This is the one hundred thirty-sixth chapter in the Pokemon Heroes story. Okay, I have a perfectly, legitimate reason as to why these chapters came late, and I'll explain what happened at the end of the chapter. Enjoy! (If you are new to this fanfic, make sure you read the first five seasons first).

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

(Opening song)

He had the dream once again. That horrible dream that always haunted him ever since he started this journey. It was a dream he wished he could throw away, but he couldn't do to not being able to control his brain that well while he was sleeping. He was breathing better after waking up hyperventilating. He slowly placed his hand on his head and sighed.

It was about exploding cabbages. Those damn cabbages.

He used his arms to help himself rise up, and he looked around. He felt a groove on the other side of the bed, indicating that someone else was sleeping there as well. It felt warm. The young boy clenched his fists, but then decided to ignore it. Near his face slept the electric mouse. It sensed his stirring and turned to him. It wasn't very happy about being woken up yet.

"Good morning to you, too, friend," he said in an annoyed tone. He got up. He noticed that the bunk bed above him and the bunk beds near him were all empty.

"What time is it?"

He went for the clock, and already saw that it was after noon.

"We missed breakfast...again. Doesn't matter, at least we both suffer together, right Pikachu?"

His Pikachu, the name of the Pokemon on his bed, looked at him, and then gave a sly smile.

"You did not just eat breakfast without waking up your trainer, right, Pikachu?"

Before it could respond, he heard multiple bangings on the door.

"Get up, idiot! We're going to leave without you if you don't get your sorry ass out here, Ash!"

He didn't respond. He just stared at the door until the banging stopped and the girl on the other side of it left. After it was all over he turned back to Pikachu.

"So...about that breakfast..."

This boy was Ash Ketchum. The 12-year kid boy sent on a journey to explore the world and get stronger by his father, Sir Aaron. He would get stronger by improving his aura, the essence of every living creature, in order to continue what his father tried to do: protect the Ransei Region and beat anyone who tries to disturb the peace.

Different

Ash prepared everything in his green backpack and then proceeded to put on his clothes. He already had on his jeans and his black t-shirt with the orange line going horizontally around it. He just picked up his blue, short-sleeved hoodie on the edge of the bed, and then placed his signature hat on his head that had half a green Pokeball symbol. He placed the belt that had miniature Pokeballs attached to it around his waist. After he was done, he extended his arm toward Pikachu. The mouse stretched and then jumped up to his shoulder. Ash pets it on its head, and then turned to the large mirror placed in the room. He noticed his messy, raven black hair. That girl had always advised him to at least comb it sometimes, but that was just a waste of time. Noticing his hair also made him notice his eyes.

His gray, dull looking eyes.

He wasn't born with it. It was the effect of something that happened long ago that he didn't want to bring up in front of her, and also why he had shown his chest less often lately, which had an x-shaped scar. He then sighed and looked at Pikachu.

"Let's get out of here before May comes back."

Pikachu nodded, and he went straight for the door and opened it.

This was Red City. It is one of the most popular cities in the Ransei Region with advanced technology. Robot cleaners were gathered all over the city to clean up litter, it was heavily supplied with security cameras and electric powered railroad tracks swirled around tall buildings as bullet trains rode on them. Millions of tourists visit it every year. Many people lived there, and trainers came and left. Ash and his group of friends were these trainers.

Within the city was the famous Pokemon Center. It was to treat Pokemon and house trainers before they went their own way. Ash was walking in the hallways of the Pokemon Center, heading toward the lounge where his other friends were.

"There you are!"

Ash stopped and turned towards the girl that was coming to him. She had a smile on her face as she got to him and placed her hands on her hips.

This girl was May Maple, the only daughter of the Maple Family, who was also one of the five royal families in Ransei, which made her a princess. She was an 11-year old brunette. She had on her usual red blouse with that black circle around the neck, dark blue biker shorts, a white skirt, and her dark-blue and white gloves. Her red bandana with the Pokeball print on it was on her head.

Why would a princess be with a boy like this, you may ask? Well, it all started when they met in in an "awkward" situation, which led the boy to be imprisoned. Luckily he was released, but just to torture him some more, she decided to join him. It wasn't like he doesn't enjoy it, though.

"Where were you this morning?"

"Sleeping."

"How many times are you going to be sleeping until this late? I was nice enough to allow you to rest a little more."

"You started banging on the door."

"Come on. The others are waiting. I think we're leaving today."

"Finally, I thought we'd be staying here for weeks."

May took Ash's arm and started dragging him toward the lounge. He thought, and then spoke.

"Did you save breakfast for me?"

"I did, but I got hungry."

They finally got to the lounge, where trainers could relax to either wait for their Pokemon to finish healing, or if they just wanted to chill out for a while. Near the windows was a couch, where three others were gathered. May called out to them, and two of them turned to her. These two were Dawn and Brendan.

First was Brendan, the white-haired, 13-year old boy with a black headband that had a red Pokeball print on it. He wore a long sleeved red and black sweater. He wore pants with black and yellow cuffs at the bottom. He wasn't born with white hair. He used to be a brunette, but after the incident that involved his father and bounty hunters, it was changed to white.

Then there was Dawn, the blunette, 12-year old girl who is Brendan's girlfriend. She wears a black mini dress with a white undershirt inside a V-shaped neck. She also wore a pink miniskirt. On her head is a white beanie with a pink Pokeball print on it. Gold hair clips held up her hair in front. She also wore pink boots.

"Finally," said Brendan. "We were about to leave you."

"I just woke up to be dealing with your crap," said Ash. "I'd rather just jump off a damn building than hear you say another damn word."

"I dare you to," said Brendan. His tone already signaled that a fight was escalating.

"Not now," said Dawn as she placed a hand on Brendan's chest to prevent him from saying anything else that would piss Ash off.

"Is Misty coming with us?" asked May. Ash turned to that third person that was with Brendan and Dawn.

The orange ponytail-styled hair girl who was staring worriedly out the window while sitting on the couch. Her clothes consisted of a yellow, sleeveless top or vest with a large blue button on the front with matching shorts. She was sometimes described as being tomboyish.

The group had met her when they arrived in Red City. Gary, a friend of hers and the rival of Ash, had gone out to fight Marluxia, a Dark Signer, who were a group of Nobodies bent on obtaining hearts and sending Ransei into chaos with the help of the legendary Pokemon, Ho-Oh. It was Ash's job as an Aura Guardian to stop them, and his attempts on doing that has led to the destruction of his own heart, leaving him as a Nobody as well. Gary had not returned for a week now, and Ash and his friends stayed with her to make sure he came back, but nothing was heard from him yet.

Misty heard them talking to her and faced them. She put on a forced smile and placed her hand on the back of her head.

"If Gary's not coming, then I guess I'll just head back to my uncle's place. Maybe he's there instead."

They knew she wasn't really all that happy, and concern was shown on all their faces, expect Ash, who wasn't able to express emotions other than hatred since he was now a Nobody. But lately, he's been mysteriously and slowly obtaining most of his emotions back. Misty noticed their concern, and then stood.

"How about I take you all to this five star restaurant in the city later on before you go? My treat."

Their expressions were immediately replaced with awe and satisfaction.

"Y-You don't have to do that!" said Dawn, although a smile was still present on her face.

"I can order anything?" asked Brendan.

"I'll order a whole bunch of stuff!" exclaimed May. "You said it was your treat! You can't change your mind!"

Ash was the most satisfied.

"I get to finally eat!" he exclaimed. A real smile spread across Misty's face now. But in the back of her mind, she still couldn't shake off the image of Gary.

Around 2:00 later that day, they had headed out to spend their time in the city to enjoy their paid for food that Misty was offering at an established five star restaurant in the city. They were on a sidewalk that was built high in the air as other streets below it went in different directions. They stayed together so that they wouldn't be separated. Misty, Dawn, and Brendan were just having a conversation.

"I've never been to this place yet, but it's one of the most visited places in Red City," said Misty. "I've heard the food taste amazing. The place is called Le Mur, which means "the wall" in French."

"Who came up with a dumb name like that?" asked Dawn.

"It doesn't matter what a restaurant is called, Dawn," said Brendan. "Even if it was called Baiser Chiennes, Manger de la Nourriture, I'd still eat there!"

"Something sounds wrong with that name," thought Dawn. "I can feel it!"

Ash and May, other than the three in front of them, were having a different conversation. It was more like May just talking, and it was about her lecturing about all of Ash's bad habits. He didn't know how it started, but he wished it ended somehow.

"And I don't like it when you try holding me while I'm sleeping," said May. "I've let you before, but you held on so tight that I thought I'd suffocate to death!"

"Then why do you sleep on my bed?"

"That's not the point!" said May. "And also, don't place your feet on the table while eating. It's very unsanitary!" Ash placed his fingers in his ears, but May's voice continued to enter.

Elsewhere, where a building rose up over those streets, on the very top of that building, a boy stood. He was a brunette with spiky hair that rose up. He wore a plain, indigo colored short and jeans. Around his neck was a necklace with a yin-yang symbol. This boy's body was covered in bandages underneath his clothes, but the ones that were visible were the ones that covered both his arms, plus the hands, and the one that wrapped around his forehead. A bandage was placed on his nose.

He had a bag strapped to his back that was opened. He reached into it and pulled out a bow, and then one arrow. He had on a monocle on his right eye and shut his left one. This high tech monocle had the ability to see things closer up from a long distance. He looked toward the street where Ash and his friends were walking along. He eyes them and gets his sight to land on that one specific girl: May Maple.

He placed the arrow in the bow, and positioned it to prepare to shoot. It was aimed at the back of May's head. He steadied it. He was a long way away from them, so far that you could barely see the form of anyone, but somehow this boy could. He steadied it for at least a few minutes, until he stopped moving.

"And I see you picking your nose all the time like I wouldn't notice!" said May. "At least use a tissue!"

"Shut up!" was something Ash wished he could yell out loud, but he knew that his friends would think he was assaulting May, resulting in Dawn punching him and Brendan and Misty calling him a monster.

The boy on the building finally had a perfect position, and he was loosening the grip on the arrow.

"One shot, one kill."

He let go of the arrow, and it soared through the sky gracefully, perfectly heading toward May. No one noticed it, except for Ash.

"And don't even get me started on your farting! Now that's just plain-"

In a split second, before the arrow pierced through May's head, leaving the girl falling to the ground, immediately dead, Ash caught the arrow. His sudden movement startled May, and made the others turn toward the two. May saw his hand positioned behind her and she slowly turned, seeing the point of the arrow just mere centimeters from her face.

She angrily turned to Ash and placed her hands on her hips.

"HEY!"

"Are you being serious?" thought Ash, and then he pulled the arrow away and looked at it.

"Where'd that come from?" asked Brendan.

"I don't know. It just appeared out of nowhere. Some dumbass might need some more archery lessons before he kills someone!"

Ash had directed that last sentence toward the sky, expecting for someone to answer back. But even as the others have accepted that the arrow came out of nowhere, Misty couldn't really believe that. It was perfectly aimed for May's head.

As Misty stared at May, she saw another arrow coming her way.

"MAY!" yelled Misty as she quickly moved her hand towards May's head and forced it down, as the arrow went over May, but it pierced Misty on her cheek. Blood fell from the cut. Brendan was the first to react.

"Someone's attacking May!" he yelled as he pulled Dawn behind her. Ash looked around as Pikachu tried looking for a threat. Misty was also looking around, darting her eyes left and right, up and down, trying to find her suspect. Her uncle had taught her how to find the position of a sniper by finding out where the attack came from, the wind resistance, and obstacles that could get in the way. Her eyes kept moving until it finally got up to the tall building's roof. She saw someone.

She forced May to get on her knees as she pulled out binoculars and looked out.

What she saw sent a chill down her spine.

She slowly pulled the binoculars down, trying to form the words she wanted to say.

"G-Gary?"

Gary, the boy on the roof of that building, noticed Misty looking at him. He gave a "tch", and then pulled out another arrow and positioned himself. Rapidly, he started shooting and reloading. Coming towards the kids were a whole army of arrows. Civilians noticed this, and they started running and screaming. They already heard police sirens in the distance.

Ash, who was still looking around, heard Misty say Gary. He looked in the direction she was looking, and saw the boy on the roof and the arrows coming their way. The veins on his forehead popped out and formed an x-shape as he clenched his fists.

"So it was you!" yelled Ash. "Finally you've decided to show up! If you wanted to say hello TRY BEING MORE CAREFUL!"

Ash then shot out an Aura Breath, which was him gathering a large quantity of aura within his mouth, and shooting the attack towards his target.

The attack destroyed the arrows coming their way. Gary moved a little as the attack brushed right past him. He sighed and removed the monocle.

He was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

He threw down the bag on his back, revealing the sword that was in its sheath, strapped across his shoulder to his lower stomach.

He then jumped off the building, but he aimed for the power-line wires. His feet created a spark, which created a spark from the wires. They connected, and he was grinding on them toward the kids.

This was Gary's power. He could control electricity and lightning.

Misty saw him getting closer. She looked down at May, then at Gary, and then at May again. Those arrows were intentional. Gary wouldn't try to hit May in the head twice "accidentally".

Then the realization came rushing into her.

She took May's hand and forced her to start running away.

"Hey!"

"No time! Just follow me!"

They started running, getting lost within the crowd of people that were trying to escape from whatever was happening. Dawn had noticed them leaving. She also noticed Ash and Brendan staying where they were. Gary was coming closer.

"Coming to me now, aren't you?" asked Ash as he smirked.

"I'm gonna enjoy this!" yelled Brendan as his pupils turned emerald green. This was the power of The White Inheritance, a power passed down from generation to generation in his family. Using it, the user can hold the power of the Pokemon they share bonds with.

Ash turned to Brendan angrily.

"This is my fight! Get out of here!"

"Hey, I get to choose whoever I want to fight! That guy launched arrows at us. I have every right to be pissed!"

"I'm about to launch my fist to your face if you don't get lost!"

"Really now?! Come over here and try!"

"Is this really a time to be arguing?" asked Dawn as she frowned and Pikachu shrugged. Gary was close enough, and Ash prepared to shoot another Aura Breath, and Brendan was prepared to use the powers of his Pelipper to soar, or to really jump high, into the sky to deliver a kick to Gary to knock him down.

Gary only just raised his arm, and a large thunderbolt crashed down on the two boys. There was not even a cloud in the sky. The two were electrocuted until Gary sped past them. They fell to the ground, twitching and smoke surrounded them both.

"Dumbasses," mumbled Dawn, immediately checking if they were okay.

Misty and May kept running. Misty couldn't perfectly comprehend the situation, but all she knew was that Gary was in his "mission mode". Her uncle, Gary's mentor as well, gives them missions that help him get the stuff he needs, and in turn promising that they were going to get Gary stronger.

When that boy was in his "mission mode", he won't listen to reason at all. He was going to do things his way, no matter what she tells him. But why would he in that state now? What happened to Marluxia? What did he want with May?

"Where are we going?" asked May.

"I just need to get you to a safe place. Once I do that, then I'll try to-"

A thunderbolt crashed down in front of them, causing them to stop. Misty turned and saw Gary coming toward them from the power-lines, his eyes focused on May. Misty took May's hand and started running toward other places, but Gary intervened by sending down a thunderbolt.

Soon after, she had no choice but to head towards the large space between two old buildings after almost getting hit by a thunderbolt that forced her to suddenly turn.

The bad thing was that the alleyway was a dead-end.

"Shit!" said Misty as they got to the end. She looked behind her and saw Gary jumping from the wire to the ground. He was walking towards the two girls while slowly pulling out his sword from his back. Misty stood in front of May. May was just utterly confused.

"H-Hey Gary, what's wrong with you today?!" she started saying to get his attention, but he kept walking. "Did you beat Marluxia? Why are you here? Is this supposed to be some kind of hello, because it's quite extreme to tell you the truth?"

Gary's blade got engulfed in lightning. Misty now knew he wasn't playing games. Her mood quickly changed to a serious one.

"What do you want with May? Is it May, or were you always such a bad aim? This is a mission sent by my uncle, isn't it? If he wants to see her, then we'll just take her there. There's no need to get violent."

Gary stopped, and then dashed towards them suddenly. Misty shrieked, expecting a hit, but then Ash jumped into the alley from the roof of the building and a weapon materialized in his hand. He used it to push Gary's sword down, and then used his left fist to ram it against Gary's face, but Gary blocked the attack with his arm. The blow, however, pushed him backwards.

"Hey asshole!" said Ash angrily as he held the weapon up. "I was talking to you back there! Don't ignore me!"

In his hand was one of the weapons of an Aura Guardian, the Aura Blade. It was a blade of at least three feet long with an oval opening on the bottom with a thick pole in the middle to serve as a handle. The blade went straight up, but towards the top, it formed into a swirl. At the top of this swirl were three spikes. The blade was sky blue, and the handle and spikes were all black. Even though it didn't have the sharpness of a sword, it still had the ability to cut through things like one.

"Wait, Ash," Misty began, "I don't think Gary's here to fight you! He's-"

"Well he's here to fight me no matter what he's doing!"

Misty sweat-dropped. Ash motioned at Gary to come to him.

"Come at me! I'll end this in one hit!"

Gary glared at him, and then at an electrifying speed that he used with the help of his power to go as fast as a lightning bolt, he suddenly appeared in front of Ash, prepared to strike the boy with his blade.

Ash saw him suddenly appearing in front of him, and Ash prepared to attack, but then he noticed something.

It was Gary's eyes. They seemed...different.

This distraction only made Ash move back a little to avoid his neck from being sliced off, with a few strands of hair blowing in the wind. Gary used the opportunity of Ash's imperfect balance to quickly turn and deliver an electrified powered kick to his head, sending Ash toward a wall that he broke right through, causing cracks to develop all over the wall. Misty and May watched in disbelief.

Gary turned his attention back to girls. He started walking to them again. Misty glared at him.

"Gary, if you don't stop now, I'm going to use force!"

This didn't stop him. He was getting closer and closer, and Ash then came out of the hole in the wall and looked towards him with a sluggish expression like he was already beaten. He immediately got his spirit when he saw the boy still there, but ignoring him.

"HEY!"

Gary stopped and turned half-turned to Ash. Ash could tell he was annoyed, which only got him angrier.

"What's your problem?!" he yelled as aura started to fiercely surround him. "This is a fight between you and me! Are you saying that Misty's worthier to fight, huh?! We're fighting now, you damn-"

His power was making the cracks on the wall get bigger, eventually finally being able to cut out a huge part of the wall that started to tip over to them.

"Dammit, Ash!" yelled Misty.

Gary quickly used his power to shoot towards the other building's wall, and used that to shoot himself toward the roof that wasn't torn off when the piece of the three story building started falling. When he got up there, he turned to check the wreckage, but saw that the wall hadn't even hit the ground yet.

Ash was holding onto the thick wall, struggling to keep it up before it crushed them. Misty and May were crouching down. Misty saw the opportunity and helped May and herself to escape from under the wall.

"D-D-D-Dam-mit," said Ash. Finally, his feet gave in, and the piece of the building fell.

When it was over, Ash was beneath the rubble, twitching.

"Y-You're l-lucky you've wo-won this round, you piece of-"

Then Ash fainted.

May went to help Ash. Misty looked up at Gary, who was just staring down at them. He looked like he was about to head down there again, but something stopped him.

"Enough for today," said the voice in the earpiece in his ear. "You've done enough."

"I'm not done yet," Gary answered back. "They're both right there. I can-"

"No! Get back over here! You've done what I wanted to make sure you did. Remember, this is on and off. It has steps you need to follow, or else you have no chance of winning. Understand?"

Gary didn't respond. He just nodded and looked at Misty, who was looking shocked at him.

"What happened?" she asked.

He just turned away and started jumping towards other building roofs.

After getting far enough so he couldn't even hear the police sirens coming from the place he was last in, Gary stopping building hopping and turned back. He felt static in his earpiece once again.

"Good job on your mission, today. Return to the island. I've got other things I need you to do."

"Why couldn't I deal with them right there?" asked Gary, a hint of anger in his voice. "I would've ended this quickly!"

"I told you, you need to be patient. Being rash now won't guarantee you complete victory. Don't you understand, young apprentice?"

"Yeah...I understand," said Gary. "I'll return now, Sephiroth."

The man on the other side of that earpiece was Sephiroth, Misty's uncle and Gary mentor that have been giving them missions. He lived by himself on a mysterious island off the coast of Ecruteak City. To easily access the island and to faraway places in minutes, Sephiroth provided scrolls that opened portals much like the ones The Dark Signers use as transport.

Sephiroth was a mysterious man, and Gary didn't know much about him, but that man promised him power after the death of his grandfather at the hands of Marluxia. In order to get everything he needed, Gary just had to obey his every word.

But no matter what he was told, he still couldn't get one thing.

"I don't get it," he said. "I beat Ash in a matter of seconds. How is it possible that he's stronger than me?"

Sephiroth didn't respond. Gary only heard playful chuckles on the other side.

"You'll get it soon enough. That's why we need to take this in steps, to insure that even if you found out, you'd still kill him."

"Why don't you tell me right now?"

"That would just be taking away the fun, would it now?"

Gary sighed and nodded,

"I'm on my way."

He took the scroll from his bag, opened up the portal, and walked in. The portal closed up behind him.

(Ending song)

Next Time on Pokemon Heroes: Disbelief and confusion clouds Misty's mind. After just a week, Gary has changed into something else, and not even her uncle could spill the beans on this one. What will this mean for Misty, and what exactly is Ash's feeling on Gary trying to kill May? Next Time: It's My Turn.

That was that chapter. I know you might be pissed for the late season premiere, but I have completely understandable reasons that I'll explain at the end of the next chapter. Just in case you skipped the last chapter, I'll repeat what's in store for this season:

-Seeing the more sinister side of Sephiroth

-The return of Sora (once again)

-A woman who's come to avenge her brother who died at the hands of the holder of The White Inheritance

-More Dark Signer fights

-Dawn having an important role

-Gary becoming an antagonist

-And finally, what you've been waiting for, the fight between Ash and Gary, and this time it's a serious one

Now, you may be wondering how the hell is Ash stronger than Gary even though whenever they fight, Ash gets his ass demolished by the guy (I got plenty of PMs and a review about this). All I can give away is that this was something I planned from the very beginning of Pokemon Heroes, so there is a legit reason for it, and you'll understand it when the time comes. See you next chapter!

Read and Review please :-)