This is the eighty-seventh chapter in the Pokemon Heroes story. More will be introduced in this chapter, and Ash's mysterious, random rages are also continuing to be solved. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the songs

(Opening song)

Brendan wasn't able to sleep through the night. His eyes were still open, looking up at the sky. Dawn woke up in the morning and walked over to him to talk to him, but he didn't say anything to her and brushed her off. But Brendan wasn't the only person who was acting glum today. Ash was also extremely quiet. He sat on a rock by the boys, with his hand on his chin and just staring at the trees away from the others. May walked over to him and poked him on his back.

"Are you okay?" asked May. Ash didn't respond. They were all quiet. It was extremely awkward. Drew just slept through all this. The girls talked to him yesterday about confronting the boys, but Drew told them they might just be upset, maybe getting over it by tomorrow. Today was the day, and nothing had changed. After a while, Dawn sighed and stood up. She stretched and looked towards May, who was just looking at Ash from behind. She walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"May, let's go and get something to eat in the forest," said Dawn, "We'll bring some back for the boys." May reluctantly nodded, and she stood and followed Dawn towards the forest. Before going out, Dawn looked at Drew, who was still sleeping, and kicked the boy on his side, making him yell in pain.

"Why'd you do that for!" yelled Drew as he rubbed his back.

"It's time to wake up," said Dawn, "It's no longer the morning, dumbass." Dawn then walked off with May behind her.

"Well I never woke you up when I wake up before you, don't I?" said Drew. He then stopped and looked around and saw Ash and Brendan saying nothing. He smiled nervously.

"Hey guys," he said.

The Nightmare

May and Dawn walked through the forest, once again picking fruits and berries for the group.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" asked May, "Do you know what's wrong with them?"

"Ash is angry because he's Ash," said Dawn, "He'll be happy soon. But I'm worried about Brendan the most. I've never seen him sad since..." She then cut herself off. She stopped and sighed.

"I don't think Ash is angry this time because he's angry," said May, "Something happened while he fought against those guys."

"They said something about his dad and Ash not being able to live up to Aaron's expectations," said Dawn, "Ash must be pissed about that."

"I don't think Ash is weaker than his dad," said May, "He's not stronger than him, but I can say that Ash is catching up to him very fast. I've seen him in action sometimes. Sometimes he told me stories of his fights." Dawn then turned towards May abruptly.

"You know Ash's dad personally?" asked Dawn. May slowly nodded.

"If you know about him so well, why not tell Ash?" asked Dawn.

"Why should I?" asked May as she picked out an Oran Berry from a tree, "Ash wouldn't really care much."

"If you knew Aaron that much, did you ever meet Ash back then?" asked Dawn. May blushed, smiled, and looked down as she giggled.

"I guess you could say that," said May. Dawn smiled. Immediately after, she frowned once again. Here they were, laughing and having fun while two of their friends were sad and devastated. She then walked away and picked out another berry.

"I hope they get better though," said Dawn, "They're both starting to worry me." May gave a reassuring smile.

"They're boys," said May, "They don't stay angry for too long." They both giggled.

"I really hope they get better," said Dawn, "I'll try to make Brendan happy again. I know I will." May nodded, and then looked away for a second and smiled.

"I'll try too," thought May. She then turned back towards Dawn, and they both proceeded to pick food for them all.

May and Dawn returned back to camp, and they gave the boys some fruit. Luckily, they accepted them and ate. Drew was relieved that they came back, because the level of being quiet was unbelievably high. They all ate in silence, not speaking one word. After a few minutes of being quiet, Dawn coughed to get everyone's attention.

"There's a lake nearby," said Dawn, "It's pretty hot today. How about we go and take a dive there?"

"No," said Ash and Brendan simultaneously. Dawn frowned. The only good thing about that was that they communicated with her.

"Why not?" asked May, "It could be fun."

"Maybe tomorrow," said Brendan as he sat up. He then stood and wiped the dust from his clothes.

"Where are you going?" asked Dawn surprised that Brendan was actually going mobile. He just waved his hand in the air.

"Just going to explore," said Brendan.

"Do you want me to go with you?" asked Dawn.

"No," said Brendan, "I'll be fine. I just need to walk around other than sit down here all day. I'll be back in a few minutes." He then walked out. Dawn stood up herself and walked in Brendan's direction.

"I'm going with him," said Dawn, "Watch over Ash, and don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, got it Drew?"

"Why only me?" asked Drew. May nodded. Dawn walked off. This left the other three kids there. May looked towards Ash, and then fumbled with her thumbs a couple of times.

"So Ash," began Drew, "I heard about a legendary Pokemon up in the mountains not too far from here. Wanna go see it?"

"There's no mountain anywhere near..." began May, until she was shut down by Drew who was waving his hands frantically to make her stop. She looked towards Ash. She slowly stood up and walked towards the boy whose back was turned towards them. May slowly went towards Ash and removed his hat from his head. When she did, Ash immediately turned towards her and stared at her. This was the first time he looked at her since yesterday. His eyes were stern, telling her to return his hat. May knew she had too, but she also felt like she didn't want to. She walked backwards and sat back down and placed the hat on her head, prompting Ash to come and take it, but he just sat there instead. He then turned away. This made May frown. Drew looked at both of them, and smiled weakly.

"I sure do hope Dawn comes back soon," thought Drew.

Dawn walked a couple feet behind Brendan. She at first wanted to sneak around, not letting him detect her once, but that failed, and he spotted her many times, but he didn't say anything. She just stayed right behind him. On some occasions, she tried talking to him, but he just didn't respond. Now, she just decided to walk with him. After a while, she decided to talk to him straight up, and she ran towards him quickly to catch up with him. She looked at him from the side and stared into his eyes. They looked sad and hollow.

"Are you okay, Brendan?" asked Dawn. Brendan just simply nodded.

"If something is wrong, you can talk to me about it," said Dawn. Brendan didn't respond. Dawn looked up at the sky. She tried to piece pieces together. He started being this way right after those bounty hunters went after them. May had told her that she heard those bounty hunters talking to him before they left. It was something about his hair she said. Dawn turned back towards Brendan.

"Do you know those guys?" asked Dawn, "Do they remind you of somebody at least?"

"I don't know them," said Brendan. Dawn knew he was lying.

"They are something, aren't they?" asked Dawn, "Have you seen them before?"

"No," responded Brendan plainly. Dawn placed her finger on her chin. She had been with Brendan most of her time. She would know if he met those guys, unless he saw them before they even knew each other. But this sadness that he was in reminded her of the type of sadness he had when he came back to the Pokemon School, that day he mysteriously had his white hair...

"Do they have something to do with your white hair?" asked Dawn. She saw Brendan cringe. She was onto something.

"They have n-nothing to do with my hair," said Brendan as he brushed his hand through it. He then stopped and turned around.

"I'm going back," said Brendan, "Come on. It's not entirely safe for you to walk around the forest unprotected." He then walked off. Dawn once again looked towards the sky. She knew Brendan was hiding something, but it was one of those lies that were bad. No, it was one of this lies that he wanted to hide because he wanted to protect her from the truth. She was going to find out, and she wanted to find out quickly.

"Let's go, Dawn!" said Brendan.

"I'm coming!" said Dawn as she ran towards him, "I hope May has better luck than I'm having right now."

May was poking Ash on his back repeatedly. He didn't seem bothered by it, but rather tried to ignore it, but May just tried to poke harder and even going as far as to pushing him, but she had no luck. Drew just watched on as he ate more fruit.

"Ash," said May, "Ash. Ash. Ash. Come on. I'm pushing you. Are you going to do something about it? Huh? Come on. Why not? You're scared?"

"I don't think it would be wise to keep pushing him like that," said Drew, "How about we leave him alone."

"No way," said May as she puffed her cheeks, "I'm getting his attention whether he wants to or not." Still with no luck, May started to give up. Before she gave up, Ash swiftly took his hat and put it back on his head. May blinked a few times, trying to understand it. She then felt her head, and then she did.

"Hey, that wasn't fair," said May, "I had it first." May tried taking it back, but Ash just deflected her hands away. Drew smiled as he watched over the two.

"Drew, Ash won't give me my hat back," said May, "Take it from him."

"Your hat?" asked Ash.

"Yes, my hat," said May, "I confiscated it from you." Ash stuck his tongue out at May, and then looked away. May continued to take his hat, but she still couldn't. While she was, Ash turned towards her for a few seconds and noticed something on her cheek. He held both of her hands with one hand and looked at her cheek. It had a cut.

"What's wrong?" asked May as she saw Ash's face growing fiercer. He then let go of her hands and jumped off the rock and walked away.

"Where are you going?" asked May. Ash didn't respond.

"Can I come with you?" asked May, and she started running towards the boy, but he suddenly just jumped up into a tree and disappeared. Drew looked towards May's cheek, and also saw the cut.

"Where'd you get that from?" asked Drew. May touched her cheek, and flinched when she felt it.

"I never noticed it until now," said May, "I must've gotten this when they were fighting those guys." Drew looked towards Ash's direction and smiled.

"I'm starting to get it now," thought Drew.

After a few minutes, Dawn and Brendan came back from their walk. Ash still hadn't returned, but they heard explosions and collapsing trees and rocks getting demolished in the distance, hinting that Ash was over there. May wanted to go and check up on him, but every-time she volunteered, Drew stopped her and told her to wait for him. Brendan returned to his usual spot, but he just sat up rather than lie down. Ash hadn't returned after two hours, raising May's worries even more.

"Do you think we should check up on him?" asked May, "He might be in trouble."

"If he was in trouble, then he would've destroyed half of this forest," said Drew, "He's fine. He'll come back in a few minutes. Just rest your pretty little head until he comes back." May nodded, and looked towards Dawn, who was staring at Brendan. The sun was going down, and her worries just kept on rising.

"May," said Dawn, getting her attention, "Go after Ash. He really might need help."

"I'm worried Ash might do something to her," said Drew, "He's becoming unstable. He wasn't like this before, was he?"

"No," said May, "He was perfectly fine before ever since we were in Sandgem Town. Do you think I did anything wrong?"

"I don't think so," said Drew, "Dawn's right. You should check on him before he goes berserk over there." May nodded. She then stood up and ran off. Drew looked towards Dawn and Brendan.

"Maybe they might need to be alone for a while," thought Drew. He then stood up and walked off into the forest. Dawn then stood up quietly and walked over to Brendan and sat next to him and looked at the sky with him. They were looking at the horizon. Stars started to appear in the sky.

"What are you looking for?" asked Dawn, "If you're trying to look for stars, you're gonna have to wait a little bit longer."

"I'm not looking for stars," said Brendan plainly.

"Then what are you looking for?" asked Dawn.

"Something," said Brendan. Dawn looked back at the stars.

"I'm starting to get worried about you now, Brendan," said Dawn, "I haven't seen you be this sad in a long time. What's going on?"

"I told you," said Brendan, "It's nothing. I just feel down today, that's all." Dawn looked at the boy worriedly.

"You're going to continuing be sad like this unless you talk about it," said Dawn, "I don't want to push the subject, but something must've happened for you to be like this. I know it's about those guys, Brendan. I remember when we were fighting them, and you seemed shocked to see them."

"I was shocked because they came out of nowhere. Would you be shocked if The Dark Signers popped out from out of nowhere? Remember me fighting against that basterd the first time? I wasn't shocked at all."

"That was because you couldn't see his face."

"I didn't know how awful he was at that time. You saw how he ripped that Geodude's arm off. I was worried that he might do the same thing to you guys. He's after May, so he must be working for somebody or they're their own organization. So they might be back."

"They would, but you're not this scared of The Dark Signers. They killed a whole village, remember? They turn ordinary Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon, risking the Pokemon's lives, and you're not scared. What makes you scared of them more?"

"Because I am."

"No, this goes beyond you just being scared of them. Something really bad must've happened between you two."

"Nothing happened," said Brendan, trying his best to not yell at her, "I'm perfectly fine." Dawn stopped talking and looked down. Brendan looked at her, trying to make sure he didn't upset her.

"Remember in Twinleaf Town," said Dawn, "Remember those days when you were sad. No one really cared. They just thought you were going through a phase. They didn't even try to understand you. I was the only person who came to you, but that day was by accident, but I'm happy Arceus made us meet with each other. Those days you started getting better while you hung out with me, I felt happy myself, knowing that I was able to bring you back from that state. I guess it returned, and I'm trying my best to make you feel better. So please, if something's wrong, talk to me about it. I don't want you to be sad anymore. None of us wants to." Brendan looked down from the sky. He remembered those days in Twinleaf.

"If something's wrong, talk to me about it, alright?" he remembered her saying when they were younger, with him just lying his head on that table while she sat next to him. He remembered that cookie she gave him. It made him start to tear up.

"Dawn," said Brendan, "Remember me telling you about why I was sad?" Dawn slowly nodded.

"I was sad about that, but I didn't tell you something else," said Brendan, "My dad didn't die from being sick. He died because..." Dawn immediately gasped and put her hand in front of Brendan's mouth. Brendan looked towards her confused.

"You don't have to tell me anymore," said Dawn, and she gave him a hug. Brendan didn't understand. He then hugged her back.

"Thanks," said Brendan. Dawn nodded and looked towards the sky. She knew what he was going to say, and she didn't want him to say it. She finally understood why he was sad that day and now, and for some reason, she felt furious.

May walked towards Ash's location. She followed the sounds, and finally came into his area. He was sitting on a rock. The area around him was destroyed. She slowly got out from behind the tree and walked towards Ash. He was mumbling something.

"Get away May," warned Ash, knowing she was behind him. She didn't listen to him and sat behind him.

"Is something wrong?" asked May.

"Nothing," said Ash, not turning towards her. May moved to his side, trying to see his face. When she saw it, his hair was even messier than before. His eyes were fiercely blue, and his teeth were sharp. His skin felt hot, meaning that he must've went berserk at some point, but luckily regained himself.

"Ash, what's wrong?" asked May, "You're mad about something?"

"Nothing," he said fiercely. May looked at his clothes, and saw it a little bit ripped. She tried hugging him from his back, but he pushed her off.

"Fine," said May as she crossed her arms, and then they were quiet. She tried moving closer to him, but he just kept going away.

"Are you mad because of what they said?" said May, "About your dad."

"Like I could care less," said Ash.

"Then what is it?" asked May, "You don't look like you're going to be fine. Did I do something wrong?" May pushed her face closer to Ash to get a better look at his eyes. Ash looked at her face, and then frowned when he saw her cut. He pushed her away and looked away. May noticed him look at her cut, and walked towards Ash.

"Are you mad because of my cut?" asked May, but Ash didn't respond. May sat by him and held his arm.

"Are you mad at them because they hurt me?" asked May, receiving a growl from Ash, "It's okay. I'm not..."

"Those basterds weren't Dark Signers," said Ash, "Those basterds were just people. People that I could've killed, but they knocked me out. Those assholes knocked me out and were going to kill you. They could've killed you. I would've woken up and not see you there. I would've woken up and see your dead body there, just because I lost to people. If I can't beat them, then what chance do I have against The Dark Signers? They could kill you, and I would have no way to stop them. I swear, if I see them again, I'll..." May then suddenly pulled him into a hug on her chest. She brushed his hair with her hand and smiled.

"It's fine," said May, "You don't have to worry. I'll stay by you. I won't disappear. I promise. But you need to calm down first mister. Things won't get any better if you're destroying trees and rocks." She then kissed him on his forehead. He could've pushed her away, but didn't. Instead, he started to calm down. His eyes turned gray again. He just dug himself on her chest.

"Too bad you don't have a bigger chest," said Ash. May's eyes widened.

"Alright, let's get a move on," said Brendan with a smile on his face. Dawn smiled. After a good night's sleep, he was all better. She looked towards May, who had her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. Dawn looked towards Ash, who had a handprint on the side of his face, implying he got slapped. They packed up to start going. While they did, they noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Drew?" asked Brendan. At that moment, Drew came running towards them from the forest. He was beaten up, and his clothes were tattered.

"What happened to you?" asked Brendan.

"The forest," answered Drew, "Crazy shit happens in there."

"Let's go then," said Brendan, ignoring Drew. After finishing up, they started moving out. Dawn looked at Brendan and smiled, happy now that a smile had reappeared on his face. She wanted that smile to remain on his face, no matter what. She then looked towards Ash and May. Ash was rubbing his cheek while May was touching her chest. She smiled at them as well.

"I really hope one day, May will be able to make Ash smile," thought Dawn, "One day." They kept on going, leaving what happened behind them, but the bounty hunters were going to be back, and they were going to be ready.

(Ending song)

Next Time on Pokemon Heroes:After a mistake May made, Ash and his friends end up on a cruise ship without paying. They plan to have fun, but Team Rocket is also on board, with their main goal to steal a prized possession on the boat. Will Ash and his friends stop Team Rocket, and how long will they stay on the ship before being detected? Next Time: Cruisin'

That was that chapter. That talk the girls had about Sir Aaron will be further explained later on in the story. Remember towards the end of the of the second season, maybe in part two of when Ash travels back in time and meets May, and when they were at the Vermillion City park and May suddenly ran towards a younger Ash for no reason? Well, there was a reason, and I didn't say something about it at that time, but now I will, and it's involving what they were talking about, but don't worry, that'll be explained more later on. See you in the next chapter!

Read and Review please :-)

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