Chapter Thirty: To Hell & Back

That night would be the night that she would save Ash again. May was sure of it. Trucy had given her so much courage that there was something burning in her spirit that gave her hope that she had never felt before. She couldn't wait for The Joker's trial. She knew that she was gonna lose, but she didn't care. As long as justice is served and that the Duke of Caloris can rest in peace, and as long as May was reunited with her one and only Ash, then the loss would actually be a win.

Even though May felt as if she hadn't done anything, she was tired and it had been a very long day for her. Discovering that she was a direct ancestor to a blue fire-breathing dragon was a head scratcher. What made the day even more bizarre was that she was able to have a decent conversion with Iris, without the feeling of wanting to beat the living shit out of her for what she did to Ash. Even Iris had been through a lot of stuff too, May thought that she would never forgive Iris for letting Ash go to jail and face execution. May didn't expect to find herself needing Iris. But Iris could be the key to closing the case.

It was a full moon that night. It was time to go to Hell and back for Ash's sake. May gulped. The five hours that she had waited for the sun to finally sleep felt like an eternity. It was finally the time to make a move, but May froze on the spot. Her legs felt like jelly and the inner part of her body was wet with sweat. She had texted Gary to see if he would drive her and Trucy into the Haina Desert to enter the boiling pits of Hell. Ash would have been the only human in Hell, so by logic, it should have be fairly easy to find Ash. Or so she hoped. Then again, May felt conflicted. She wanted the quest for Ash to be easy, but knowing fate, it would probably be another long and winding rode.

She remembered what Hades said to Ash that night that was erased from existence: The gate to Hell can only be accessed at night. They only had a few hours to get through or else they will be trapped in Hell for the rest of the day and they would lose another day of investigations and time. May had to find the truth, even if it was the last thing she would be doing on her short time on this planet.

"Hey!" Trucy said, running over towards May. "Has Gary replied to your message?"

May pressed the buttons on her phone and and a look. A small yellow letterbox appeared in the corner of her screen. It made May jump. It was a message from Gary to say that he would be ready in five minutes. "He's on his way."

"Pika!"

Pikachu jumped on May's shoulder as both women left their hotel room and scurried down the stairs. By the time May and Trucy had reached the ground floor, a red car with Gary on the driver's seat was waiting outside for them. May pushed the hotel door open and was welcomed by the cool midnight breeze with speckles of ice flickering on her skin. "Wow!" May said. "Is it raining."

Both women got inside Gary's car and were greeted by the fresh smell of camomile and orange zest. It seemed as if the car had recently been cleaned out. May and Trucy sat next to each other in the back row of his car whilst Pikachu was on the front passenger's seat. Before Gary started his engine, he put his hand down one of cabinets in his car and gave Pikachu a small bottle of ketchup. Pikachu shrieked with extreme happiness and opened the bottle. He started making tomato-flavoured love to it. May, Trucy and Gary all laughed in unison. After all the shit they had been through, Pikachu's ketchup passion had been a comic relief for them.

Gary started the engine. "Ready or not: HERE WE COME!"

The engine started and within seconds the car zoomed. May could feel her stomach churn and her body swayed sideways. She bashed into Trucy's shoulders several times during the ride and there were countless bumps along the way. May was surprised that Pikachu wasn't flying around in the air or had blasted off through the front window. As soon as the windows were covered in endless sand, they knew that they had arrived at Haina Desert again. Gary pulled over outside of Charlie's hut and May leaned over to the car with a sigh of relief. She panted as she held onto her stomach and tried her best to ease the ache away.

"That was rough," May admitted.

"I can't believe how fast you can drive," Trucy told Gary as she hopped out of the car. May slowly got herself out and her body jerked a little. She felt as if she had just come out of a roller-coaster ride. "Take my hand!" Trucy told May and she supported her all the way to the front of the boulders. "Well, here are the boulders."

May could hear a melancholic eerie noise. It was so faint, she wasn't sure if either Trucy or Gary could hear it. "It's making some strange sounds."

"It sounds background music to a haunted mansion."

"I can't hear anything," Gary noted. "Do any of you know the code to get in."

"Tenebris foedus!" May cried out at the top of her voice. The boulders were covered in a lime green aura as neon lights overshadowed the boulders as clumps of the sand began to fly and take shape as a large door. "We've opened the gates to hell," May said. "I hope that Ash is here after everything that we've been through the past through days."

Pikachu jumped off May's shoulders and opened the door. They were greeted by red fiery pits of lava. May could feel the heat on her cheeks driving the cold night away.

"You two better go in," Gary suggested. "I'm gonna go and guard outside with my pokémon. I'll try and protect the gates to make sure nobody gets in that shouldn't get in."

"We'll see you later then," Trucy said as she followed May and Pikachu into the underworld.

"PIKA PI!"

"ASH!" May cried out at the top of her voice. "Can you hear me? If you can hear me, let me know."

"May!" Trucy whispered, dragging her away to a hidden boulder. "I don't think that's the best way to find Ash."

"How else are we going to find him?" May asked.

"We should ask around," Trucy suggested. "Talk to other demons who might know."

"DID SOMEONE CALL ME?"

It sounded so much like Ash. May wanted to leap out and see who it was, but Trucy hugged her so tight that she couldn't move.

"May? Pikachu?"

"It's me!" May screamed. "Ash, I'm here!"

"Huh!" Ash sounded surprised. May peeped out from behind the boulder and saw Ash strutting around with no top on. He jumped down from the boulder. May engulfed her body against his as soon as they were in close range.

"I'm so glad you're safe." May squeezed him so tight that she didn't want to let him go. "Ash, you've got me worried."

"I don't get it, what are you doing in Hell?"

"I came to rescue you of course!" May pointed out. "Harley Quinn attacked you and brought you here."

"I know," Ash said. "I thought I could do some training while I was here. I've defeated all eight of the dark masters already."

"PIKA!"

"That soon?" May cried out. "How?"

"The battles are really intense," Ash explained with great praise. "The best battles I've had in a long time. They're one-on-one so they don't last as long. It's a shame that I couldn't use my Pikachu, and sometimes I forget that I'm a prisoner."

"That sounds strange," Trucy admitted. "We better get going. Gary's waiting outside for you."

"Gary?"

May nodded. "That's right. Gary drove us here. Besides if you've defeated all of the dark masters, then isn't it time to go home?"

Ash shook his head. "But Harley Quinn would kill you."

"Harley Quinn only said she would kill you if The Joker was found not guilty," May explained. She suddenly noticed eight tattoos on Ash's arms. "Hey! Where did you get those tattoos from?"

"They're my badges..."

"Badges."

Ash nodded. "Instead of badges they give us tattoos. I think it's pretty neat."

"Come on," May said, gripping onto Ash's hand. "We have to get you out of here before they find you."

May and Trucy escorted Ash out of the piping hot heat of Hell and back into crisp cold of reality. The entrance closed itself as Gary drove off with a full car.