As Ash and May exited Mespirt's cave along with their Pokemon, they found the sky still its blood-red color, still waiting for them to fix it. Even though they couldn't see the position of the sun, they could tell from the fatigue on their bodies that the end of a very long day was quickly approaching. Even the Gyarados that were once roaming the lake had already retreated to their homes at the bottom of the lake. Neither one of the trainers wanted to be traversing the land at night, so they both knew they wanted to get the last bit of materials they needed quickly.

"That just leaves Lake Acuity...a very long trip from here…" May commented as she turned towards him.

"Yeah...not to mention how much colder it'll be if we go there during the night..." Ash agreed with a small nod.

"Wonderful..." she sighed. "Well then...let's get this last piece quickly then."

"Right..." he nodded as he brought out Braviary again.

"Brav!" Braviary announced himself as he fluffed out the feathers in his wings.

"I hope this works..." May commented as she straps herself back into the hang glider.

"Same here..." Ash agreed as he did the same. Pikachu and Glaceon returned to their perches on their trainers' shoulders and hung on tight. May took a deep breath as Ash wrapped an arm around her. "Let's go Braviary! To Lake Acuity!"

"Brav!" Braviary screeched as he took off from the island and within seconds he was soaring towards the northern part of the region with Ash, May, and their Pokemon hanging on tight.

As the long flight persisted for what felt like forever, Ash noticed May watching the region go by below with a level of quiet that was unusual for her. He knew there was still a level of awkwardness between them at this point, but it seemed a bit too quiet even still.

"May? Are you ok?" he asked, drawing her attention.

"Yeah I'm fine…just lost in thought I guess." She replied with a small smile. Ash knew it was somewhat forced, but he knew he couldn't pry into her feelings too much given the circumstances, so he let the matter drop. It wasn't too much longer before he noticed her start to shiver, which began around the same time they crossed into a snowier environment. "We must be getting close...it's getting colder..."

"Yeah...that's definitely the Alabaster Icelands down there. Which means the lake is at the top of that mountain. So we're almost there." He agreed. He suddenly blushed heavily as she held onto him a bit tighter. Whether it was for warmth or comfort he couldn't really tell, but he wasn't going to complain about that. He held her a bit closer in response and soon enough they were hovering above the lake. With the time of day being so late, they were grateful that most of the Pokemon in the area seemed to have gone back to their homes for the time being. That made their approach much easier than it was at Lake Verity.

"Ary!" Braviary informed them as he dove down towards the lake, aiming directly for another island located in the center of the lake. Both trainers held on tight as Braviary swooped down and allowed them to land safely on the island. They unhooked themselves from the hang glider and Ash smiled at his Pokemon.

"Thanks for the lift Braviary."

"Brav!" he smiled as Ash returned him to his pokeball. May meanwhile rubbed her arms and shivered, obviously not used to the cold. After a moment's hesitation, Ash gently wrapped her in a hug, which caused her to blush in surprise.

"A-Ash…?"

"I-It's for sharing body heat..." he half lied. "You looked cold…"

"Oh…" she blushed a bit deeper. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome…" he whispered gently, rubbing her back a little to help her warm up. May hugged him back a little, earning a blush from Ash as well. A small smile graced her face as she relaxed into the familiar feeling of being in his arms, which Ash noticed and he couldn't help but smile.

"It feels...nice...being in your arms I mean…" she commented.

"It sure does..." he agreed as both of their blushes deepened a little. Pikachu and Glaceon smiled at their trainers before sharing a small nuzzle of their own. Finally, May slowly let Ash go and turned her attention toward the final large rock formation in the center of the island.

"Guess you'll use that thing again? The…phone right?" she asked.

"Yeah..." he nodded as he took out the Arc Phone again and held it out at the rock formation. Both trainers watched as the phone started glowing brightly, forcing them both to shut their eyes to keep from going blind. Once the glow had seemingly faded away, they both opened their eyes and saw the cavern's entrance had been opened. Taking a deep breath May led the charge this time, slowly heading inside as Ash followed her. As she approached the main area of the cavern, May's eyes widened in surprise and she froze in her tracks. Ash was quick to take notice and raced to her side. "What's wrong...?"

"Look…" she answered, gesturing towards the back room they were about to enter. Ash followed her gaze and was quick to wear the same surprised expression as her. In front of them was a Pokemon with stark white and red fur that seemed to sway wildly about despite the lack of wind in the cave. Ash could've sworn he looked like a Zoroark, but the Pokemon growled at them with great malice as he glares at them with his glowing red eyes. "A Zoroark..."

"That's Hisuian Zoroark huh...?"

"Right…" she nodded.

"Any chances you know what typing he is...?" he asked her.

"Same as my Zorua...Normal and Ghost..." she answered, grabbing one of her pokeballs.

"Thanks..." he responded, grabbing a pokeball of his own and throwing it. "Weavile let's go!"

"Weavile wea!" Weavile announced himself confidently as May threw out her own pokéball.

"Typhlosion you too!" she called. A large Pokemon that looked similar to Typhlosion emerged from her pokeball, sporting eerie purple and pink flames around her neck and a far-off gazey look. No doubt it was another new form like Ash had seen with Samurott and Decidueye before, but now was hardly the time to think about that kind of thing.

"Ty!" she roared with a smirk on her face.

"Use Flamethrower!" May called. Typhlosion took a deep breath and then fired a powerful Flamethrower from her mouth.

"You use Dark Pulse Weavile!" Ash mirrored her command. Weavile put his front claws together and fired Dark Pulse right at Zoroark. However, Zoroark was much faster than they anticipated and was able to dodge both attacks. He then fired Bitter Malice at both of them, knocking them back a few feet with some good damage to boot.

"Hang in there Typhlosion!" May called to her partner as the Fire-type got back up onto her hindlegs and lit up her firey collar once again. "Infernal Parade let's go!"

"Phlosion!" Typhlosion yelled as she heeded May's command. Floating whisps of fire sprang up from her collar and flew at Zoroark. The move seemed to Ash to be a Ghost-type move, meaning he knew it would have no effect on this unique Zoroark. He couldn't figure out what May was up to until he suddenly saw exactly what she was doing. Instead of attacking their opponent directly, the flames of the Infernal Parade surrounded Zoroark and lit the ground around him on fire, completely preventing him from moving amongst the flames.

"Whoa! Great idea May!" he smiled.

"Let's wrap this up together!" she called to him with a confident smile, prompting him to give her a nod of agreement. "Typhlosion use Flamethrower!"

"Weavile use Ice Beam!"

"Typhlo!" Typhlosion yelled as she fired another Flamethrower from her mouth aiming directly for Zoroark.

"Weav!" Weavile echoed her cry as he fired Ice Beam from his own mouth at the very same moment. The attacks combined together into one powerful attack and struck Zoroark hard.

"Zoro!" Zoroark screeched in pain as the energy of both attacks coursed through his body and pushed him back several feet, leaving him wide open for another attack.

"Now use Night Slash!" Ash called. Weavile nodded as his claws turned black as night and he charged right at Zoroark. In one long leap, he jumped over the flames that kept Zoroark trapped and raked his claws across Zoroark's fur with great power and strength. Zoroark cried out in pain and collapsed, fainting as Weavile landed perfectly on the other side of the cavern. "Down for the count!"

"We did it!" May cheered happily as she hugged her Fire type. "Thank you Typhlosion you were amazing!"

"Ty ty osion!" Typhlosion happily cooed as she nuzzled her trainer lovingly. Ash smiled softly at the two of them as he recalled Weavile to his pokeball. The way that they behaved reminded him a lot of the way May interacted with her starter back home. Guess she always had a thing for working well with Fire types. He walked over to them and drew their attention.

"If you don't mind my asking, when did you get your Typhlosion?" he wondered.

"Volo took me out on one of his Ginko Guild assignments last week and I found Typhlosion as a Cyndaquil. She was stuck on the cliffs in the Coronet Highlands and we rescued her. Ever since then, we've been a great team." May explained as she stroked Typhlosion's head with great affection.

"I see. So this is what a Hisuian Typhlosion looks like." He said with a small smile as he admired Typhlosion's appearance.

"I guess so. Only Typhlosion I've ever seen." She replied with a shrug as she recalled Typhlosion, inadvertently reminding Ash of that fact.

"Right...of course." He replied, silently cursing himself for the comment that must've sounded quite stupid to her. However before he could beat himself up too much, a soft glow joined them in the cavern and drew their attention. Right in front of them, Uxie suddenly teleported into the cave.

"Is that…?"

"Uxie…" The Legendary Pokemon began to glow just like his siblings before him and his voice entered their minds.

"Come. I will test your Knowledge."

"Oh…Okay..." Ash nodded with a nervous nod. He was able to deal with Willpower and Emotion well enough, but when it came to memorization of facts and trivia he was definitely not in his element. He could really only hope that the question wasn't too much for him to handle or they'd be in real trouble.

"Combee. Zubat. Unown. Magneton. Dusclops. How many are their eyes? Tell me each in order, and as one." Uxie instructed them.

"Combee...Zubat...Unown...Magneton...Dusclops...how many are their eyes…in order and as one...what does that even mean?" Ash stammered. Of all the subjects he didn't like, Math was at the very top of the list. He was never good at it and he had actively avoided doing any ever since he got out of school. And now the fate of him, his girlfriend, and the very future itself rested on his ability to solve this puzzle? Fate could be very cruel sometimes. As Ash was racking his brain with the problem, May suddenly stepped up towards Uxie.

"I know. It's 60131." She announced.

"Very good." Uxie smiled with a small nod.

"Way to go May!" Ash grinned at her, causing her to blush slightly at his compliment. With the answer given, Uxie began to glow and a claw appeared in Ash's hands.

"Take this piece of the spirit and bind the world together once more." Uxie instructed them before he teleported away. Ash nodded and slipped the claw into his bag with the other materials before flashing May another thankful smile.

"Thanks for answering May. I owe you one."

"Of course. It's really no big deal." She insisted. Even so, the two shared a smile that lingered on both their faces for a few minutes longer than normal. And that little tidbit didn't go unnoticed by their partners, who both shared a knowing smile themselves. Finally, May broke the stalemate as she got back to the matter at hand. "We should return to Mistress Cogita and learn where to take these items next."

"Right. Let's head out." He agreed. She nodded in agreement and the two left Uxie's cavern with Pikachu and Glaceon tailing them from behind.

After a long and cold flight with Braviary through what should have been the dark night sky, Ash and May arrived back at the Ancient Retreat, the fatigue and chill evident on their faces. It was obvious the cross-region trek had taken more than its toll on them and their Pokemon. Nevertheless, the two of them walked into Cogita's tent and came to meet the old woman once again.

"Mistress?" May asked, drawing her attention.

"Ah. I see both lost children have returned. Wonderful." Cogita smiled.

"Good to see you both back in one piece." Volo smiled.

"Thanks, Volo. All three Lake Guardians gave us pieces that they asked us to use in this quest. A fang, a plume, and a claw." Ash explained, showing them the three items they had earned. Cogita took a moment to examine them before nodding in approval.

"Good. Then you have the necessary pieces to build the Red Chain." She concluded.

"How do we use these to form this Red Chain?" May wondered.

"You both need to go to a place called the Shrouded Ruins. There you'll be able to use the gifts to create the Red Chain." Cogita informed them.

"Okay. And uh, where is that exactly?" Ash sweatdropped.

"I've visited there before. It'll be in the northern area of the Crimson Mirelands. You can't miss it." Volo chimed in.

"Then let's get going." Ash announced.

"Wait now? It's like the middle of the night." May pointed out.

"Oh right…" Ash said, remembering his own fatigue in an instant.

"The ruins will still be there for you in the morning. It's best if you both rest here before you depart." Cogita informed them, which they both thought sounded much better than trying to press on.

"Thank you, Mistress." May responded with a respectful bow.

"Thanks very much, ma'am." Ash echoed her praise.

"My pleasure. May if you would show Ash to the guest room." She instructed.

"Of course Mistress." May nodded as she stifled a yawn. Ash looked at her with a hint of concern as she led him to one of the rooms of the hut. It was obvious this was where she had been staying all this time. However luckily for him, there were two beds set up in the room already.

"You're getting tired..." Ash commented with a worried look on his face.

"It's very late...and we've been all over the region today...aren't you tired too?" she pointed out.

"I am…but I'm more worried about you." He countered as he sat down on the unclaimed bed and Pikachu moved from his shoulder and curled up in his lap, falling asleep almost instantly. May blushed at his comment as she struggled to find an answer.

"Well…a good sleep will fix that so I'll be fine." She insisted as she laid down on her own bed. Taking her cue to heart, Ash laid back on his own bed as Glaceon lay at May's feet. The two lay in silence for a few moments before May spoke up again. "...You really think we'll be able to fix the sky?"

"I know we can May. I'm sure this is part of the reason we were sent here." He assured her.

"I hope so..." she sighed. Both of them shared a yawn, indicating to both of them that it was time to stop for the night. "Goodnight Ash..."

"Night May..." he replied softly. May gave a small smile and closed her eyes, drifting off almost instantly. Ash smiled at her sleeping figure before closing his eyes and drifting off as well.

To be Continued...