Chapter 22: The Messenger
"How did this happen?"
"I don't know. We'll have to wait for him to wake up."
"Oh, I hope he's okay. Ah, look! His eyes!"
"Hm?"
"He's waking up! Oh, thank goodness!"
"Huh?" Ash blinked groggily as blurry light filled his eyes. "Unh...what...happened?"
"Oh, you poor thing. Are you sick?"
"Uhh," he groaned, his eyes slowly adjusting. After a moment, he saw a familiar face looking down at him fearfully. "Caroline?"
"Yes, it's me," Caroline nodded. "Pikachu informed us you were sick. What happened? Are you all right?"
"I...feel fine," Ash said, slowly sitting up. As his shirt pulled off the sheets, he cringed. His whole body was covered in sweat, his clothes drenched and pasted to his skin. "Guh! What...happened to me?"
"Seems you got hit with a fever of sorts," a male voice said. "You're burning up."
"Norman," Ash said, acknowledging the gym leader.
"Do you feel sick?" Caroline asked again.
"No, I feel fine," he replied.
"No dizziness? Nausea? Headache? Anything?"
"No," he shook his head. "I guess I was just having a horrible nightmare, that's all. I landed in Petalburg looking for you guys, and then this voice starts talking in my head. Next thing I know, this awful pain comes from out of nowhere and knocks me out!"
"Is that right?" Norman raised an eyebrow. "That sounds...skeptical, if you ask me."
"Well, it's the truth," Ash said. "Makes me a little nervous."
"If you're feeling all right," Caroline said, "perhaps you should wash up."
"Yeah," Ash said, standing on his feet and looking in the mirror. "Goodness, I look awful!"
"The shower's open if you want it," Norman gestured out the room.
"Thanks," Ash nodded, and made his way over.
After Tails landed in Slateport City, Sonic and Hoopa took off running to catch up with Ash. Meanwhile, the rest of the growing crew decided to spend time in Slateport stocking up on supplies.
"Say, Tails," Dawn asked as they walked down a grocery aisle, "where do you think the next Chaos Emerald is?"
"Hm…" Tails mused, pulling out his radar. "Let's see. I wasn't able to check earlier because we were still so far away from Hoenn, but now I think I'll be able to locate it." After pulling up a map of Hoenn, a red dot began blinking. "There it is. It appears to be located at Mt. Pyre."
"Mt. Pyre?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a place where dead Pokemon are laid to rest?"
"Looks like it," Tails nodded. "It used to be where the Red and Blue orbs were protected."
"I see," Dawn said as she grabbed a bag of chips off the shelf. "Then that will be our next destination."
"Right," Tails said. "Once we're all back together, that is. Right now, let's focus on what we need."
"You got it," Dawn agreed with a wink. They continued their shopping, unaware of a hidden figure watching them from afar.
"Isn't that Dawn?" he wondered to himself. "Is she looking for the Chaos Emeralds, too?"
When Ash finished his shower, he quickly dried himself up before grabbing his clothes. However, when he took a moment to smell them, he cringed and threw them to the side. He dug through his backpack and came across a sleeveless blue hoodie. A nostalgic smile crossed his face, and he slowly got dressed.
As soon as he finished dressing, he heard the doorbell ring. "That must be Sonic," he thought. He quickly went out and dashed down the stairs, only to trip in his haste and fall down the stairs, flat on his face.
"Ash!?" Caroline exclaimed.
"What on earth?!" Norman also exclaimed.
"Whoops," Ash mumbled, his face still in the ground. "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away." He pushed himself up and shook his head, reorienting himself. "Were you getting the door?"
"Ah, yes," Caroline said. "I wonder who it could be." She opened the door and found a surprising but welcome face.
"Max?!" Norman and Ash exclaimed at the same time.
"Hey Mom. Hey Dad. What's new?" the young trainer asked, adjusting his glasses.
Not far from Petalburg City, a Togekiss began descending on Petalburg Woods. It made its way into the trees, then landed, dropping off a passenger.
"Whew!" she said, adjusting her bandana. "Thanks for the lift, Togekiss. I'll return you to Dawn as soon as we meet up again."
"Kiii," the Pokemon smiled, rubbing against her before returning to her Pokeball. The bandana-clad brunette smiled and looked around before framing her fingers in front of her face like a camera as she walked.
"This week, on May's Expeditions, we find our heroine lost in a deep, dark forest. With only her Pokemon and a handful of supplies to aid her, this adventure is sure to take its toll on her. Will she make it?"
Of course, May was already near the edge of the forest, so she quickly got out. The late afternoon sun shone brightly, heat boring down on her. She wiped her forehead with a small handkerchief, soaking it in sweat.
You little pest.
She stopped a moment, blinking. Did I hear something? she thought. After a moment, she shrugged and kept going.
You will not escape.
She stopped again. Okay, this time I know I heard something she thought. "Who's there?" she said. "There isn't much space to hide in an open field, you know."
Foolish girl the voice sneered. Suddenly, something appeared in front of her as though it had been invisible before: a hooded figure, seemingly faceless, stood before her, a dark aura cloaking it.
"Huh?" May said, wondering what this meant. "Who are you?"
Hmhmhmhmhm the figure chuckled darkly. The darkness whispers in your ear, does it not?
"Um...I'm pretty sure that was you talking," she replied, puzzled.
Yes the figure said. I am of the darkness, and I belong to it, but I am not the darkness. All that you see before you belongs to the darkness.
"Uh-huh," she nodded. "And what exactly is this 'darkness?'"
Hmhmhmhmhm the figure chuckled again, more sinisterly this time. You have already seen it. Your friend the hedgehog is a part of it.
"The hedgehog?" May repeated to herself. "You mean Shadow? Hm...he was practically named after it." Then it hit her. "No, wait! You must mean Sonic!"
Clever girl the figure sneered. A part of the darkness became one with him when the doctor split the planet apart. It manifests itself only in its native element, though.
"Then you know about him," she said.
Yes. Indeed, I have been watching you all from the moment you set out to recover the Chaos Emeralds. You cannot escape my gaze.
May shivered. "That's unsettling," she said. "What do you want with the Chaos Emeralds?"
What? The emeralds? Pah! I have no need for those pathetic gemstones.
"Right," she nodded. "But the darkness does, right?"
Fool! You think the desires of the darkness are not also my desires? I told you, did I not, that I am of the darkness? What the darkness desires is what I desire, and what the darkness does not desire is what I do not desire.
May blinked. "Are you a puppet?"
No the figure growled. I am simply a messenger, the Messenger of Darkness, and I have come to deliver a message to you: the darkness has promised your life to me.
"What?!" May exclaimed.
Hehahahaha! the Messenger snarled in laughter. Yes. But you need not worry yourselves, petty Princess of Hoenn. I shall not take your life until the time is right. It makes little matter though. The dark aura surrounding the mysterious Messenger began to envelop it. YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED.
"No! Stop! Wait!" May cried in vain as the Messenger disappeared into darkness, maniacally laughing all the while. She held herself close as a chilling breeze blew past. "The darkness...promised my life to that creep?" She blinked. "But why?"
The sound of a Pokeball releasing its Pokemon snapped her out of her thoughts. "Nyaa!"
"Ah! Skitty!" she groaned, pulling out her ball. "Get back in there." She recalled it, put the ball away, then looked up. "Well, I guess I better get home. Max probably already got ahead of me." With that, she set out.
Run as fast as you want, you foolish girl. I want you to live as long as possible, that I may prolong your suffering as you have prolonged ours! Yes...the darkness suffers because of the light of your eyes...it cringes at the way you look at life…
And it roars in agony at the way you love. But no more! Soon, yes, VERY soon...you will BURN.