Chapter 3

Soon, a light yellow light appeared in the distance. May stood up, looking around. She only saw black with that small yellow light. She walked towards the light, seeing it grow rapidly. The light intensified to a white as she walked into the light. Then, it almost instantly faded to show something that she had just recently remembered.

It was the beautiful lake that the gym leaders joined together at. She saw the same brown picnic tables and the water Pokémon playing around. Then, she saw her father, holding two fishing rods. She watched as he sat at a picnic table, waving her over.

She did so without speaking. She approached the table and sat down, looking around for Max but not finding him. Then, her father spoke to her saying, "I'm sorry."

"What?" She exclaimed in confusion. She looked around, as if thinking someone else was here. Her father looked directly at her, with his eyes starting to water.

"I had no right to make you suffer in your life. I was most people, self-centered and only looking out for my legacy and myself. I thought my legacy was in the gym, with my children taking over and being part of the few gyms that carry ownership from one generation to the next. I was only partially right." He stifled back tears and continued, "My legacy is my children, but not what they do for me. I instantly took your announcement as a personal shot."

"Dad, it was my fault." May thought with a tear. She hadn't heard her father saying anything like this in years.

Her thoughts were interrupted with Norman saying, "No, it's not your fault honey." She was shocked that he heard her thoughts. "Baby, this was all my fault. I forced you to live in suffering because of my denial. I'm here to apologize and relieve that suffering from continuing in the rest of your life."

"The rest?" May said. She had completely broken down. She was looking up at him from her crossed arms, stained with tears of joy and forgiveness.

"Yes, you aren't dead. You won't be dead for a long time. I'm just taking this time to say I'm sorry." He said as he stood up, extending his arms. May cringed slightly, until she realized that this wasn't in an attempt to strike her, but to comfort her in a hug.

Norman got on his knees as May closed in, tears flying. They held each other for a long time before Norman said, "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

Still holding her father, she responded, "Can we play like we used to, daddy?"

"Sure we can pumpkin," He responded before letting go of his daughter. When he backed away, he seemed much taller than her for some reason. Then, she looked at herself, seeing a small child no older than 8. She was a little kid again. She twirled in her favorite red skirt, watching the bottom follow her motions. She grabbed a fishing rod and ran down to join her father, who already had the tackle box open, picking his bait.

She ran to the edge of the dock, peering into the lake. She sat down and picked up small red and yellow bait. She cast the line onto the lake. As a girl, she had nearly perfected the art of fishing. They sat there for what seemed like hours. They caught plenty of fish, only to see them once again in the water when they turned away from the basket.

Then, she was suddenly her normal size and clothes. "Are we done?" May asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yes. There will plenty of other chances to fish in the afterlife." The setting sun in the sky began to intensify. It caused the whole world to turn white. Then, it faded away to show flashing fluorescent lights of her being wheeled down the hallway in the hospital. Ash was on her left and smiled when he saw her eyes.

She looked around, seeing all of the rooms they were passing. Next she looked at the nurses that were wheeling her through. Finally, she looked at her cot, seeing one leg hanging off in an awkward angle and blood seeping from the other. Seeing this, her stomach turned and she laid her head back, staring into the ceiling the rest of the ride.

After an operation to rearrange the completely limp limb, she lied in bed, thinking. Ash visited every day for the two weeks to heal her leg. She turned on the TV, to see a breakthrough news story. It turned out that after running her over, the car veered off into the distance. The car was able to continue on the road, until an unknown roadblock stopped it. It was formed of cars that had been moved into those positions.

The moving vehicle attempted to slam through the cars, but stopped dead still in a T-bone accident. The mother was dead, having bashed her head into the steering wheel and then limped out of the car to fall face first. Max had survived and was in critical condition.

After hearing this story, she began to think about her life. All in all, she could live in peace knowing that she had been forgiven. She remembered a German phrase, Liebe ist für alle da. It means 'Love is for everyone.' She waited there, for two weeks before being released.

When she stood to get into the wheelchair, she felt the weakness in her left leg from the severe damage. At the entrance, Ash stood with the group, preparing for their concert again. They had postponed their gig for two weeks and had actually made a music video, promoting profit and popularity for the group in support for her.

The song made was Breathe Into Me. They had shown the band playing in the hospital room one day while she was probably unconscious, playing the song. It would cut over to Ash in despair, standing over her. He proceeded to get real close in her face on the chorus. He screamed the lyrics, "Breathe your life into me, I can't feel you, I'm falling… falling faster. Breathe your life into me, I still need you, I'm falling… falling breathe into me. During the guitar solo, he just knelt down and whipped his head back. Staring into the ceiling, he called out, "Ahhhhhhh…"

The video had shown that about 50k in Pokédollars had been donated to their cause. This was enough to pay off the operation on her leg and extra for new gear. She could just barely keep in the joy that flowed through her apparent debt-free blood.

She stood up, getting ready for her first steps from the hospital. She moved her right leg easily enough. Next came her left leg, which moved stiffly with a limp. She would never be able to walk correctly again. Her leg had experienced extreme trauma, enough to stunt any growth in that leg as well.

They continued down the road, limping to the concert. The group used the back entrance and approached from behind the curtains. As the group walked onto the stage, they cheered wildly for the group. She had stayed behind the curtain, waiting for them to get onto the stage.

Then, she heard her cue. "Ladies and gents, for the first time since the operation, comes May Maple." She limped out onto the stage with her guitar. It was a deep crimson. The strings were black, and the guitar's bridge was a deep, dark gold. She stepped out where the crowd stood, cheering her name. She felt a surge of pride in her throat, and managed to swallow it. She approached the front, where they began to play a few songs. Two songs were easily describable.

One piece was Move and the other was Welcome to the Machine. One line from Move was very remarkable. It was, Locals listen to our voice, if you making the choice, tell all the girls and the boys, scream and rejoice, let's make that noise, either move or we will, and be destroyed.

The second song was one that we didn't expect, but had ready. A man with jet black hair, toned muscles, slightly tanned, with a short sleeve dark blue t-shirt and jeans approached the stage. Ash had called to see if anyone wanted to try a song with the group. The man had walked up onto the stage. We asked him what instrument he played and what song he wanted to do. He had said, "Welcome to the Machine". Slightly surprised by the choice of song, we started.

The one line that stood out was Welcome my son, welcome to the machine. Where have you been? It's all right I know where you've been! After that song, they were done. The group left out from which they entered. They scattered out in the parking lot, conversing their accomplishment as the man from before walked outside.

He approached them and asked, "Do you know why I chose that song to play?"

"Because you really like Pink Floyd?" Ash halfway answered.

"No… well that's not the main reason. Ash, this is probably going to be shocking news," he said as he twiddled with his fingers. He was very nervous about what he wanted to say. He took out a photo from his wallet. It was a picture of his family. A Brown haired young girl with a raven headed son. The child was but a baby, maybe no more than three.

"Ash, I am… your father." He said slowly. Ash's eyes widened in shock and anger.