Really sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter written. I don't really have an excuse for why it's taken so long other then I'm struggling to stay in a writing mood at the minute. Add in that there's no battle or fights in this chapter and that makes it harder for me to write.
I also decided to do Lent this year and gave up chocolate, cakes, things like that. My sugar levels have crashed through the floor and I haven't had to energy to do much of anything. So it's safe to say I'm never doing Lent again.
One last thing before we get to the story. I had a anonymous review that, well it didn't bother me, it just made me want to bring it to everyone's attention This is the review.
U piece of shit come back and finish this. I didn't read 470k for the story to be incomplete. GET YOUR ASS HERE ASAP
Now I can understand the frustration but there's no need for the insult or the bad spelling at the start. I don't mind getting people asking about chapter updates but name calling isn't on and if you're going to insult me at least have to guts to put your name to it. Not owning up to it is just being a coward. I was tempted to delay the chapter for another couple of weeks out of spite but that's not fair to everyone else, so here's the chapter.
Enjoy.
Edit: - Thank you to Phoenix for reminding me I'd left forgotten Manaphy. I blame my sugar levels.
Chapter 41
Back from the Brink
"No." Ash whispered as he felt tears well up in his eyes. "No!" He repeated more aggressively. He handed Manaphy to Blaziken and knelt down putting his hands on May's stomach, pulling them back sharply at the coldness of her body. Ash forged ahead and touched May again, ignoring the cold that spread into his arms as he started to use CPR to get May breathing again but it was futile. Cursing violently he lifted Vulpix off of May before placing his hands over May's heart and started to channel his Aura into her but it would only appear around his hands for a few moments before flickering and dying out. Ash kept trying until Lucario pulled him away, he whirled around to confront the Aura Pokémon but staggered as dizziness overtook him.
Master Ash, you are in no shape to aid Mistress May. Allow me to… Lucario's sentence died out as Articuno stood over May and looked down at the freezing brunette. She cooed as her long streamer-like tail came around and gently wrapped around May's body, lifting her from the ground. All the gathered Pokémon started growling and readying attacks but a raised hand from Lorelei stopped them.
"Do not attack, I believe Articuno intends to help Miss Maple." The former Elite said.
The Freeze Pokémon cooed and started to shine a pale blue, the glow spread to cover May and after a minute it began to recede. As it receded May's skin visibly darkened from the deathly pale tone it had been before, her hair was no longer frozen and hung limply, her lips were still blue but not to the extent they had been. Articuno gently placed May on the ground again and moved her tail out of the way, Ash was immediately by her side only to find she still wasn't breathing.
He began using CPR again while Lorelei called for an ambulance, the Pokémon all stood around waiting. Lucario used all of the Aura he could on May while Vulpix, Blaziken and Torkoal used a weak Heatwave to try and warm her up more as Ash continued to alternate between forcing air into May's lungs and compressing her chest. What felt like days passed but in reality was actually less than a minute until May gave a weak cough as Ash pressed on her chest. Her eyes fluttered open slowly as she felt something hit her cheek, it took a lot of effort for her to focus her eyes on the shape that hung above her but when she managed it she saw Ash's warm brown eyes staring back at her. She gave a small smile until her mind realised that his eyes were filled with tears, she tried to speak but her mind couldn't seem to form the words she wanted. Ash just cupped her cheek gently and smiled.
"Don't try and speak, there's help on the way." He stroked her cheek with his thumb not sure if she could feel it or not. "You're going to be alright." May's eyes drooped closed as she slipped into unconsciousness once again.
Ash kept talking to May even though she'd passed out until the ambulance arrived, he mostly kept telling her she was going to fine but occasionally he'd tell her not to scare him like that again. It was only when the ambulance arrived and the paramedics started to check May's condition that he realised the irony of what just happened. Ash quickly reflected on how he know knew that his friends felt every time he did something reckless, he put his reflections on hold as he saw the paramedics loading May into the ambulance and ran over to them.
"I'm sorry sir, unless you're a family member you can't ride with her." The female paramedic said as Ash tried to climb into the back of the ambulance.
"I'm not leaving her." Ash snapped, turning quickly and returning all of the other Pokémon including Lucario as the woman stepped aside with wide eyes. Ash got into the ambulance and grabbed hold of May's hand as the doors closed, he caught a glimpse of something shining in front of him and lifted his gaze from May's face. What he had glimpsed was the reflection of his eyes, they were glowing blue with Aura, when he'd snapped at the paramedic his emotions had unconsciously drawn on his Aura. Taking a moment to calm himself, Ash watched his reflection as his eyes slowly changed back to their usual brown. It was only as the ambulance drove away from the beach that he realised Pikachu wasn't with him, he was tempted to have the paramedics stop but a glance out of the window saw Pikachu sitting on Lorelei's shoulder and Manaphy sat in her arms. The Elite must've stopped Pikachu from following as Pokémon aren't allowed to travel in an ambulance unless they are in their Pokéballs. Knowing that Pikachu would be fine with Lorelei Ash turned his attention back to May, squeezing her hand and continuing to talk to her.
The female paramedic moved from the front into the back of the ambulance and started to take more readings from May to save time when they reached the hospital. Ash moved out of her way as best he could but he refused to let go of May's hand. When they arrived at the hospital there were nurses waiting at the door and May was rushed inside with Ash still at her side until a nurse convinced him to go to the waiting room so they help May properly. He'd reluctantly released May's hand after placing a kiss on her forehead before a nurse led him to the waiting room.
Lorelei and Pikachu arrived half an hour later sitting next to Ash without saying a word, knowing that there wasn't anything they could say that would make the situation any better. Another half hour passed and Ash started pacing, an hour later Ash was still pacing and Lorelei was holding her tongue knowing that Ash was just worried and that telling him to stop wouldn't help his worsening mood. More time went by before a doctor approached them, Ash met her halfway.
"How's May?" He asked.
"Sir, unless you're a family member I can't divulge any information." The Doctor replied, a growl started to rise from Ash's throat but a gentle hand from Lorelei calmed him enough to swallow it.
"Doctor…" Lorelei looked at the Doctor's name tag. "Ainsworth, we are members of the G-Men." Lorelei showed her GCS and Ash pulled his from his pocket. "That allows us to access information on people involved in current investigation. The incident at the beach is part of a long term investigation and as Miss Maple is involved in it you are allowed to divulge her information to us. Now if you wouldn't mind, brief us on her condition."
"She's out of danger but still needs monitoring. Due to the extent of the low temperatures she endured and the amount of time she was exposed to them we've had to put her in a medically induced coma while we raised her core temperature and ensure that there isn't any permanent damage. Once we've run a few tests, depending on the results we'll bring her out of the coma and proceed from that point." Dr Ainsworth said.
"I might be able to help her, I…" Ash started before Lorelei interrupted him.
"You're in no shape to help anyone, I actually think you should get examined yourself. Your legs were encased in ice for a while." Lorelei gave Ash a meaningful look, telling him not to mention or use his Aura. Taking a second to think, Ash understood what she wanted him to, if he tried to use his Aura right now he stood a good chance of killing himself. Lorelei gave him a small push towards Dr Ainsworth. "Pikachu and I will stay here and watch over Miss Maple until you return. I would advise you to take yours and Miss Maple's Pokémon to the small Pokémon Centre in the lobby, they more than deserve the rest." Giving Ash another slightly stronger push Lorelei finally got him to go with Dr Ainsworth as she followed a nurse to May's room, watching her through the glass wall. May was laying on the bed wrapped in thick blankets and heat lamps shone down on her from the ceiling, her skin was still paler then its usual tone and her lips were still tinted with blue. Her chest rose and fell in a slow steady rhythm, without the hospital background it would look as though she was merely sleeping like a fairy tale princess.
An hour later Ash jogged up to Lorelei as she was talked to a nurse, he could hear a lot of medical terms that he didn't understand so tuned the conversation out and looked at May. His hands curled into fists as he started to curse himself for not being strong enough to protect her, he'd made a promise to her parents and broken it. Ash's hand flew up as he slapped the back of his head, the resounding crack silencing Lorelei and the nurse's conversation as well as making the nurse jump in surprise.
"Stupid!" Ash growled lowly to himself and tears started to well up in his eyes. "Stupid!" He slapped his head again and again and again continuing to curse himself between each hit, hanging his head and ignoring Pikachu's calls for him to stop. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dropped to the floor as he continued to beat himself, Lorelei tries to stop his arm but he just shook her off and carried on. Pikachu was on the verge of shocking Ash unconscious but didn't due to being in a hospital, knowing his attacks could damage the equipment and hurt people. A Pokéball from Ash's belt burst open and Blaziken appeared, grabbing hold of Ash's arm and holding it in place. His other arm rose to continue his self-imposed punishment but a second Pokéball opened and Lucario held that arm.
I'm sorry Master but this is for your own good. Lucario muttered before chopping the back of Ash's neck, knocking the Trainer out. Blaziken and Lucario supported Ash's weight and carried him to a nearby bench, laying him down on it.
"I am glad you did that." Lorelei said as she walked over to them, Pikachu leapt from her arms and sat on Ash's chest. "I was about to call for security to restrain him." She looked down at Ash with sad eyes. "I do not know him that well but I wouldn't think he would act in such a way."
Master Ash has always taken whatever course of action is necessary to protect the people, whether he knows them or not. He is always upset with himself on the occasion he fails to help someone but this is the first time I've seen him physically hurt himself because of it.
"Love is a blessing as well as a curse." Lorelei sighed, brushing some hair from Ash's face. "It can give us the strength to defeat an army but it can also make us powerless to the simplest of things." The Pokémon and human just stood in silence for a few moments until a beep sounded and broke the quiet. "It seems somebody wishes to talk to Ash." Lorelei slid Ash's X-Transceiver from his wrist. "I am sure he would not mind me answering the call while he rests." Lorelei held the device up and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Oh…I'm sorry I must have entered the wrong number." A female voice said.
"If you are trying to contact Ash Ketchum this is the right number, he is just taking some well-deserved rest." Lorelei replied. "Can I take a message?"
"I'm his Mother, I heard on the news that there was an unexpected blizzard at Seafoam Islands and I wanted to make sure he was okay." Delia explained.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Ketchum. My name is Lorelei Prima, I have met your son a few times and helped him with his training. I can assure you that he is in perfect health, albeit exhausted from helping deal with the situation."
"That's good to hear. It's nice to put a face to the name, Ash has only said nice things about you. What about May? Is she alright?" Delia asked, her heart skipped a couple of beats when she saw the former Elite's face drop.
"Miss Maple was injured during the situation and is currently in hospital recovering. The doctors are treating her but it is a slow process, they are currently waiting on test results to see how they should proceed." Lorelei said, trying to keep the worst of the information from getting out.
"I…I should call her parents."
"If I may stop you there Mrs. Ketchum. I do not see any need in unnecessarily worrying Miss Maple's parent, I think we should wait and see what Miss Maple wishes to do. I have a suspicion that her parents have no knowledge of the situations she has found herself in while travelling with your son." Delia paused and studied Lorelei's face.
"You keep saying situation, I take it this wasn't a natural blizzard then."
"You are very perceptive Mrs. Ketchum." Lorelei replied. "It would be safe to assume that. Your son does have a habit of being in circumstances such as these on a fairly consistent basis."
"I won't mention anything to May's parent just yet but I still think they should know."
"As soon as Miss Maple is awake, I will have her call her parents or have your son contact them when he wakes up."
With that said the two women ended the call, Lorelei kept hold of Ash's X-Transceiver in case it rang again and moved to stand in front of the glass wall of May's room between Lucario and Blaziken. Just as the former Elite was starting to relax and let her mind process all the information she's learnt today her GCS vibrated. Slipping it out of her pocket she recognised the vibration pattern as the one she'd assigned to Lance, probably calling for a briefing on what happened. She stared at the device before pressing a concealed button, blocking the call.
"You will have to wait for your update Lance." Lorelei said softly, returning the GCS to her pocket and bringing her attention back to May. "There are more important things happening at the moment."
A few hours later
Ash's eyes fluttered open as consciousness returned to him, he rubbed the dull ache in the back of his neck as he pushed himself upright.
"I was starting to worry about you Mr. Ketchum." Lorelei said as she walked towards him carrying a tray holding four glasses of water. "If you had continued to sleep any longer then I was going to ask a nurse to examine you." Balancing the tray on one arm she passed a glass to Lucario and another to Blaziken, the two Pokémon were still standing watching over May having not moved since Ash's forced rest. Pikachu and Manaphy each sat on the shoulder of Lucario and Blaziken respectively.
"How's May?" Ash asked taking the water offered by Lorelei.
"Her heart-rate has picked up slightly and her temperature has risen but other than that there hasn't been any real change. Doctor Ainsworth said that her tests came back clear, they just need her vitals to improve more before they can wake her up."
"I can help with that." Ash said, starting to stand but a hand on the shoulder from Lorelei pushed him back down.
"I can empathises how much you wish to help Miss Maple but if she has a sudden miraculous recovery after being subjected to such an extreme drop in temperature it will raise questions that you don't want to answer. She will be perfectly fine without you using your Aura, and given your weakened state healing her with such an act could cause you serious injury."
"I'm not weak." Ash snapped.
"I see your time spent training with me was a waste of time apart from your memorisation of notable Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon. I strove to make you think more intelligently, it seems as though I failed. I did not say you were weak, I said you were weakened. There is a difference, you are strong yes but, although I don't have as much information on the subject as I would like, your reserves of Aura cannot be fully recharged after so short a time." Ash just glared at Lorelei in reply. "Your silence confirms my suspicions, I think it is safe to assume that you need at least two or three days for your Aura to return to full power. I had to estimate my calculations from the vague histories I've read about Aura and what I have learnt from you yourself, I did ask Lucario about Aura recovery rates but he hasn't spoken a word since….helping you get some rest."
"It's part of our training." Ash replied. "The general public are allowed to know about Aura but the training itself and the way Aura works is a secret." Lorelei nodded.
"I understand now, is there any way I could learn at least some parts of how Aura functions or some of the uses? It would help in forming a plan of action to help the Legendary Pokémon recover from whatever it is that is affecting them."
"You'd need to talk to Queen Ilene, all Aura Guardians are under her command, no matter what region they come from or work in. The secrets of Aura are a national treasure of Rota, to learn anything more about it then there is in history books you need the permission of the ruler."
"Well then, it seems that once this situation is resolved and Miss Maple has recovered I will be taking a journey to Rota."
The pair fell into silence as time ticked by, Ash took a position between Lucario and Blaziken watching over May. Lorelei had told him about the conversation with his mother and he confirmed that May hadn't told her parents about the dangerous events she'd been part of while travelling with Ash, he agreed that they shouldn't say anything to them without asking May first. Ash had called his mother and told her he was alright and May seemed to be getting better before promising to let her know when May woke up.
Hours passed with Lorelei and Ash both ignoring Lance's attempts to contact them, Lance would know that they were ignoring his calls but he still insisted on calling every few minutes. Ash never moved from where he was standing while Lorelei had taken a few opportunities to talk to the hospital staff to get more information on what had happened to May and what the recovery process was like as well as getting food and drinks for Ash and the Pokémon, knowing that if she didn't they wouldn't have gotten anything as they refused to leave their places watching over May.
Doctor Ainsworth approached them as night started to fall telling them that they should return to their hotels to get some sleep but both Lorelei and Ash said they weren't leaving until they knew that May was okay. Doctor Ainsworth just nodded seeing the pair wouldn't budge on the subject, she offered them one of the family rooms that were used when family members didn't want to be far from their relatives but again the pair said they wouldn't be leaving May.
Night fell and the sun rose, Lorelei woke up having lain down on the bench opposite May's room and found Ash's jacket covering her, having used her own as a makeshift pillow. She raised her head and looked over to find Ash, Lucario and Blaziken in the exact same places they had been when she'd fallen asleep. From the way they were standing she could see that Blaziken and Lucario were starting to get tired, their posture not as rigid and alert as it had been, their heads were drooping and shoulder slumped slightly. She noted from Ash's body language he was still wake and focused, standing with almost military-like composure, she couldn't see his eyes but from the way his head was turned and with a small downward angle she could tell that they were looking at May's sleeping face.
Finally sitting up Lorelei stretched and walked over to stand by Ash, she glanced at the readings on the machines that monitored May. She saw that her heart rate had increased and her temperature was also higher, looking at May herself it was evident that her health had improved, her skin was back to its usual colour, and her lips were no longer blue. Lorelei allowed herself a small smile, it seemed as though May would be making a full recovery.
"Thank you for your coat." The former Elite said as she passed Ash's jacket back.
"Don't worry about it." Ash replied, still not looking away from May.
"Miss Maple seems to be recovering." Lorelei paused. "Did you…?" She let the question hang in the air.
"No, I didn't use Aura to help her." Ash sighed. "May's strong, she's doing this on her own."
"Have you slept at all?"
"I'll sleep when May's okay." With that said they lapsed into silence again until the clicking of heels echoed down the corridor, turning to the sound they saw Doctor Ainsworth approaching them.
"We've had to test results back and May appears to be recovering well enough for us to bring her out of the coma, we'll take her off the solution and let her wake up in her own time. Once she's woken up, we'll need to test her cognitive functions and motor skills to see if they've suffered any damage." The doctor said.
"How long will it take for her to wake up?" Ash asked.
"It varies from person to person, some people wake up in a couple of hours and others can take a day or two." Doctor Ainsworth looked over the clipboard of May's information in her hands, leafing through the papers quickly. "A rough estimate for a woman this age and body type…five or six hours but like I said, it varies from person to person she may wake up sooner or possibly later. It's hard to tell, every person metabolises things at different rates someone in the exact circumstances as May with the same age and body type could take eight hours to wake up while May might wake up in five. I'd like to give you a definitive time frame but I can't."
"Thank you Doctor Ainsworth." Lorelei said, "Is there somewhere we can freshen up?"
"Yes, if you follow me I'll show you to the family room and you can use the facilities in there."
Lorelei followed Doctor Ainsworth, leaving Ash standing watch over May as a nurse entered the room and unhooked the IV solution. As the nurse left the room Ash slipped in before the door closed and moved a chair closer to the bed. He sat down and took May's hand into both of his, he wanted to use his Aura to help May but like Lorelei said a sudden recovery would be suspicious and bring up questions he wouldn't be able to answer. Pikachu had wanted to join Ash in the room, as had Lucario and Blaziken but they'd chosen to stay in the hallway. The hospital had a general rule about Pokémon not being allowed out of their Pokéballs, especially on wards or in patient rooms, but with Lorelei and Ash being members of the G-Men they'd been given some leeway and could stay in the hallway. They could enter rooms but only in emergencies, such as a fire or in the unlikely event of a ceiling falling.
A short time later sharp tapping made Ash turn to look at the window finding Lorelei drumming her fingernails against the glass. She shook her head at him but didn't make any move to have him leave May's side, Ash gave the former Elite a small smile before returning his attention to May. Lorelei shook her head again with a small grin as she moved to sit on the bench, Pikachu left his place on Lucario's shoulder and moved to curl up in Lorelei's lap while Manaphy stayed on Blaziken's shoulder. A light chuckle escaped her lips as she started to stroke the electric type's fur.
"I suppose you are just as worried as your trainer is. The bond the two of you share is the strongest I have ever seen and as far as I can see it is only getting stronger as time goes on." Under her hand Pikachu had drifted off to sleep, given what had happened during the last twenty four hours it wasn't surprising. Lorelei continued to run her fingers down Pikachu's back. "You and your trainer are exceptional in every way possible, the insight you provide me with into the way Pokémon and humans bond is invaluable."
The rest of the day was spent with Ash sitting at May's bedside, eventually falling asleep himself, and Lorelei convincing the hospital staff to let Ash stay in the room. She had to bend the truth slightly in the end stating that for the safety of the hospital it was best that Ash stayed by May's side, producing her GCS again to enforce the point finally put the matter to rest. The real truth being that if they tried to remove Ash from May by force the hospital staff would not come out of the confrontation well especially when Blaziken, Lucario and Pikachu would more than likely jump to Ash's aid, not that he'd need it.
Every hour or so Lorelei would offer to get Ash something to drink or eat but he politely refused and kept his attention on May. Night started to fall once more and there was still no sign of May waking up, when Ash questioned Doctor Ainsworth about it she repeated what she'd said earlier about people metabolising the things at different rates plus what had happened to May beforehand needed to be taken into account. Her mind needed to recover as well as her body and one wouldn't wake up without the other, Doctor Ainsworth did say that if May hadn't woken up by the following night then they would run some tests to find the reason behind her continued sleep.
The following morning Lorelei was asleep on the bench again and Ash was sleeping in the chair beside May's bed, his head lolled to the side facing away from May. He started to slowly rouse from his sleep at the feeling of a small pressure on his hand, cracking his eyes open and rubbing the sleep from them he turned to see that May's hand was twitching. Ash's eyes flew to the monitors around May and found himself wishing that he could understand what the readings meant. He reached up and pressed the button that would alert the nurse's station as he gently stroked the back of May's hand with his thumb. A minute later a nurse came to the room and Ash told her that May was starting to wake up, the nurse nodded and placed a call out to Doctor Ainsworth. While waiting for Doctor Ainsworth to arrive the nurse checked the readings and made a couple of notes on the paperwork hanging from the end of May's bed.
Doctor Ainsworth walked into the room and the nurse handed her the paperwork, taking the clipboard she flicked through the notes and nodded. Moving to look at the monitors she nodded again and smiled.
"She should be awake soon. I would suggest talking to her, a familiar voice may help her wake sooner. She'll be weak at first but after some food and fluids she'll regain her strength quickly, once she's eaten we can run a few tests to see if the cold has affected her body in anyway." She said before turning back to the monitors looking over the readings from the past few hours. "It looks as though she's been dreaming."
"How can you tell that?" Ash asked.
"There's a change in her heartbeat and brainwaves, a slight spike in speed before it calms and then it spikes again. There's a noticeable pattern, with experience you can give an educated guess as to what caused it. This pattern tells me that it was most likely a nice dream, a very nice dream." She pauses to write something on the clipboard. "Did you do anything during the night?"
"What do you mean?"
"Usually people in these circumstances need something to trigger a dream, a sound, a touch, things like that. Did you say or do anything last night?"
"I talked to her a little, about where we'd be going next. We're on our way to Cinnabar Island, I'm taking on the Pokémon League and May's collecting Ribbons for the Grand Festival."
"That must've been what she was dreaming about, travelling with you." A small smile crossed the doctor's lips as she turned to face Ash. "She must care about you a lot and I imagine the same is true about you to her." Ash just returned the smile and nodded, the next hour passed slowly as Ash told May stories from before he'd met her. How he'd nearly broken his arm when he was five trying to climb a tree to get a closer look at a Metapod, the disaster of Leaf's birthday where he'd eaten all the food and many more stories. Every now and again May would squeeze his hand, each time being slightly stronger than the last, eventually May's eyes slowly fluttered open. Seeing her eyes opening Ash called for the nurse again knowing that Doctor Ainsworth would want to know as soon as possible.
A few minutes later Doctor Ainsworth walked into the room and immediately had Ash leave so she could do her tests. She drew the curtains across the glass wall of the room and after an hour she came out, looking over her notes.
"How is she?" Ash asked.
"She seems to be in good health, we need to wait for blood test results to come back and put her through a few scans to be sure but I feel it's safe to say she'll make a full recovery after a little physical therapy. There is something I've chosen to leave out of my notes though." Doctor Ainsworth said.
"What's that?" Lorelei said curiously.
"When I asked her what she remembered about how she got her, May said she tried to stop Articuno from continuing a rampage." The Doctor paused. "I'm going to assume this isn't a hallucination caused by the temperature affecting her brain and that it's the reason two members of the G-Men have been outside of her room for the past couple of days." Lorelei nodded stiffly once. "I'll file an official report to the G-Men headquarters and put an altered one in her medical file."
"Can we go and see her?" Ash asked.
"She's still recovering from what happened and the simple motor skill tests I had her do have taken the little energy she had. You can go in but not for long, she'll probably fall asleep again soon. I'll have a nurse get her some food." Doctor Ainsworth then turned and started walking to the nurse's station. "Pokémon need to stay out of her room though, just as a precaution. After a couple of days if all the tests come back clear they'll be allowed in."
Ash walked into May's room and smiled as he saw her sitting up in the hospital bed, she was still paler then her usual skin tone and looked exhausted but she still gave him a wide smile upon seeing him.
"Ash." She said, her voice quiet and scratchy.
Crossing the room quickly Ash dropped into the chair, taking May's hand and kissing her forehead.
"I'm sorry, it should've been me and…" Ash's rambling was cut short by May pinching his hand.
"Now you know how everyone else feels when you do things like that." May started to cough and reached for a glass of water. Her movements were slow and shaky, nearly spilling the water over herself but a blue energy coated her hand steadying it. May turned her head and saw Lucario's eyes glowing, she smiled her thanks to the Aura Pokémon and carefully brought the glass to her lips. After sipping the water May continued to speak. "I probably won't be doing something like that again for a while though. I don't understand how you do it."
"Kind of came with the job title. You know, Chosen One, I have to do stupid stuff like that." The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence as they held hands until a nurse came in with a menu. May looked at the food available carefully before choosing a small steak and vegetable dish. While May waited for the food to be delivered Ash told her what happened after she passed out, about how Pikachu and Unfezant carried on her plan to get Articuno lower to the ground, Lucario catching her with Psychic when she fell, the fire types huddling around her to warm her up and how Manaphy had used Heart Swap to help calm Articuno down.
"Ash, you're leaving something out." May said, taking another sip of water. "What aren't you telling me?"
"When…when Articuno was better I went to check on you and…and you…you were…you weren't breathing." The glass of water slipped from May's hand and it was only thanks to Lucario using Psychic that it didn't smash on the ground. "Articuno did something to help but you still weren't breathing so I started CPR and Lucario used his Aura while our Pokémon did what they could to warm you up. The ambulance arrived and brought you here after that." Silence hung between them as May tried to process the information, a few tears formed in her eyes but didn't fall. May eventually lifted the bedsheets to wipe her eyes and smiled at Ash.
"I guess I owe all of you my life then." She said quietly, squeezing Ash's hand.
"May, I lo…" Ash started but May put her finger against his lips, stopping him mid-word.
"Stop." Her voice was strong even thought it was still scratchy. "Are you sure about what you're going to say?" Ash hesitated for a moment. "The fact you didn't answer straight away means you're not sure. Don't even think about saying that unless you actually mean it the way I want it too." Ash nodded slowly as May took her finger away and Lucario levitated the glass of water back to May's hand as she started to cough again. Ash changed the subject to what they would do when May was out of hospital and what they'd tell May's parents about what happened. May decided to call them after she'd eaten and tell them she was in hospital after they'd been caught in a blizzard, nothing seriously wrong just taken in for observation for a few days before they could move on. Lorelei came into the room for a few minutes to see how May was feeling and asking to speak with her once she was feeling up to it so she could get a statement over what happened for the G-Men case file. May agreed and thanked Lorelei for looking after Ash while she couldn't drawing a light laugh from the Elite and a scowl from the Aura Guardian.
A Week Later
May was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair by a nurse, Ash and Pikachu on her left, Lucario was on her right with Blaziken while Glaceon sat in her lap and Manaphy was in her arms. She'd been given the all clear to leave the hospital and told to see the head Doctor in Cinnabar General Hospital when she and Ash arrived on the island for a checkup after their journey. A taxi waited to take the pair to the ferry terminal with Lorelei standing next to it, May slowly got out of the wheelchair and used the crutch the hospital provided to steady herself. She turned and thanked the nurse for bringing her outside before making her way to the taxi.
"I want an update on your health after your appointment in Cinnabar, Mr Ketchum has my contact details so I will not allow any excuses for not informing me of your condition." Lorelei said with a small smile. "It is due to you that the situation was resolved so quickly and with limited casualties, it is also due to you that an old saying has been proved right."
"What saying?" May asked.
"Behind every great man there is a great woman." Lorelei put her hand on May's shoulder. "If you ever wish to join the G-Men let me know, we would be lucky to have someone like you in our ranks."
"Thank you, I'll think about your offer but there's still things I want to do before I think about getting a job like that."
While the two women talked Ash put his and May's bags into the taxi and recalled their Pokémon, leaving only Pikachu and Glaceon out.
"If we want to make the ferry we need to go." Ash said. "It was nice seeing you again Lorelei but can I ask you a favour?"
"Don't worry Mr Ketchum, I'll file a report for you. I remember how much you hated the paperwork and you have a more important duty to attend to."
"Thank you."
With that said Ash and May got into the taxi, driving away as Lorelei felt her GCS vibrate again. She took it out of her pocket, sighing as she looked at it.
"I suppose I've put this off long enough." She said, flicking the GCS open with her thumb. "Lance, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Lorelei turned as she spoke and looked to the roof of a nearby building and saw outlined against the sunlight a figure wearing a cape that fluttered in the wind.
On the Ship
Ash and May sat in their shared cabin for their trip to Cinnabar waiting for the ship to cast off. They didn't feel the need to say anything to each other, comfortable to just sit there and hold hands while May stretched her legs out going through the exercises Dr Ainsworth had given her. Pikachu and Glaceon lay on one of the beds side by side, Pikachu's tail resting on top of Glaceon's. Manaphy was sat on the window sill watching the waves of the ocean.
"So what Pokémon are you going to use for your Gym battle?" May asked, Ash answered with a shrug.
"I know Charizard will want to be in on the battle against Blaine's Magmar, other than him I don't know. Blaine's been a Gym Leader longer than any of the other Leaders in Kanto, this battle's probably going to be too much for my new Pokémon. Sandslash maybe but I'm not sure if he'll be up to it and he's been battling a lot lately, he deserves a rest."
"Can I help you pick?"
"Sure." Ash smiled. "Then it'll be like we're battling together." Ash opened his Pokédex and showed May the list of his Pokémon.
"What sort of battle will it be?"
"Single matches and from battling Janine at least a four on four, maybe even five on five."
"I'll pick five to be on the safe side and Charizard will be number six." May took the Pokédex and started scrolling through it. She stuck to Pokémon that would have a type advantage and had been with Ash for a long time. Wanting to see what some of the Pokémon she hadn't bet could do May picked a couple she hadn't met yet, she asked Ash some questions about his Pokémon to get an idea of what they could do and even researched Blaine on his X-Transceiver to see what his battle style was like. After a couple of hours she'd narrowed her choices down and then she and Ash went to the onboard transfer machine to call the Pokémon from the Lab so Ash could start training for his next Gym Badge.
Sorry, it's so short.
Until Next Time
Basic Trainer