Yeah, forgot the disclaimer last time...I own nothing! If I were Ken Sugimori, then I sure as hell wouldn't be wasting my time writing a fanfiction of my own work when I could be basking in the millions upon millions (or possibly billions) of dollars my creation has earned in the past 10 years, now, would I?
And as for concerns that the first chapter was too summary-heavy...hey, I only get about 300 characters or so to put up for the summary under the title, and that includes spaces and punctuation marks. So it's either leave out the backstory and leave everyone hanging as to why May is suddenly in Sinnoh, where Dawn is, and why Ash isn't challenging the League, or deal with one rather summary-heavy chapter. I'd rather the latter.
Anyway, other than that little rant, enjoy chapter 2!
"A Passion Revived": chapter 2
"My name's Ash, and I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto," Ash answered, offering his hand. Laura took it, but only for a brief moment before she turned her hard emerald eyes towards May.
"I'm May," she said a little nervously, "and I'm from Petalburg City."
"Petalburg," Laura repeated softly, the hard expression in her face momentarily flickering. She shook her head and quickly turned to Brock. "And you are?" she asked.
"I'm Brock from Pewter City, and I'm trying to become a Pokemon breeder," he said.
At this, Laura finally showed some open emotion, a small smile twitching on the ends of her lips. "A breeder, huh? I do a bit of breeding here myself."
"Pika pi!" Pikachu piped out, not wanting to be left out of the introductions. Laura glanced down, then knelt and offered a cupped palm to Pikachu, who rubbed up against it with a happy "Chaaaaa!"
"I've got a bit of a problem with one of my Tauros," she said to Brock as she rose, dusting her jeans off slightly as Pikachu went back to Ash. "He doesn't seem to want to run around with the rest of my pokemon, and he hasn't left the barn in a week. I've tried everything I can think of to get him running again, but nothing will work."
"A sick Tauros?" Brock asked, frowning. "I've never really worked with a Tauros before. I don't know if there's much that I'll be able to do."
"I'm sure you'll be able to figure out something." Laura replied, grabbing him by the arm and leading him rather forcefully towards the door. As they neared it, Laura turned and threw a sharp warning look at Ash and May.
"Don't touch anything and don't fool around." she growled. "I don't want to come back in and find my couch soiled by a couple of teens."
"S-soiled?" May spluttered, not quite believing what she'd just heard. Laura ignored her and slammed the door shut; through the rattling glass they heard her give a short whistle for Cerbera who had remained on guard outside.
"Soiled...? Honestly, what does she think..." May repeated disbelievingly again, shaking her head slowly. Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What's the big deal?" he asked, his tone perfectly naive. "She just doesn't want us to get her couch dirty with dust from the road."
"And he still doesn't get it..." May sighed under her breath, shaking her head once more.
"Pika..." Pikachu agreed from Ash's shoulder as he gently smacked his forehead, mocking Ash's obliviousness. Ash glanced at the two of them, still slightly confused. After a moment, he sighed and started looking around the room.
"Wow," he said, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think I was back in the Old Chateau." May's gaze followed his, her eyes roaming around the house. The room they stood in was large, and lit by a combination of a ceiling fixture and several candles scattered around the room, many resting on grand wooden tables and cabinets. The floor was wooden as well, but a large, ornate rug covered much of it's surface; May was awed at the craftsmanship of the Ho-ohs woven in golden thread on the crimson background.
Something about it all made her feel uneasy, though. The doorways at the far side of the room were wreathed in deep shadow where the candlelight and electric light didn't quite reach. Thin layers of dust lay on the furniture's surfaces, interrupted only by the occassional ring on the table where a glass may have recently sat, and the rug's threads were faded and dusty as well. A cool, almost empty atmosphere pervaded the house, and May shivered with a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the dropping temperature outside.
"It almost looks as if it's been deserted for a long time." she agreed, "or that it hasn't been taken care of very well." A sudden, soft chill concentrated on her upper forearm, and May froze for a split second before beginning to tremble slightly. A small gulp ran down the length of her throat; she slowly turned to look at what had caused the chill, and found herself staring into a two large white eyes wreathed in a billowing purple flame. "ASH! she screamed, leaping sideways in a panic. Ash, who had moved slightly away and was observing one of the handsome glass-fronted cabinets, whirled at her shout, so quickly that he almost lost his balance; his hand automatically reached for his belt as May scrambled away to duck behind his arms, grabbing his shoulders tightly.
"Pi..." Pikachu growled, jumping forwards with it's red cheeks sizzling. The eyes widened, and then lowered towards the ground, gaining a creased look. Pikachu and May looked on in bewilderment at the sad expression, while Ash merely chuckled.
"And just what is so funny, Ash Ketchum?" May demanded, her voice and hands still a little shaky after her fright.
"It's only a Gastly, May." he answered, stepping forwards towards the two large eyes. They immediately brightened at his approach and the Pokemon moved forwards, it's outline shimmering slightly as it's true form was revealed.
"And I thought we were trying to avoid Ghost-types," May muttered as she turned slightly away, cheeks reddening slightly with embarrassment. The door banged open and Laura stormed inside, glaring at Ash and May accusingly.
"What's all this racket about?" she demanded. "I've got a sick Pokemon in the barn, and all of the screaming is not helping anything!"
"Your Gastly was just introducing itself to us." Ash said with a nonchalant smile.
"Is that it?" Laura snorted, raising an eyebrow as if unconvinced. With a small growl, she moved back towards the door, rubbing a temple hard before glowering over her shoulder at all four of them as she went. "Try to keep the noise level down to a minimum," she said obviously trying to remain calm, slamming the door as she left. Ash, May, Pikachu, and the Gastly looked at the door, too surprised to move.
"That woman," May said at last, "has a real attitude problem."
Reviewers get cookies. And not the bad kind that slow down your computer, either. But no cake -- THE CAKE IS A LIE, B*TCH! ^_^
