Sorry about the late upload again, but at least they are being released for this fic!
Also, sorry to those who voted for lemon- I tried my best to write the scene over and over again, but couldn't force myself to without cringing. It's part of the reason why this is so late, lol. Maybe one day.
Anyway, I hope the action in this chapter makes up for it. :)
She woke early the next day, the covers wrapped tightly around her naked body. She stretched her legs slightly, moaning and closing her eyes again, ready to drift back off to sleep.
Then, she felt it.
She jolted up in bed, clutching the covers to her chest. The fire within her had been suppressed once again, merely a flicker beneath all the water that had flooded over her soul. Her hand trembled as she glanced down at Ash beside her, still asleep. She slid off the bed slowly, as silent as possible, grabbing her clothes from the floor. Once she'd walked a few steps from the bed, she shuffled frantically into her clothes, as quickly as she could without making noise.
She almost made it to the door, when he stirred in the bed, his eyes flicking open and setting upon her. She swallowed hard, her hand stopping an inch from the handle. She had no idea how to handle the inevitable conversation.
"May, I-" He started, but she held up a hand, silencing him. She tried to think of something to say to him, but the look in his eyes shattered her. Her eyes shuttered as she fought the breakdown she could feel rising.
Just as she felt herself about to break, a rumble ripped through the silence, shaking the floor slightly. She slipped, reaching out for the wall to steady herself. Ash was on his feet, unashamed and unflinching as he pulled on his clothes. May swung open the door, glancing down the stairs. She was aware that she'd look a hot mess, her hair dishevelled and her eyes tired, but the overwhelming sense of unease sent her out into the corridor anyway, waiting for some hint at what had caused the commotion. A moment later, Ash joined her, and they slipped downstairs. The guard by the door was missing.
May quickly turned to Ash. "Go check if Dawn and the others are okay, I'll check outside." Ash nodded and rushed back upstairs to their friends' rooms. May hurried to the main entrance, throwing the heavy doors open as well as she could.
It took all her strength to contain her scream as she beheld the spluttering guards scattered across the garden, knocked from their posts, injured. The fountain before the door had been shattered, the water leaking across the pavement to the foot of the stairs. She took a step back, her wide eyes scanning the garden for the source of the destruction. Nothing.
She turned back to call for Ash, knowing they'd be safer together, when a cackle sounded behind her. She started, whirling around, bracing herself for a fight. Cynthia appeared, her arms crossed across her chest, her eyes burning with anger.
Only then did May realise that she'd never seen Cynthia use her powers. She had no idea what type she was. As Cynthia took a step forward, May braced herself, silently praying for Ash to hurry.
"It's quite cute that you think you're safe from us here," she drawled, picking at her nails. "Giovanni says you're strong." Cynthia finally looked up to May, some violet swirling in her eyes. May's heart stopped as she finally understood her type. "I'll show you how weak you really are."
Before she could move, May was tossed aside by a strong gust of purple wind and collapsed against the stairs. Cynthia stayed still by the doorway, her arms crossed tightly across her chest as though she'd done nothing at all, as May clawed desperately for her powers, for anything that would help her. Cynthia let out a cackle. She was toying with her.
"Aren't you going to fight back? Afraid to show me what I've heard so much about? Oh, don't hold back just for me."
May grunted as she tried to lift herself, her arm wobbling as she forced her weight up, wincing. Cynthia laughed again, but still didn't move, and May knew she was biding her time. Cynthia could kill her whenever she wanted.
Her arms unfolded, and she held her palm to her chest, concentrating as though she were building up some sort of energy within herself. May bolted up, almost making it up the first set of steps, when Cynthia thrust her powers out towards her, the dragon pulse burning through the air, so bright May could do nothing but throw her arms over her head and scream. She waited for death.
Instead, she was met by a crashing sound that overwhelmed her. She lifted an arm to glance up, only to see a torrent of water pushing back against the dragon pulse thrusting from Cynthia's palm. After a moment, the dragon pulse fell, along with the stream of water. Ash grunted behind her.
Cynthia blinked once. Twice. Then, erupted into laughter again, the sound raising the hairs on May's arm. Ash snarled.
"No, don't tell me!" Cynthia crossed her arms again, a smug look crossing her face, "You lost your powers."
May could say nothing, could think of nothing that she could say to help her situation. It was clear that May had lost her powers, regardless of what she said, and Cynthia was a dragon type- the strongest type of all. She would obliterate her friends and make her watch. May closed her eyes tight. She should have known- should have known that there was one more loose end that she'd left, one more problem she didn't solve. And now it would be the end of her.
Ash stepped in front of her, his body a shield to guard her from whatever Cynthia might throw their way. While May knew Ash couldn't love her in her current state, in that moment she loved him more than she ever had. Even the sound of Cynthia's devilish laughter couldn't tear her out of the moment.
"I suppose you'll do just fine."
Cynthia fired her dragon pulse again, but quicker this time. Ash threw up his torrent of water, moving slightly to cover the entirety of May's body with his. His hydro pump barely blocked her attack, and it came so close that May could feel the burning heat of Cynthia's power against her skin. She'd never felt so hopeless.
The battle between their elements carried on just a few seconds before Cynthia dropped the attack and rolled, dodging the exploding hydro pump from Ash. He collapsed a little as his power was released. May shuffled along the stair, peering around to find Cynthia again.
Cynthia held out her arms then, letting out a deafening cry that almost didn't sound human. May opened her mouth to cry to Ash, to warn him of the blow that was about to come, but her breath caught in her throat as a haze of dragon breath began to form in front of the woman. It writhed, as though living, twisting into some sort of shape. As Ash caught his breath and stood upright again, she realised what was forming. Cynthia had created a dragon from the haze, so big it almost loomed over them, its wings spreading across the room. Behind it, May saw Cynthia smirk.
As Ash began to back up towards her, May began clawing for her powers again, begging to herself for something, pulling at what was left of her inside her chest. She collapsed, her hands hitting the wooden floor as she strained herself, crying out, pulling at herself again and again to no avail. She didn't even realise she was crying until she felt the hot tears slipping down her cheeks and onto the back of her hands.
The dragon breath began to descend on them, and May closed her eyes tight.
Again, the blow never came. She opened her eyes to see Ash, his arms outstretched as a sweat broke out on his brow, his face contorted in concentration as he fought to maintain what he'd created.
Blocking Cynthia's dragon was a great blue phoenix, it's feathered wings smashing into the neck of the hazy dragon. May marvelled at the creature that he'd created, the intricacy of it, and her heart soared with renewed hope. Cynthia's creation deformed for a moment, but quickly rebuilt itself, though May could see her begin to struggle across the room. The dragon pushed forward, smashing into the phoenix, but Ash's creation held strong, pushing back against her own. The blow shook the room, knocking paintings from the walls and shelves onto the floor, scattering books and furniture across the hall. May cried out, throwing her hands over her head as Ash began to grunt, pushing further forward with his palms, trying to break Cynthia's dragon. It almost seemed as Ash was beginning to win.
Before May could get her hopes up, the wings of the dragon disappeared as the mist changed and Ash's phoenix stumbled forward at the unexpected change. Ash roared, rotating his hands to rebalance the phoenix, but Cynthia had changed her attacks, thrusting her palm forward, and the dragon claw struck the aqua phoenix's chest, breaking it apart. The water sprayed across the room, soaking May and all the surfaces around them.
When it cleared, the triumphant look on Cynthia's face became visible. May almost couldn't stand it. She tried to stand again, but merely stumbled as a pain seared through her left leg, rendering her useless. She cursed under her breath as the pair geared up to fight again.
It was Ash that struck first. A torrent of water formed where he aimed his palms- at the ceiling. The waterfall crashed down, striking Cynthia. She collided with the wall behind her with an ear-splitting crack and crumpled in a heap against it, but Ash was worn, his powers almost exhausted. May could only watch as Ash tried and failed to conjure up any power he could to finish her off. It was so close to the end, and yet Ash couldn't get close to her, in fear she would muster up enough strength to strike him down for good. She coughed from across the room, pushing herself up as she leaned against the wall. Ash braced himself for another attack coming his way, moving in front of May again, but Cynthia had other plans. She bolted for the door, almost slipping on the soaked ground. She disappeared as she swung through the open door. Cursing under his breath, Ash began to chase her.
He could hear May calling for him to stop from behind him, telling him that it was done, but he knew better. He knew she knew too, and only wanted to protect him, but he couldn't let her get away. He couldn't let her return once she regained her strength and strike them again. Not when she was such a great threat. He had to end her.
He followed her out of the door. Her shoes had become damp with the water he'd created and left a trail of footprints that led around the side of the building. He wasted no time, setting off to chase her, an orb of water permanently formed in his palms should she try to jump him. He rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. The footprints had stopped suddenly. They didn't fade away, as though the water on her shoes had dried, just disappeared, as though she'd floated away from the scene.
A slithering sound brought him back to his senses, and he backed up against the wall as immense Pokemon slid from behind the bushes.
Cynthia was like him. She'd chosen a Pokemon that didn't match her type. She'd climbed onto the back of her Milotic, which now began to slither slowly towards him.
"You should know better than to fall into a trap like that by now," Cynthia taunted him from atop the Pokemon. From her perspective, she'd won. He was backed against the wall with no cover to get behind, and his powers were exhausted. Here she was, with this powerful water type Pokemon, and Ash had nothing to use against it.
Except he did.
A smirk spread across his face as she moved closer, and she faltered for a moment at his smile, her Milotic stopping just ten feet from him. Moving away from the wall suddenly, Ash threw the Pokeball he'd made sure to grab just before he and May left the room. Pikachu landed on the concrete, its tail high in the air, sparks already radiating from its cheeks. Cynthia didn't even have time to scowl.
"Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash commanded. The electric mouse jumped up high and erupted, the electricity shooting from it in exceptionally large bolts. Cynthia jumped from her Milotic, crashing against the hard pavement with a thud. The snake-like Pokemon slid away just as the bolts smashed into the pavement, cracking a slab in half. In response, Milotic fired an ice beam as Cynthia dragged herself up, blood trickling down the side of her face.
"Dodge Pikachu!"
Pikachu leapt into the air as the ice beam struck the floor. As it lingered in the air, Ash commanded another thunderbolt, and Pikachu fired another at Milotic.
"Mirror coat!" Cynthia shouted as she stood. Milotic cried, and a silver mirror formed before it. The thunderbolt smashed against it and bounced off, heading back towards where Pikachu began to fall.
"Dodge it!" Ash called, but Pikachu had no time to react before the thunderbolt struck it. Pikachu cried as she fell and landed roughly on the ground.
"Ice beam!"
"Iron tail!"
Ash knew the electric type move had little effect on the mouse Pokemon. His friend jumped to its feet and moved to meet the ice beam, its tail glowing as it hardened and prepared for the hit. The ice beam collided with its tail, but iron tail cracked through the ice beam and Pikachu kept moving, smashing its tail into Milotic's body. It cried out as Pikachu jumped back and prepared to strike again.
"Dragon pulse!" Cynthia called. Milotic began to gather the power in its jaws, though it winced as it did. Pikachu began to charge its own attack, prepared to fire a thunderbolt to counter the attack. Ash held his breath. Now they would see which of the Pokemon was truly stronger.
Milotic fired the dragon pulse with a cry just as Pikachu released its thunderbolt, and they met together with a burst of energy in the air. Ash stumbled back at the force. Both Pokemon pushed, straining against the strength of the other, but neither budged. The thunderbolt and dragon pulse continued to battle in the air, neither giving an inch.
"Come on, Pikachu!" Ash encouraged, watching as Pikachu began to wince. If he let go, the dragon pulse would hit him at full force, and the battle would be over. Pikachu needed this. It was the strongest thunderbolt Ash had ever seen Pikachu produce, and knew that Milotic would be knocked out the moment it hit. If Pikachu could just fight its way through this one last attack.
Cynthia shouted mirrored words of encouragement to Milotic, just as the thunderbolt gained on dragon pulse, knocking it back slightly as Milotic grunted under the pressure. Ash watched the Pokemon give one last push, but it was too late. Pikachu's thunderbolt broke through the dragon pulse, scattering the energy, and fired straight into Milotic. The resulting light was so bright Ash was forced to throw his hands over his eyes.
Then, silence fell. Ash opened his eyes, and Milotic was crumpled on the ground, defeated. Pikachu stood panting before Ash, a proud look on her face, but Ash turned to Cynthia first, who had fallen to her knees beside Milotic.
He felt himself crumple a little with relief as he formed his water orb again, threatening to strike her if she tried to move. Slowly, reluctantly, she raised her hands in surrender.
The effort it took to maintain the orb in his hands was almost too much as he took a reluctant step towards the woman. Her head dropped, as though trying to hide the shame on her face, though Ash could have sworn he saw her smirk as she did. Just as he began to question it, he was knocked out the way as a pair of guards stormed past to grab her arms.
He hadn't realised he was staring blankly at them beginning to drag her away until May lay her hand on his arm gently, coaxing him back to reality. She looked up at him in question, checking if he was hurt or not, but Ash couldn't tear his eyes from Cynthia, even as they reached the gates to take her away from the property. Something wasn't right.
"Come on, lets go get Dawn and the others." May spoke softly and tugged gently on his arm. So, she must have figured out that Ash had locked them in their rooms to protect them. He wondered for a moment if she would be mad, but the unease kept the thought away.
"Why doesn't she use her abilities?" He asked quietly, not really aimed at May at all, as he continued to watch the guards. May followed his gaze to her, her eyes narrowing.
"Because she's exhausted, Ash. Like you. Come on."
Ash shook his head, ignoring her pull. "She's not. I could see it in her eyes."
May sighed a little. "You're paranoid. It's done now."
Reluctantly, Ash surrendered, sagging a little and finally looking down at May. She let out a breath and tugged gently on his arm again, dragging him away from the mess the battle had created. He followed her, stepping over the cracks in the pavement, Pikachu hopping along behind them, waiting to be called back into her Pokeball. He could hear voices at the gate as the guards discussed how best to deal with Cynthia but blocked them out. What he needed now was rest.
They almost made it to the door before chaos broke out again. He whirled, just as the guards hit the wall at either side of the gate. Cynthia stood, brushing off her coat, her face frozen in a neutral expression. May's eyes widened in horror.
"So sweet, to think you could beat me that easily. Although, I congratulate you for winning the Pokemon battle. That was never part of the plan."
"Plan?" May asked quietly, suddenly gripping Ash's arm roughly, holding onto him for protection. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let Cynthia harm her, even if that meant he had to take the blow himself.
Cynthia took a few steps forward but didn't approach them, still picking debris from the sleeves of her coat nonchalantly. "Really, I've failed. It seems you don't even have any powers to show me." Cynthia sighed, tilting her head with an exaggerated frown. "That's too bad. I guess there's no point in keeping you around anymore."
"Run, May!" Ash called out, shoving her away from his arm and stepping in front of her again. Cynthia's dragon pulse was already half charged by the time she began running. She fired it, and Ash rolled out of the way, barely dodging the attack. May forced herself not to look back as she raced for the door, her heart hammering against her chest. Cynthia fired another dragon pulse at Ash, cackling at his feeble attempts to dodge, knowing he couldn't return her attacks. May closed her eyes tight for a moment. She was almost at the stairs.
She heard the third dragon pulse fire. It was as though everything fell silent and still as Ash cried out. She'd hit him. May skidded to a halt, screaming his name as she turned and watched him crash into the remains of the fountain. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Keep running, May! Get Dawn and the others out!" Ash called from the fountain, though his voice cracked from the effort of shouting. Even from the stairs, May could see the blood trickling down his temple and his arm. She couldn't move.
Cynthia began to walk quickly towards Ash, and May knew she meant to end him there and then. She wouldn't take him as prisoner or spare his life. She was going to kill him. It would only take her seconds to reach him as he lay helpless in the rubble.
May began to run. Perhaps if she sprinted, she could reach him in time. Perhaps she could shield him. She'd never ran so fast in her life, but Cynthia was closer- just a few steps away, and had raised her hand to charge a dragon pulse. May only had seconds. She couldn't make it. It was done. May's heart wrenched in her chest. Her chest was heavy, heavier than it had been in days, but everything passed so quickly all she felt was her heart breaking into a million pieces as she realised, but she had to do something. Beneath the sorrow, a burning anger took over.
As Cynthia reached Ash and stood over him, her face a cold mask as she raised her hand, May stopped still and closed her eyes, screaming out. A titanic pain ripped through her and she dropped to her knees, still screaming. Her heart ache was stronger now, and the pain deep within her chest reached its climax, as though someone were ripping out her soul. She reached for it, clawing at her chest as the pain became unbearable, her eyes tight shut to block out the light.
The pain released from her chest suddenly as if escaping from her body and she buckled at the sudden lightness within her, as though something that had been weighing her down was now gone, and she was free again. Gasping for air, she opened her eyes again.
Cynthia's dragon pulse had never fired, but the woman still stood over Ash, a sick smile spread across her face. May still gasped for air and her arms wobbled underneath her weight. The stones from the pavement had dug into her palms, cutting them open, so she forced herself to stand and prepared to rush for Ash again. She didn't have time to question what had just happened to her.
The distraction didn't work for long. Cynthia turned away from May again and raised both her hands into the air, gathering a purple haze above her. Once it descended, it would choke Ash before she could reach him. She had to think quick, but she could think of no way to stop her in time, and after just a second passed and Cynthia began to lower her arms, May could only watch.
Cynthia threw her arms down, and the haze lowered onto Ash.
"No!"
May took a step forward, throwing out her hand, and a fireball had gone with it.
She had no time to register what had happened before it smashed through the haze, scattering it to the wind, and she was thrown into the fight. Her mouth hung open, until she realised that Ash was alive, and she still had to fight to keep it that way.
Without thinking, she thrust her palms forward, sending a blaze towards the woman. Unprepared, Cynthia could only duck and narrowly avoided the flames. May's sorrow was wiped away now, replaced by an unrelenting anger that she released with every fireball she shot. She fired over and over as she took slow steps towards the woman that barely avoided each one, her eyes burning with rage. She would kill her for this.
She continued to fire, forcing Cynthia to back up, until she was pressed against the back wall, her arms raised in surrender again. May panted but didn't lower her hands, still burning with hatred.
"What plan were you talking about?" She demanded, pressing closer towards Cynthia. For a moment, the woman said nothing. Ash watched silently from behind.
"What plan?!" She screamed, pressing the fireball close to Cynthia's face. Contradicting the fear in her eyes, she smiled as though victorious.
"The plan that you've fallen for all along."
May's irritation grew. She didn't know how long her fire type would stick around for. Once it was gone, they'd be helpless again, and she would kill them both. "No cryptic answers. Tell me, or I'll kill you."
"We knew all along. About your rebellion plans."
May's breath caught in her throat.
"We knew you'd met Ash, but thought nothing of it, until you began to mention how unfair the system was. You seemed passionate. Passionate enough to start something. So, we waited."
It appeared as though the woman was done speaking, but May pressed the fireball closer again, knowing the heat would begin to burn her skin. Cynthia hissed.
"We'd been planning something for years. Planning to expand the company to other cities and regions. The one centre was big enough at the time, but the public was uneasy again, and there was tension between fire types and grass types. Some powerful people that were not deemed powerful enough to be placed in the arena had begun threatening one another in the streets. More people needed to be placed in the arena, but first we needed proof that it was worth the money."
May listened with bated breath. She knew what was coming but refused to believe it. She wouldn't believe it, after everything they'd done…
"So we let you plan your uprising. Did you think we wouldn't notice you practicing your abilities in common rooms; that there wouldn't be cameras in there?" She laughed a little. "We let you. We wanted to have proof of the extremes your powers could go to. It was never meant to get this far."
"We won." May insisted, the fireball in her palm flaring at her burst of anger. "You may have known, but we still won."
The woman laughed louder then. "I don't think you did."
Even as the fireball faltered, and her jaw trembled, May kept herself standing tall before Cynthia. Even as the woman ruined her dreams.
"You've given us all the proof we need. The government agreed to stay silent but now they will back our plan. We'll be able to build new arenas- at least six. Oh, and we'll be sure to separate you and your friends."
"The people from the arena…" May forced out, her hands shaking before her. "They escaped. You'll never be able to gather them back up. You'll never catch everyone."
Cynthia shook her head, crushing May again before she even spoke. "They were transferred directly to a holding station just outside of Petalburg. We let you escape because we knew you had more to offer. Especially him." She nodded towards Ash, but May couldn't bring herself to look back at him for even a moment. "And we were right."
It took every ounce of her strength to stop herself from collapsing to her knees. She'd been foolish to think she had won. Foolish to think they had a chance at freedom, that she would one day be with Ash and be free to travel with him on their own journey…
"Part of me does feel bad for this." Cynthia shrugged. "But it is necessary to prevent another war. It is not safe to have such powerful people roaming the streets. It's better for them to live their lives in a controlled space with one another. Then the rest of society can go on without any worries."
May was too exhausted- too angry- to argue. Instead, she pushed the remains of her weak powers back into the fireball for one last chance.
"If I kill you now, we can escape. Did you think of that? Do you really think you'll be able to find us?"
Cynthia smirked then- an evil smirk that spread right across her face. "I don't think you'll get that chance."
May followed the woman's eyes to the gate beside them. Giovanni stepped through.