Chapter Thirty-Three: A Dark Conclusion
Ash ran out of the court and remained in hiding until dusk. Pikachu followed him and used a thunderbolt to get him back to his senses. Ash yelled as he shook his head. He felt the jolts strain in his neck run all through his body.
"Pikachu! He said, gritting his teeth. "What the hell was that for?"
Pikachu leapt out in front of him and gave him a lecture. Even though most pokémon could only say their name, trainers with strong bonds with their pokémon can understand them through their body language. Ash and Pikachu's bond was so tight that it was iconic. Almost everybody referred to Ash as the boy with the Pikachu. Ash could sense by his waving arms and sharp tone that he did not want Ash to continue the league. Pikachu also wondered how Gary knew about the league.
"I didn't expect Gary to mention the league, maybe Professor Oak told him about it."
Pikachu ordered Ash to turn back, pointing at the desolate road behind him. Ash picked him up and patted his head.
"Pikachu, I've come too far to stop now. I have to see this through to the very end. The pokémon down here need our help."
Tears leaked from Pikachu's eyes.
"I know that this will be dangerous," Ash said. He took a deep breath before talking again. "I put Greninja in a lot danger when I challenged the dark masters. But it will be worth it. I promise you. There's only five more trainers to beat and then we can go home."
Pikachu reluctantly agreed and they both marched into Hell's Kingdom where the Elite Four and champion battles took place. The tilted castle was surrounded by a charcoal wall. Mystic lime fog shrouded the rooftops of the castle.
"PIKA!" Pikachu wrestled with Ash's Jacket.
"Relax Pikachu," Ash demanded, noting the dark figure hiding beneath the shadows. "There's somebody there. Let's see who it is."
Ash and Pikachu climbed the hill together and were face to face with a knight. His bronze skin blended with his black armours and golden patterns. His hair and beard were as red as the plethora of fiery lava pits in Hell. The guard smiled.
"This is the first time I have had a mortal challenger."
"Who are you?" Ash asked.
"I am Ganondorf of the Elite Four," Ganondorf announced with his hands on his hips and a gritty grin. "I guard the gates of dusk, the closest that many will get to reach Hell's Kingdom."
Ash pulled up his sleeves and revealed all eight tattoos; the paw, the eye, the cross, the gun, the potion, the heart, the snake, and the spinning needle. "I am ready to challenge you," Ash hissed. He steered his head over to Pikachu. "Are you ready?"
Pikachu nodded and kicked his feet. Small sparks of electricity spat out of his rosy cheeks.
Ganondorf laughed mechanically as his sword and shield came to life.
"It's an aegislah," Ash said. "They're strong. Get ready Pikachu!"
"Pika..."
"GRYO BALL," Ganondorf ordered.
Aegislash was in it's blade form and charged at Pikachu with a rapid spin. Pikachu jumped on the gate, dodging it's attack.
"Thunder!" Ash ordered, panting under his breath. He wanted Pikachu to attack quickly before it was deflected by its bulky sword.
"KING'S SHEILD," Ganondorf commanded with his arms in the air, but it was too late. The pokémon couldn't couldn't change into it's shield form in time. One blast of the thunder was enough to scatter aegislash's remains all over the floor. It was still alive, but only just. A black sword was engraved on Ash's arm and the gates had been opened, revealing steep blocks of stairs.
"Not bad for a mortal," Ganondorf confessed as he guarded the gates again and stood between the open doors. "Chernabog and his spiritomb will be your next challenge. You may battle them tomorrow."
Just as Ash was about to enter the gates, Ganondorf stopped him and the gates closed again.
"Hey!" Ash yelled. "I didn't even get a chance to go in. You tricked me, you sour loser."
"I have to mention two more things," Ganondorf announced. "First of all, once these gates close, they cannot until you've defeated the next member of the Elite Four. Secondly, you must wait for one day before you can challenge the next member of the elite four."
"That's crazy," Ash explained. "Some leagues you can battle all four of them in one day."
"But Hell and Earth are two very separate places. We are the Nether Regions with our own special rules. If you don't them, then I suggest you speak to Hades about it when you face him. If... you face him,"
Ash had no choice. He had to go home. There was no point hanging around as he couldn't find any of the trainers in Hell, exciting to challenge and he was surprised at how easy the majority of the trainers he had battled. Many were clean sweeps. The only battle that etched in his mind was the battle between him and Maleficent She was the only resident in Hell, so far, who proved to be a challenge. On the other hand, the one-on-one battles meant that they were much quicker. "
"Let's go Pikachu!"
"Ash has been gone for a long time," May said, slumped over to one side of the bed. "It's nearly eleven o'clock. I wonder how he is doing?"
"Maybe he's seeing another woman?"
May closed her eyes and jiggled her head. There was no way that Ash would be seeing another woman. He was too interested in his pokémon than women. It was a miracle that her and Ash were still a couple after everything that had been through together. "He wouldn't do that," May said. "He's too innocent for that sort of thing."
"You can't call him innocent after everything that has happened in the trial yesterday," Trucy said, raising her voice. "He lied in the courtroom. And because of him, Detective Looker is missing."
"How can you blame Ash for Detective Looker's disappearance?" May panted. She couldn't believe that her best friend would come up with such a theory. She held herself against the frame of the bed and buried her head in the pillow. She couldn't take it. The two people that she cared about the most hated each other's guts. Even though she was 21, she felt as if she had been warped back into her teenage life.
She really believed that once Ash was out of prison, that her life would be a fairytale again, but she slapped her head cause of her own judgements. She didn't want to admit it, but she was losing faith.
"May," Trucy said, shaking May's shoulder. "What's going on." May burst into tears. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's fine," May lied. "It's just too much at the moment."
"Why don't you just forget about him?" Trucy said. "All he's ever done since leaving prison is upset you."
May stared at Trucy with puffy red eyes. "He didn't mean to."
"He's been mean to you," Trucy told her straight. "He's an ungrateful slob."
"Maybe he's like that because of Elodie's timeline changes," May thought out.
Trucy shook her head. "No, he was like that before the time change too. You can't blame Queen Elodie for everything."
There was a knock on the door. "Maybe that's Ash," May exclaimed as she jumped up from the bed and ran to the door. She was disappointed to see that it was Queen Elodie. "Oh, hello Your Majesty."
"Good morning," Queen Elodie said with a warm smile on her face. Her pink cheeks and radiant skin appeared to sparkle. "Is your friend Trucy here? I need to speak to you both...alone."
May nodded. "Yeah we're both in. Come in."
"My oh my," Elodie said as she took a seat near the television screen. May closed the door behind her and went back on the bed. "This is a really nice room. You girls are lucky to have it here. This is one of my favourite hotels."
"You seem..." May didn't know what to say to her. She stumbled a few more seconds before she got the words out. "Happy, especially after the circumstances."
"I am happy," Elodie admitted. "Thanks to you two, the demons responsible for my father's death have been banished from Earth. They won't be able to leave Hell for a very long time."
"And what about your father?" May wondered. "I'm surprised that you didn't change time to save your father."
"My father wouldn't have wanted that," Queen Elodie responded. "Plus there was nothing I could do to stop his death."
"I see," May said. "I'm sorry."
"May, you're friends with Manaphy right?"
May nodded. "Very good friends."
"That's sweet," Queen Elodie announced. "Manaphy loves kind witches. There's something else I wanted to talk about. I've decided not to alter with time any more unless it's absolutely necessary. No matter how many times I try to change time, I can't change Ash's fate for you."
"Ash's fate?" May asked. "Is he going to die?"
"He's not dying, but if he wins the league then..."
There was another knock on the door, this time it was Ash at the door. "May!" Ash cried out as he jumped on May and hugged her. "I'm back. I just defeated Ganondorf." He pulled up his sleeve. "I've got a new tattoo. I can't battle Chernabog until tomorrow."
"Ash," Queen Elodie announced. "I must warn you, staying in Hell too long is dangerous. Imagine what your mother would say if she saw those tattoos on your arm."
"My mom isn't here," Ash said, shaking his head.
"But she can see," Queen Elodie said as she marched over to Ash. "You see, if you open the gates to Hell, you also open the stairway to Heaven."
"Where is the stairway to heaven?" May asked curiously. May thought that perhaps there could have been an opportunity to meet Queen Olive and even her biological parents for that matter.
"That would be telling," Elodie whispered. She gave a little wink as she twirled around. "There are some things that are best left to find for yourself."
"Well that's not any fun!"
It was another bitter voice muttering behind the door.
"Ash?" May was able to recognise it straight away. She leapt over towards the door and saw a figure of a man behind the shadows. From the cap and the silhouette of a pikachu, it couldn't have been anyone else but Ash Ketchum. "We've been so worried about you!" May grabbed Ash by the arm and dragged him out of the darkness and into the room. The hotel room was starting to get packed with all of them in the room. May focused her attention on Ash who was leaning towards with his drooping shoulders and extended yawns. "You must be tired, get on the bed." Without a warning, May dragged Ash onto the side of the bed and then dropped him so that his back could sink into the mattress.
"Those dark marks," Elodie hissed. "He's only got three more trainers to beat until that moment."
"Moment?" May asked, moving her head up towards Queen Elodie's eyes. The queen simply frowned and wiped her eyes.
"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you," Queen Elodie confessed. "If I give too much away, there might be an uproar."
"I hope it isn't bad," May admitted.
"Huh?" Ash snorted. He had five blissful minutes of sleep before jolting off the bed and slinging a tiny box from out of his pocket. "I can't believe I almost forgot."
"Forgot what?" May asked.
"I think I know what he's going to do," Trucy admitted.
May steered her head to Trucy. "You do? How do you know."
"Look at the box," Trucy instructed pointing at the green box in Ash's hand. "Isn't it obvious?"
"A proposal?" May gasped. "Now this is out of the blue."
"Well," Ash said. He gulped before he could continue. He started to whisper to himself and all that May could hear from him was, "My siblings told me that I had to get down on one knee and ask." He knelt besides May's lap with his right knee pressed upon the carpet. May's heart was beginning to shiver. A red glow emerged from her cheek when Ash opened the box. The ruby, emerald and sapphire sparkled in May's eyes. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time, but that didn't stop her from feeling surprised. Regardless of the circumstances and the problems in her relationship, she felt as if she was about to live in a fairytale.
"May... will you marry me?"
From May's warm complexion and sweet smile, it was already clear what her answer would be.
"Yes!" May exclaimed. "Of course I will marry you. I've been dreaming about this day for a long time."
"Congratulations," Queen Elodie said, clapping her hands. "I wish you both all the happiness and success in the world."
"What about the stuff you were saying earlier?" May asked.
"It doesn't matter," Queen Elodie said, brushing it away. "You've done some wonderful things, you've taught me a lot. Now you just need to concentrate on yourself."
"That sounds like good advice," Trucy said. "By the way Ash, how are you able to afford that ring? It seems really expensive!"
"My father is the leader of Team Rocket, remember?" Ash reminded them both. "He's a very rich man."
"That's nice," May said.
"As long as you're both happy," Trucy said.
"I also have a request for you," Queen Elodie announced out of the blue. "I should have asked you earlier, but I need you to defend my stepsister in court."
"Lillie?" Ash gasped. "What's happened to her? I hope she's okay!"
Queen Elodie nodded. "She is fine, but she has been accused of murder. There's no way that she could have done it. So that's why I need May to defend her. I don't think there's anyone else that can perform the job better."
"How can she be fine?" Ash asked Queen Elodie.
"When is Lillie's trial?" May asked.
"Tomorrow morning!" Elodie announced. "So you've eight hours to get some proper rest."
"TOMORROW MORNING?" May shrieked. "How can I defend her with little time and no evidence."
"You managed to do it with Sakura Haruno," Trucy said, reminding May of her first trial.
May shook her head vigorously. "But I had everybody helping me back them. There's no way I could do this all on my own."
"To be honest," Trucy said. "You did most of the work on your own. I only just guided you."
"Go for it," Ash suggested to May. "You're a good lawyer and I'm sure you can get Lillie out of this mess in no time."
May took a deep breath and started to examine the situation. Lillie's mother and stepfather had recently been killed, and now she has been accused of murder. There was obviously some foul play. If Lillie has been framed, the culprit must have been somebody with a grudge against her family. The first thing that came to mind was Khura'in. Queen Rayfa and Queen Elodie were once enemies and now they were best of friends. Maybe the grudges may still be there despite the time alteration. May needed all the information she could get about the trial, there was no way she could do her job without proper time to investigate the crime.
"You'll have to tell me more information," May requested humbly. "I want to help Lillie but I can't do it without any research."
"All you need to know is that Lillie didn't do it," Queen Elodie snapped as she stomped her feet. She twirled towards the door and marched out of the room.
"WAIT!" May followed Queen Elodie, quickly catching up with her with rapid feet. "That's not enough information. Where is the trial taking place and what courtroom?"
Queen Elodie continued to walk towards the elevator. "You will be picked up at 8:30. Don't oversleep."
"Can you at least tell me who the victim is?" May demanded. The elevator doors began to close and Elodie made no attempt to invite May in.
"I shall see you in the morning."