Oh please, Max," an annoyed May bended over toward her little brother while putting her hands on her hips, "We just wanted to take a closer look at all of this stuff. We're not causing any trouble."

"I'm sure the old guy didn't literally mean for us to sit on the couch," Ash added, "Besides, I've never seen stuff this cool in my life!"

May turned around, holding her hips back to the robotic arms. She stared at their motion again as her eyes began to water with excitement. She then turned around before leaning her arm against the table in which the arms took the metal cylinders from.

"You know Max, I think you need to stop being such a goody-too-shoes," she said sarcastically.

Off of Max's angry reaction, May accidentally leaned her arms back which knocked over a group of cylinders.

"May watch what you're doing!" Ash shouted.

"Oh damn," May muttered as she frantically began to stack every last cylinder back in it's place.

Just as she began to pick up the last one and place it with the others, the pair of robotic arms gripped onto the back of her shirt while she was leaning over the table!

"What the!" May exclaimed as she felt herself being lifted in the air.

"You know, I think we should have listened to you two," Ash confessed to Brock and Max as he covered his face with embarrassment.

"Gah! Why don't you guys try to get me down!" May shouted as the two robotic arms began to swing her back and forth.

Due to May's weight and the arms erratic movement, the machinery began to malfunction. Metal cylinders continued to fall off the conveyor belt toward the arms, but instead of the arms picking up the cylinders they continued to fall and roll over the table instead.

"GUYS!" May shouted frantically.

The left arm was holding her from her white skirt while the right arm gripped the back of her red shirt. The arms continued moving in a circular motion with May along with it.

"Ash, Brock you got to get my sister down! These cylinders are falling off the table and onto the floor here," Max cried.

Brock motioned for Ash to follow him in order to reach May who was hung a few feet above the table. They walked their way around the falling metal cylinders as they tried to reach up to pull May down.

Ash reached up and grabbed May's arms while Brock pulled on her legs in the opposite direction. The mechanical arms still held onto the back of May's skirt and shirt respectively, as it continued moving her in an erratic manner.

May's eyes broadened in frustration and pain as three forces were pulling on her in opposite directions. The fabric of her skirt and shirt were being pulled upward which nearly began to tear, while her friends had a firm grip on the other two ends of her body.

"You guys are going to pull me to pieces!" May screamed.

"Errgh…let go of her!" Ash cried as he continued pulling May's arms with all his might.

Brock tried to brace himself by placing his foot on the table while pulling on May's legs. Apparently neither was strong enough to remove her from the arms grip.

Suddenly, an idea popped into May's head.

"Ash, quick, let go of me!" May said as she watched him continue to pull her forward.

"Wha?" Ash asked as he loosened his grip on May's arms.

As soon as May's arms were free from Ash's grip, she tried to reach back to her fannypack to pull out a Pokeball.

"May, what are you doing?" Ash asked.

May didn't answer but continued to struggle to open her pocket. After a few attempts she was lucky enough to open her top pocket and pulled out the first Pokeball she could grab.

"This will do, come out!" May cried as she threw the Pokeball ahead of her.

As the flash of the light formed into a strong burly Pokemon known as Combusken, Brock let go of her legs as he realized what she was up to.

"Combusken, Sky Uppercut!" she commanded.

"Sceptile we need you too, use Leaf Blade!" Ash commanded as he threw out his Pokeball.

The large grass lizard appeared next to Combusken as it scratched it's chin. The two Pokemon suddenly leaped up toward the mechanical arms and pulled back their bodies to unleash an attack. Combusken pulled back it's right arm in order to give a devastating blow to the left mechanical arm, while Sceptile's arm glowed a bright green color and attacked the right arm.

May looked up frantically as both Pokemon continued to pound away at the two arms. As both attacks were hitting in succession, the sturdy robotic arms began to weaken by it's upper limbs.

"That's it, keep pounding away!" May exclaimed.

With one last cry, Sceptile's and Combusken's attacks weakened the arms so much that the weight of May's body snapped the hands off the upper half. Without warning, May fell five feet onto the table below. Sceptile and Combusken had landed on the ground next to Ash, Max and Brock.

A small tear formed in the upper right corner of May's eyes as the impact of the fall really hurt her face and chest. She lifted herself up with her arms until she noticed the table was wobbling. Suddenly, the table could no longer handle so much on top of it as it lop sided over and May fell down onto the floor.

The others watched as a very frustrated May began to lift herself up off the floor, only to end up slipping on one of the metal cylinders on the ground.

"Gah!" May shouted as she fell down on her butt.

"May, are you alright?" Ash asked.

"Jeez, Ash! What does it look like?" May snarled at him.

She stood up again as the machine on the right continued sending one metal cylinder after another off the conveyor belt and onto the fallen table.

"Will someone turn this damn thing off already?!" May shouted.

Suddenly May turned to Sceptile and Combusken in a rage.

"You two, get this machine to stop throwing these things here, now!" she demanded as she was completely enraged.

Sceptile and Combusken took a brief glance at each other before listening to May. Sceptile opened it's mouth to fire several pellets known as the attack Bullet Seed, while Combusken shot out a breath of fire. Both attacks intertwined with one another and hit the conveyor belt sending down the metal cylinders.

As the attacks struck, the machine ending up exploding sending the last remaining cylinders up in the air and toward the kids. The cylinders flew off the machine violently and started flying all over the room.

"Get down!" Max yelled as he jumped toward the ground placing his hands over his head.

"Oh jeez!" Brock yelled as he followed suit.

The two Pokemon ducked for cover behind another machine while May wasn't completely aware of what was going on. Without hesitation, Ash quickly pulled on May's right arm in order to get her to fall to the floor. Ash pulled her down to the ground and covered her back with his body in order to protect her while placing his hands on May's shoulders.

The group continued to listen while laying and covering their eyes on the ground as one last cylinder flew passed them and smacked into a wall.

The noise had stopped which gave them the impression that the machine had finally been destroyed. Ash opened his eyes and began to realize that he had placed his full body on the top of May's back in order to protect her. May felt the warmth of Ash's entire body as his lay perfectly symmetrical on top of hers.

"I think you can stop laying on top of me Ash," May said softly, turning her head back.

"Ok," Ash said, cracking a nervous smile as he began to lift himself off of her.

The group began to stand themselves up again as they dusted themselves off from the smoke and debris that had flown all over them. May coughed as she brushed the dust off of her skirt. Brock stretched his neck a bit and looked around him. Sceptile and Combusken walked back toward their respective trainers looking to see if they were alright.

The two machines that they had attacked were completely destroyed. Metal cylinders were scattered all over the floor. The two arms laid broke next to the fallen table. The machines around it continued to function but were filled with smoke from the vicinity. Shards of metal and glass littered the ground around them.

"Well…at least that's over with," Brock sighed in relief.

"Thanks for helping me, Ash, although you could have gotten me down from that robotic thing a bit sooner," May said, crossing her arms.

Ash chuckled a bit to himself as he scratched the back of his head, a habit he had when he was nervous.

"At least we're through the worst of it," Ash stated.

Suddenly, the gang heard a door slam wide open from the other room.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT NOISE FROM!?" the professor exclaimed.

The professor had a change of clothes as he re-entered the room, he wore a blue sleeveless shirt with a collar follow by a pair of slacks and dark boots. He took one look around at his lab and saw two completely destroyed machines along the left wall and the floor scattered with debris.

"CAN'T I LEAVE YOU KIDS ALONE FOR A SECOND WITHOUT YOU BREAKING MORE OF MY STUFF?!" he screamed while his face beamed with anger.

Ash, May, Max and Brock stared at him a bit blankly as he walked over to them.

"Who is responsible for this?" he demanded.

In unison, Ash suddenly pointed toward May, while May pointed to Ash, while Brock and Max pointed to both of them while grinning nervously.

"It wasn't me!" the four of them answered in unison only to see each other pointing to other people.

"Scep," Sceptile smugly stated as he covered his face in embarrassment.

Ash and May noticed Max and Brock pointed toward them.

"Uh…I don't suppose we can make this up, eh?" Ash said politely, lowering his arm.

"Yeah, after all you can just build these machines over again…right?" May added rubbing her hands together nervously.

The elderly man raised an eyebrow.

"Can somebody please explain to me why I've been caused nothing but grief by you kids in just the ten minutes I've known you?!" he asked as he shook his head.

May quickly replied, "Well everyone has their bad days every once in awhile right?!"