I'm sooooo sorry for not updating in a long time. Hell has come to earth. It has taken the form of school. And dammit, mom is a freakin slavedriver!

I get a really bad feeling about how certain people are going to take this chapter. No, this is not the last chapter, no, no, no! Of course not.

and unfortunantly Canyx, heh...I...eh, i was in a verrrrrrrrrrrrrry angsty mood when i wrote this whole story, so there will be more angst. I'm just an angst-fanatic. I really should be rewriting, finishing, etc the sequel...oh dear...

But hey, guys, do you remember the warning I had at the end of the first chapter? Yeah, welllllllllllllllllllllll...

I DON'T OWN POKEMON!

Long chapter! YAY!

"Manectric, use Thunderbolt!" Wattson commanded. He and the others had made it to where Team Rocket had stored the stolen pokéballs, and Wattson had found Manectric.

Manectric did as he was told, and Team Rocket got hit dead on.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again……!" And Team Rocket disappeared.

Misty smiled. "Now that's what I like to hear!" She grabbed up a few pokéballs and told the others to do the same.

"Here's Ampharos!" Watt cried happily, holding up a pokéball.

"And here's Dad's Slaking!" Max exclaimed, carrying another pokéball.

Brock hauled up the sack that was carrying the rest of the pokéballs and followed the others out of there. "We better help Ash now. I hope he and Pikachu are doing good…with each other that is…"

"Do you think Pikachu still doesn't remember?" Max asked.

"I don't know," Brock replied frankly. He then saw Watt and Wattson giving them all puzzled looks. "You know… I think it's about time we let you two in on the story…"

"And remember that time when we were in the Johto League, and we were battling Harrison's Kecleon? That was great how you grabbed onto Kecleon's tongue and shocked him!" Ash said happily.

"Pika pika…," Pikachu replied with a smile. "Pik, pikachu pika pi pikachu. Pika pi pika kapi—" He cut himself off and began to sniff at the air.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika…," Pikachu growled.

Ash spotted what Pikachu smelled. At the mouth of the hole, Jessie's Seviper looked down at them predatorily. Ash frowned at looked back at Pikachu, whose cheeks were throwing off weak sparks. "You aren't going up there, Pikachu. You're too weak to battle. I'm not going to let you get hurt."

"Pika pika pikachu! Pika ka pikachu!" Pikachu shouted, climbing up out of the pit before Ash could grab him.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash yelled.

"Seviper!" Seviper cried triumphantly, engaging in battle with Pikachu. The snake pokémon wrapped her long body around Pikachu and squeezed tightly, making the little electric-mouse grunt in protest.

"Pika pika…," Pikachu said menacingly, trying to summon enough power for a Thunderbolt. Nothing was doing though. He did manage to gather enough strength to push himself out of Seviper's Wrap attack.

"Se sev seviper vipe viper?" Seviper hissed. She then made the weird purring-like noise that Sevipers sometimes make. She then lunged forward with a Bite attack.

A Bite attack that missed Pikachu by inches. Pikachu sweat dropped. He knew he didn't have enough energy for even his Quick Attack. But Team Rocket was going to pay for what they made Ash go through…… "Pi pikachu!"

"Seviper!" Seviper's sword-like tail began to glow purple, and she slashed down on Pikachu mercilessly.

Ash was trying desperately to get out of the pit, but he just couldn't. He just kept digging his fingers into the dirt wall, trying to get a handhold. The wall was too solid. His fingers were almost bleeding in the effort. He then heard something—something that felt like a shot to the heart.

"Piiiikaaaaa!" Pikachu screamed in pure pain.

Ash had no idea what had happened. "Pikachu?! Pikachu, answer me! Are you alright?"

There was no response.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled again.

This time he heard a satisfied Seviper-purr. Jessie's pokémon slithered back over to the opening of the hole and began to crawl in.

Ash backed up into the wall, getting as far away as he could. What happened to Pikachu? Where is he?! he thought, beginning to panic.

"Se seviper…" Seviper slowly made her way over to where Ash was and began to creep around him.

"Get away!" Ash ordered, trying again to get out of the hole.

Seviper let out a purr that sounded like she was laughing. She pulled her long body slowly around Ash and began to squeeze.

"I said get away!" Ash cried, trying to push Seviper's coils off him. No use. The snake was just too strong. Seviper pulled around him tighter and tighter, making it hard for Ash to breath. He shuddered at the touch of Seviper's cold scaly skin, and found himself staring straight into nasty red eyes.

"Seviper," Seviper hissed, squeezing tighter. "Viper…"

Ash began to gasp for breath, and Seviper started to purr.

Ash looked at Seviper's face. Saw those beady red eyes. Saw those wickedly long fangs. Saw that tongue flickering in and out of her mouth in that reptile way. His lungs were burning now; spots were swimming in and out of his vision. His arms were pinned at his sides, so he had no hope of escape. No hope of escape from those cold scales that were forcing the life out of him.

No one's here to save me now, Ash thought. This is really it. I'm going to die. And I always thought I wouldn't die alone. I always thought…… I just hope Pikachu is alright… He'll take care of the others for me… I hope they don't think that this is their fault…… I hope Mom will be okay without me……

His lungs were on fire, and Ash thought that they would explode. He didn't find out if they did, though, because he fell deep into unconsciousness.

"That's…a very interesting story…" Wattson drew the sentence out. He and the other were walking slowly back to where Ash was waiting for them, and Brock had filled him and Watt in on the whole story.

Brock shrugged. "Ash warned that it was a long story. I just think he doesn't want to talk about it. He never does."

Wattson nodded. "I understand that."

"And speaking of Ash, I think he's going to get annoyed with us if we leave him in that pit," Misty said.

Brock nodded and led the way to the hole at a quicker pace.

A minute or two later, Max said, "What's that?" He pointed to a small puddle of blood that was pooling around—

"Pikachu!" Misty cried out, running to the little mouse pokémon. She knelt down beside him and examined him. There was a deep slash from the little pokémon's left shoulder down to his right hip.

"Pikapi…," Pikachu let out, his breathing shallow. "Pikapi…Pikapi…"

"It's me, Pikachu. Misty."

"Pikachupi? Pik… Pikapi, Pikachupi…"

Misty heard a loud gasp from behind her, and turned to see Max and the others looking into the pit.

"Manectric! Go down there and use Bite attack on Seviper!" Wattson called out. "Get that thing out of there!"

"Manectric!" Manectric exclaimed, leaping into the hole and returning back out with Seviper's tail in his jaws. The electric dog pokémon tossed Seviper and hit her with a Thunderbolt, sending her 'blasting off'.

"Ash? Oh, God…" Brock leapt into the hole as well, and helping out a limp Ash.

Misty gasped. "What happened?!"

"Seviper was using Wrap on Ash!" Max explained. "She was squeezing his ribcage too much, and he probably couldn't breathe… He must have fallen unconscious…"

"We need to help him… Him and Pikachu!"

The others' eyes widened at the sight of Pikachu, and Misty's eyes watered. "I don't know… I don't know if he's going to make it…"

"Pikapi…Pikapi…Pikapi…," Pikachu murmured over and over again.

Misty gathered him up in her arms and looked to the others. "I'm taking him to the pokémon center right away! You guys take care of Ash." And before waiting for an answer, she fled.

Ash felt himself being ripped from unconsciousness, and he instantly remembered what happened. His eyes snapped open, and he shot straight up, making Max, Brock, Watt, and Wattson stare at him. Ash looked around and took a few deep breaths, trying to will his heartbeat to go down.

"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked.

Ash swallowed and nodded quickly, still looking around nervously. "Where—where's Pikachu?"

The other four looked to each other uneasily, no one wanting to tell Ash what kind of shape Pikachu was in.

"And where's Misty?" Ash persisted, not getting a good feeling about the looks that were present on everyone's face.

"She's at the pokémon center—with Pikachu," Brock answered as calmly as he could manage.

"So Pikachu's going to be okay? I don't know what happened while he was battling Seviper, but I heard—I heard this—this awful…"

"I know this will be hard to take, Ash, but Pikachu……is pretty badly injured," Wattson said tentatively.

Ash's eyes flashed slightly. "Then what are we waiting for? We gotta get to the pokémon center!" And he pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the soreness in his ribs. He considered himself lucky that he didn't break any. He led the way, his head spinning with thoughts of what could have happened to Pikachu…

When Ash and the others came into the pokémon center, Ash instantly spotted Misty sitting in one of the chairs, looking worried. Ash looked to Brock, Max, and Wattson before sitting down next to Misty. Watt had taken the stolen pokéballs, planning to send them to their trainers.

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked once she noticed the raven-haired teen. There were streaks down her face, showing that she had been crying recently.

Ash nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine… But is Pikachu alright…?"

"Terribly injured," Misty answered flatly, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice. "Nurse Joy told me that she would tell us when she was done examining him… She says she'll do the best she can."

"She's not sure if he's going to make it, isn't she?"

Misty couldn't bring herself to lie to Ash, so she nodded sadly.

Ash's head tipped low at once. What if Pikachu… What if he doesn't make it? What'll happen? He can't just DIE!

"Ash Ketchum, may I speak to you please?" It was Nurse Joy, who had come out of the back room and was now at her desk.

Ash uneasily went over to her. "Is Pikachu going to be okay?"

Nurse Joy frowned and looked down. "I'm very sorry, Ash… But Pikachu was seriously injured… He lost way too much blood. I'm doing all that I can, but I suggest you start saying your goodbyes…"

Ash pounded his fist on her desk. "You can't just let him die! He can't!"

Nurse Joy sighed. "I'm very, very, sorry… There's just nothing I can do to help. It wouldn't matter what I did, he would still……die…"

"No……" The word seemed to echo in Ash's mind. He looked as if he were in a daze, and he said, "Let the others say goodbye first… I'll go last."

Nurse Joy nodded slowly and went to tell the others about it. A few minutes later, she led Misty into the back room where Pikachu was.

Misty stood over where Pikachu lay, tears pouring down her face.

"Pikachupi?" Pikachu breathed out.

Misty nodded. "Yeah, it's me… I…I just wanna say… You're the most amazing pokémon I've ever met. You're my friend, and I love you… I—I…" She trailed off, giving Pikachu one last fleeting glance before leaving.

"You always put up a terrific fight! I'll always admire you for that. And you managed to give me a surprise from time to time!" Wattson let out a half-hearted 'Wahahaha!'.

Pikachu smiled, and Wattson left himself.

"I didn't know you as long as Misty or Brock did, but I do know you're one great pokémon. You're so strong, and it's like you can do anything," Max said slowly. "I really wish that I can have a really cool and great pokémon like you someday."

"Pika," Pikachu said with a smile.

"Pikachu, you're the strongest, kindest, bravest pokémon I've ever known. You never give up, just like Ash. It's been great traveling with you…" Brock bowed his head, giving his last goodbye to Pikachu.

It was finally Ash's turn to say goodbye to Pikachu. He went into the room, to see his little friend lying in a bed, looking terrible… He couldn't hold it in, he just let the tears stream down his face.

"Pikachu," Ash said, taking hold of one of Pikachu's small hands.

"Pikapi…"

"Pikachu…you're my most loyal friend, my best partner in battle. You always understood when I was upset; you were always there for me when others weren't. I always appreciated you, and I'm going to miss you like hell." Ash took a deep and unsteady breath. "You've saved my life more times than I can count, and I can't imagine life without you."

"Pi pika, Pikapi. Pikachu…"

More tears streamed down Ash's face. "Pikachu…please… I can't go on if you're not there with me."

"Pi chu…"

"It wouldn't be the same… I know it won't be the same… Without you"—Ash made a sweeping hand motion—"none of this matters anymore."

"Pikapi…! Pikachu…pi pika pik chu…" Pikachu began to cough, but righted himself and looked Ash straight in the eye. "Pik pika, Pikapi…" He closed his eyes.

Ash felt the limb in his hand fall limp, and within one heartbeat, he knew what had happened. "No…," he whispered, tears still coming. "No, Pikachu…" He watched as his tears fell on the familiar yellow fur that he loved so much. It just wasn't real. It was a nightmare… Ash used his hand to stroke Pikachu. "Pikachu…"

"I'm so sorry," came a voice from behind him, and someone's hand rested on his shoulder.

Ash brushed off the hand, suddenly feeling like there was a huge piece of ice in his stomach. He took out Pikachu's pokéball, and returned the dead body to it.

"What—" Nurse Joy started.

"I want to bury him," Ash stated monotonously. "Unless you have a problem with that."

"Of course not…"

Ash nodded curtly and left the room. He went through the main room without stopping to look at anyone, and went out the door. He was walking away from the pokémon center when he heard Misty call out, "Ash, where're you going?!"

Ash stopped and turned around to stare at her, not caring if she saw his tear-streaked face. "Home, Misty. Home." And he turned to leave again. All he had to do was go to Slateport City, catch a plane to Kanto, and then just go to Pallet Town… Pretty easy since Slateport was just a few miles away…

"But, Ash—" Misty began to protest.

"I'll catch you later, Mist." And with that, he turned his back on her.

"What do you mean, gone?" Brock inquired.

"He's gone, Brock. He just left. Nurse Joy said he took Pikachu's body too. Said he wanted to bury……P-Pikachu…," Misty responded. "We've gotta… We've gotta go to him… He's really upset."

Brock nodded. "I know…"

"I can't believe Pikachu's…" Max let his voice trail off, looking sad. "We've got to…tell Mom and Dad and May… They said they wanted to know when we found him…"

Brock nodded again. "Okay… I'll call them right now…" He strode in the back room where the phone was located and dialed Norman and Caroline's number first. It rang quite a few times before—

"Hello, this is Norman." Norman's face appeared on the screen. He smiled when he saw it was Brock. "Hello, Brock."

"Hi, Norman. I was just calling… I mean, since Caroline wanted to know when we found Pikachu…"

Norman frowned. "I assume you found Pikachu, but something tells me that something happened."

Brock explained what happened to Pikachu. "He just died fifteen minutes ago," he concluded.

Norman was silent for a very long time, looking down. "How's Ash taking it?"

"Not well."

Norman nodded. "You can tell him that Caroline and I are really sorry for what happened…"

"I would if I could… Ash left."

Norman looked up suddenly. "Left? You let him leave in a time like this? Brock, I don't really think that was such a good ide—"

"I know, I know, and we're going to do our best to find him… And besides, I don't think it'll come down to Ash committing suicide…," Brock said softly, knowing that he and Norman were thinking the same thing.

"Just make sure you find him fast, okay? Believe me, when you lose someone that close to you, you feel like you should die too. And he's a teenager…so…"

Brock nodded. "I understand." And after saying goodbye to Norman, he tried calling Mossdeep. He tried calling the pokémon center, except May wasn't there. I'll have to try again later…, he thought.

Ash boarded the airplane and found himself a seat. He was taking the midnight flight back to Kanto. He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, trying to relax, but failing miserably. Every time he closed his eyes, it all came back to Pikachu. Why did it all lead back to Pikachu? Why did he have to die?

And if I had grabbed him before he went off to fight Seviper… Or if I had grabbed him before he got amnesia… Or if I had somehow stopped him… Ash sighed inwardly. This is all my fault! I practically killed my best friend! He shook his head, trying to think of something else. But all his thoughts still led back to that little electric mouse. How many times had Pikachu helped him through a hard time? How many times had he given Ash hope? Pikachu was always there. Pikachu was a part of Ash.

I've got to get some sleep…got to stop thinking about…about… And as if to grant Ash's wish, he instantly fell asleep.

"Suicide?! Brock, don't even say that!" Misty whispered harshly. "I'm worried as it is, and I don't need you putting phony ideas like that in my mind. I know Ash, and he wouldn't commit suicide."

Brock shrugged. "I know he won't… It's just he's really upset. And people who are really upset tend to make irrational decisions. That's why we have to find Ash."

"He said he was going home," Misty supplied. "You think he went back to Pallet Town?"

"Yeah, probably… We can go to Slateport and catch the next flight tomorrow."

Misty nodded. "Okay… Um…and about Max… Do you think…?"

"I guess he could come with us… Unless he says otherwise. I mean, I told Caroline I'd look after him, so I guess I have to do that until he goes home again. And I doubt he will. And I know that May said that she and Drew would call tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so I guess if they don't call tomorrow……"

"If they don't call tomorrow, tough crap. I'm not just going to wait here while Ash is off all alone. He needs us Brock, no matter how much he denies it. We're the only ones that can help him through this." Misty sighed, bowing her head. Or at least, I hope we can help him through this…

Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me...

Please review, becuase otherwise, I'll think that you hate me! (GASP)

...or review, simply, if you want more... Something!