[CyberCubed]

The next chapter is finally here! It's around 30 pages on Microsoft Word so it's fairly long, I tried to split it in the middle where it would be a good point to stop if it's too long to read in one sitting. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 44

He was in heaven. It was nothing short of a picture perfect scenario, everything the young man ever wanted was in the palm of his hand. He had sometimes questioned why it managed to fall so easily into his lap, but it was at the point where he didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. All that mattered was he was happy, he had finally progressed beyond the point of rejection and desperation for female companionship.

If only she could see me now, he thought, blissfully gazing at the night sky after a fun filled evening. I wonder if she would be a bit envious, she always did have nothing but unrequited love herself. I’m sure she would be happy for me, she likes it when her friends are happy.

He picked up his beer from the porch and gulped down another mouthful. He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth, he apparently drank too much in one sitting since he was feeling a little out of it. It was his first time getting drunk, although he wasn’t quite aware of it yet. He burped loudly and muttered to himself, yet he was still self-aware and not completely lost under the influence of beer.

He stretched out his legs and put his arms behind his head while he waited for his girlfriend to return. She was beautiful and kind-hearted, there was no other way to describe her. He was grateful to have a woman like her by his side, one who kept up a mystery appeal while also promising to spend her life with him. He thought about all the single men out there who were struggling to get a girl like he used to do, and although at one point he considered it a lost cause, he now realized that most of them would find someone sooner or later. If he could find a wonderful young woman, then they all could too. All the girls he flirted with were ones he was attracted to, but they were never keepers. They were just another pretty face, and even though he tried to express how he wanted a relationship, he would be met by blank stares more often than not. He needed someone to return that affection, someone who really meant it, and he was content when he finally found someone who would do just that.

It was probably for the best when she did that all those times, even though my ear still pounds when thinking about it, he thought, She kept me on track and didn’t let me just throw my heart out for any random girl, I have to respect her for that. I would have never met my girlfriend if my friend didn’t keep putting me in my place, I’ll have to thank her personally next time I see her.

Despite having the love of his life, there was still one thing he missed; his friends. He had only split apart from them recently, but he was already missing their cheerful, optimistic quips and delightful characteristics. The three of them never ceased to amuse him, always full with energy and vigor. He kept them in line and made sure they were well fed, any older companion would have done so accordingly. Yet now they were traveling by themselves, without his older wisdom or guidance.

He sighed as he lowered his beer, wondering what his former companions were up to at the moment. For some reason, he felt like an essential part of his character was gone. This was the second time now he was apart from his younger companions, and he felt that there was something missing because of it. Being the oldest son in a family of ten, he had been watching over younger kids all his life. Whether it was his own younger brothers and sisters, or Ash and his friends, it was the same impact. He knew they needed him. He was the essential big brother to both his family and Ash’s group, and he already missed what it was like to hear their naïve and innocent questions or ask for reassurance about some pressing issue.

He snickered and asked himself why he was getting so worked up over it. He knew from day one that he wouldn’t be traveling with his best friend Ash forever, and that he was going to settle down with some woman and part ways with him eventually. Now that he was finally at that segment of his life, it just felt awkward. With Ash, May and Max traveling separate from him, he could no longer keep a watchful eye over them and keep them on the right path. If they needed help, they would no longer have an older brother type person to turn to. He only hoped that they were getting along fine without him, for it was now Ash alone who was the oldest one in the group.

His mind then shifted to thoughts about how he watched Ash grow up before his eyes. He started off as a naïve, energetic and stubborn trainer, filled with immaturity and reckless behavior. He chuckled as he realized that nowadays he still acts more or less the same way, although not nearly as clueless toward things as he once was. It was a moving part of his life to see Ash grow and win so many Gym badges and compete in so many competitions, it was almost as if Ash were a younger brother of his own. He wished him the best now that they were separated, and hoped that the sibling duo of May and Max would continue to grow and prosper without him as well.

His girlfriend called for him.

He turned around in his seat and called back into the house, asking her to join him on the porch. She declined, asking him to come inside the house. There was apparently something important she had to ask him.

He was confused, but got up from his chair and walked inside the house. He had been with this girl and her friend for nearly a week now, and he had never heard her ask something in such a serious manner. He made his way through the dimly-lit living room to follow his girlfriend’s voice as she called for him.

He squinted as he looked around the room until he spotted her. She was lying on the couch in sexy black lingerie and a glass of martini in her hand. Her long red hair draped down her shoulders as she smiled happily at her boyfriend.

His jaw gaped. He still couldn’t believe this woman was really his, and not some fantasy conjured up by his imagination. He barely got the words out, but he asked where Jamie was. The woman, Tana, sulked and said it wasn’t important. He asked her if she was sure, and she nodded.

“Jamie is seeing an old friend,” Tana said, “I…don’t know when she’ll get back. In the meantime we have the house to ourselves. I…was thinking about dinner and a movie?”

She pressed the button on the remote and an old black and white comedy was on. She eyed her boyfriend and asked him if he wanted a sip of her drink, but he shook his head as he didn’t want to get drunk, or rather, drink himself into a stupor.

He walked toward the couch and sat beside her, putting his arm around her back and holding her close. To him, holding his girlfriend as she wore sexy lingerie and watching a movie together was the ending to a perfect night. To her, it was a moment of close affection, as well as to make good use of the time until Jamie came back. She bit her lower lip, as there was another hidden motive at hand. She needed to get as comfortable with him as possible in order to let him know one of the deep and problematic secrets that she had kept under wraps. It was something very important, something she could only trust him to do for her if they found themselves truly in love. It was also something shocking.

She needed someone to kill Jamie’s ex-boyfriend.

It was as simple as that, she needed that man dead. She needed his horrible iron grip on Jamie’s throat to be loosened, so she could be free to live her life as she saw fit, rather than live in fear under the commands and blackmail of that man. There was no way she would let her best friend be betrayed by the same man in such a horrible way twice, even if her friend was oblivious to his selfish and malicious desires.

Tana brushed her lips on Brock’s face as they snuggled closely. What Brock didn’t realize however, was that Tana had a loaded handgun underneath the couch they were sitting on. It had been resting there for awhile, Tana procrastinating whether or not she could let Brock in on what was going on. Perhaps if he got drunk, he’d be more inclined to help her save her friend from eternal tournament. She needed to save Jamie from Ross; the devil.

For what he did, he needed to die.

And Tana wanted Brock to pull the trigger.

Present…

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!” Ash commanded.

Pikachu leapt into the air and powered up the electricity stored in its electric cheeks. Eevee stood readily on the other side of the battlefield, prepared to dodge the electric onslaught at the last minute.

“Pikachu!” the Pokemon shouted.

“Eevee, use Dig and escape underground!” May ordered.

Eevee burrowed a hole in the ground and quickly leaped inside. The electricity made contact with the Gym battlefield, but the electric shots were erratic and didn’t strike its mark.

“You tend to use Dig a lot, you’re going to let your opponent figure out your strategy and come up with an alternate way to beat you,” Ash said.

Pikachu landed on the ground as May put her hand on her hip and smiled.

“You tend to use Thunderbolt a lot too, but that doesn’t bother you now, does it?” May asked, “Eevee, come out and strike Pikachu with a Shadow Ball!”

The ground behind Pikachu began to explode, as the small, cute and agile Eevee powered up a purple ball of energy in its mouth. The energy attack was almost upon the electric type before Ash ordered a command.

“Pikachu, strike it with Iron tail!” Ash yelled.

“Pika!” it shrieked, as it leaped to the side and powered up its tail.

Eevee’s Shadow Ball was only half formed when Pikachu moved in for the intense physical attack. Its tail glowed white as it spun itself around and fiercely struck Eevee on the side of the head. The cute Pokemon grunted in pain as it fell backward on the ground. May gasped when she saw her Eevee down for the count, but was relieved when it got up on all fours again.

“Phew, you ok to keep going, Eevee?” May asked, after a pant.

“Eeevee!” the Pokemon cooed.

Ash smiled and pulled on the brim of his new hat. “I told you that you were being too predictable. Using the same attack so many times will let your opponent figure out just what you’re going,” Ash said slyly.

“Maybe so, but if I can get Eevee to burrow under ground and pop up quickly enough, you wouldn’t be able to react in time,” May said.

“Your father did something similar to that with Vigoroth during our battle last time, always digging underground and coming up to strike is a neat strategy, but it’s pretty predictable at this point. Are you trying to imitate what your Dad did when he battled me?” he asked.

“My Dad is an excellent battler, it would pay off a lot in my battles if I tried to practice his techniques while putting my own unique spin on it at the same time,” May said.

“Unique spin? Like what?” he asked, amused.

“You’ll see,” May said, winking.

Eevee leaped toward Pikachu in what looked like to be a Tackle attack, but the Pokemon instead fired a Shadow Ball attack in the distance. The ball wasn’t aimed at Pikachu, which confused both it and its trainer, but instead went down the hole that Eevee dug out of.

“Eevee, go underground, NOW!” May commanded.

“Eeeeeeveee!”

Ash was getting anxious as Eevee disappeared beneath the ground again. He instructed Pikachu to use its ears and rely on its sense of hearing instead of sight to figure out where Eevee would pop up next.

“Piiiika!” Pikachu cried.

“That’s it, strike it there!” Ash yelled, “Sorry, May, but you can’t keep doing the same thing so many times!”

“Who said I was going the same thing?” May asked, “Come out, Eevee!”

Pikachu fired its Thunderbolt attack when the ground split apart in front of him. Much to its surprise, Eevee didn’t pop up out of the hole, but its previous Shadow Ball attack came out instead! The electricity collided with the sphere of energy which caused the ball to explode, sending a massive shockwave which propelled Pikachu backwards into the wall.

“Pikachu!” Ash gasped.

Pikachu warily got itself back up and darted back onto the Gym battlefield. Eevee now appeared before it, with a competitive gaze in its eyes.

“How…how did you get that Shadow Ball to come out of the ground instead of Eevee?” Ash asked, confused.

“Simple, I had Eevee purposely send the Shadow Ball underground and leave it there until I needed it. As long as the ball didn’t strike the underground tunnels it wouldn’t collide, thus I had an extra attack handy to surprise you with. Heh, don’t you get it, Ash?” May asked, chortling, “I have both Eevee AND its attacks going underground. You mistook the Shadow Ball for Eevee, and when Pikachu used its electric attacks on the ball it exploded, delivering it quite a lot of damage.”

“Hm, so you’re not doing the same thing and being predictable then, are ya?” he asked.

“Of course not, silly. If this were a Contest battle, you would probably lose all your points for making such a mistake,” May squealed.

“Yeah, but since this is a regular battle instead, Pikachu is still ready for another round,” Ash said, snickering, “That trick won’t work on me twice, so I sure hope you have something else up your sleeve.”

“Heh, I didn’t think about that,” May said squeamishly, “I was kinda counting on that explosion to KO Pikachu, I wasn’t expecting to still be in battle.”

She clasped her hands in front of her and told Eevee to keep its distance, rather than go into physical attacks.

“Pretty good, May, I gotta say, I love battling with you!” Ash exclaimed.

“Well remember what we said back at Atona beach? It was either dating in some fancy restaurant, or having Pokemon battles as our dates instead. I think this was the better choice,” May said, grinning.

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!” Ash shouted, “Yeah, I find this much easier to do, May, thanks! At least we won’t have to waste our time with any boring dates.”

Pikachu’s electric attack missed as Eevee jumped in the air.

May sighed, “Boring dates? C’mon, Ash, I know you’re still not used to this whole dating thing, but it would be nice just for the two of us to go out together sometime,” she said, “Eevee, deflect it with a Shadow Ball!”

The dark ball of energy was fired at the electricity, both attacks were pressing against one another, neither giving in an inch to the opposing side. The light from the attacks lit up the whole room in a dazzling display of color.

“As long as it’s that all-you-can-eat-buffet you mentioned once, I’ll take that,” he said, “Still, I feel really awkward about this again since your brother somehow found out we like each other.”

The attack exploded upon collision, striking up a massive dust cloud in the air. When the fog faded, neither Pokemon were seen on the battlefield. Apparently they both took refuge underground, Eevee digging itself a new hole, while Pikachu jumped into one of Eevee’s previous tunnels.

“Max is a smart kid, it was no surprise that he found it out. I was expecting him to sooner or later, it was not like we could keep it a secret forever,” she said, flicking her hair, “Besides, why feel awkward? You and Max are extremely close, I’m sure you two can deal with it.”

“Deal with it? So when I’m talking to Max at the breakfast table, what am I supposed to say? That I like kissing his sister?”

“Eevee, launch another Shadow Ball underground!” she shouted, “No, you talk to him like you always do, Ash!”

“Pikachu, leap above ground, we’re not going to get hurt by the same attack again!” Ash shouted, “May, are you sure about that?”

Pikachu somersaulted into the air when it noticed the tint of purple energy in the subterranean tunnels underneath the Gym. Eevee was apparently biding its time, as it knew Pikachu couldn’t go on the offensive as long as it feared that it might be blown away if it strikes the Shadow ball attack again.

“Sure I’m sure, Ash. There’s nothing to be awkward about, honestly. I mean, you felt a bit awkward and uneasy when we kissed the first time too, remember? And since then you’re gradually warmed up to it, and now you kiss me without even a hint of uneasiness,” she said.

Ash blushed, and waved his hands sheepishly. “I…I…it doesn’t feel as strange anymore?”

“Eevee, forget the Shadow Ball, go in for a Tackle!” May commanded.

Eevee darted toward Pikachu at high speed.

“Um…Pikachu, use Agility to outrun it!” Ash quickly called out, somewhat uncertain amiss all the confusion.

The two Pokemon ran in circles with one another, occasionally striking each other at the same time with tackle attacks.
“That’s my point, Ash, if we kiss so comfortably now despite the awkward start, then I’m sure you’ll be able to adapt to Max knowing that we well…have feelings for each other. It is hard to take in first, I know, I felt the same thing when my brother first announced that. But you know, you get used to it?” May grinned as she shrugged.

“I guess you’re right, it’s the same thing after all. I just hope Max doesn’t start to bug us about it, though. It’s not like we kiss all the time, anyway!” Ash retorted.

Pikachu scored a direct hit with Thunderbolt, only followed by Eevee striking a hit on its side with a Tackle attack.

“Hm, you’re right about the last part, but this battle has really got me pumped!” May said, “Um, would you mind if I…?”

She sheepishly held her hands behind her back as she walked out of her battling square and across the side of the battlefield toward Ash. He knew what she going to do, and walked away from the battle and toward her as well. When they met up a few feet from one another, they smiled and exchanged a brief hug.

“Ash, wanna practice some more? You’ve gotten the kissing part right for the most part, but you still don’t tilt your head a bit. It makes it easier to lock lips when your slant your mouth slightly,” she said, her mouth opening a tad as she held him.

“These are a lot of rules, I can’t learn them all so quickly,” he responded, “It does make for some interesting practice though!”

“Yeah, just think of this as another battle. The battle of who is the better kisser!” May giggled.

Ash and May moved in closely as their mouths locked with one another, moving slowly and passionately as they were adapting to the tone of the others movements. They held each other closely as they tried the best they could to return each others kisses, both enjoying the exchange quite a bit.

On the battlefield, Pikachu and Eevee looked at them dumbfounded. They were in the middle of a battle, and all of a sudden their trainers walk off the battlefield to share an intimate moment!

“Pikachu, Pika?” Pikachu asked.

“Eevee, Vree!” Eevee replied.

Both Pokemon rolled their eyes as they nonchalantly walked off the battlefield and scurried their way to play tag with one another. On the battlefield, they were fierce competitors ready to inflict as much pain on each other as possible, but off the battlefield, they were best friends. Pikachu and Eevee frolicked together as Eevee dared it to catch its brown bushy tail.

“I think our Pokemon stopped battling,” she said.

Their mouths pressed apart from one another as they looked upon the empty battlefield.

“Hey, we weren’t finished, were we?” he asked.

“Well you did come over to kiss me, you know.” She smiled.

“Uh, last I recall, you were the one to walk over to me. Not that it matters though, as I’m sure I would have won that battle if we continued,” Ash said.

“No you wouldn’t have, I had you right in the palm of my hand. I was about to deliver the finishing blow!” May exclaimed.

“Nonsense! Your Eevee was about to collapse on the field! It might be able to take a lot of damage, but it can’t hold up forever,” he bantered.

She moved apart from him and brought her hand to her chin.

“Well then, want to figure out the winner as we go?” she asked.

“Sure,” he nodded, “Pikachu, Eevee! Come on back! We’re still battling!”

“Yeah, we want to finish our battle!” May added.

The two Pokemon heard their trainers but nonchalantly kept playing their own game. Apparently stopping mid-battle to kiss your opponent was not their idea of a proper battle, and thus they were opposed to the idea of starting again so soon.

“They’re not listening,” Ash said.

May took a Pokeball from her pocket and turned to him competitively. “Wanna use one of our other Pokemon to battle, then? I’ll use Munchlax, ‘k?”

“Ha, you got yourself a deal. Corphish could use a good workout, especially after the surfing competition it was in,” Ash said, holding up its ball.

May smiled and quickly ran back to her trainers’ box. Ash returned to his as well, as they were prepared to let their Pokemon out on the battlefield.

“Only this time, May, can you promise not to find the urge to kiss when we’re in the middle of a battle?” he asked naively.

May giggled, “Heehee, I’ll try! But no promises!” she said happily.

“Heh, ok then, but you’re going down!” Ash shouted as he threw the Pokeball.

“No, YOU are!” May retorted, as she threw hers as well.

The two Pokemon materialized before their eyes, as they prepared to battle each other all night. Ash and May could feel the excitement consuming them, as both were in the mood to continue battling as long as possible. Ash knew it was an excellent way to relieve May’s stress and worry about her Mom and Dad, and May knew it was an excellent way to relieve Ash’s stress about Max’s revelation about them being in love. It was a much needed alternative to moping hopelessly for the rest of the night as they waited to hear news about her parents and Brock.

They licked their lips in unison, and with one last competitive stare, they began their battle.

“GO!” Ash and May shouted.

~*~*~*~

“It’s another dead end.”

She kicked the soda can to the side of the alley, frustrated that they were unable to get any closer to their goal.

Norman and Tana stared at the trash strewn alley, both exhausted from tiredly searching the cold and unforgiving empty streets of nighttime Petalburg City. It was freezing at this time of night, especially since they were entering the Fall, when the weather in town became frigid.

Gardevoir’s body swayed from left to right in an almost hypnotic motion, as it was trying to hone in on Ross’ energy signature and see if it resonated with the residue left behind in the alleyway. Its body began to glow the majestic blue aura again, and Norman was taken back by how pretty it looked. His specialty was Normal-type Pokemon, but a Psychic-type like Gardevoir completely caught his attention. It was beautiful yet mysterious at the same time, and had intelligence to match with its psychic abilities. Norman pondered if perhaps this were a Pokemon that his son Max might want to use, he always did seem to have an affinity for Psychic Pokemon. He chuckled at the thought of the Petalburg Gym becoming a Psychic-type Gym in the future if Max took it over, but he realized that such a future would only exist if he was able to find Caroline and bring her back safely.

“It’s quite cold, isn’t it?” Tana asked suddenly, shivering.

Norman pulled his eyes away from the majestic psychic type and turned to Tana. “It does get cold on nights like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went below 50 degrees,” Norman said.

“I should of worn a sweater then, and kept my scarf and hat that I was wearing before,” Tana sighed, “It’s too late to go back to your house and get them, so I guess I’ll manage without them.”

“Hm, your apparel, that reminds me of something I wanted to ask you,” Norman said, “You purposely disguised yourself when you came to Petalburg, was it really because you didn’t want to accidentally bump into Ash or my children and have them recognize you?”

Tana smiled and leaned against the alley wall. “That’s part of the reason, since I knew Ash and your kids traveled back home to Petalburg. It was kind of a shock that Gardevoir’s search for Ross led us to your hometown, I really wasn’t expecting Ross to be in a place like this. He certainly is a city person, but a town like this attracts too much attention…with you being famous and all, I’d imagine he’d pick a smaller place.”

“This is where his quest for badges led him, I was meant to be his last obstacle in his way of entering the Hoenn league. Since he failed to beat me things didn’t work out as planned, so he must be holding up here for more time than he wanted to,” Norman said, “Tana, if you don’t mind me asking, what was the other reason you disguised yourself? You said my children were only part of it.”

“Weeell, it was also to keep myself well hidden from Jamie, my friend,” Tana said reluctantly, “She’s with Ross now most likely, and I don’t want her to find out I’m here and tracking the scumbag down, or else she might warn him what’s going on. She…doesn’t know what I’m doing, she doesn’t know that I’m trying to save her from making a horrible mistake, again.”

Norman paced the alleyway as he noticed Gardevoir needed more time. He quickly checked his watch and sighed, it was nearly two hours since they left the Gym and they still didn’t come close to finding their target. The rest of the night was going to be a long one, and he was uncertain whether they’d even be able to find Ross before the night was through. He knew he wasn’t going to return home until he found his wife, but he didn’t want to worry his family back home if he didn’t return by the next morning. He might have just regretted not leaving a way for his family to keep in contact with him while he was on the search after all.

He leaned against the wall next to Tana, whose scarlet red hair was being blown in the wind. “If you’re such good friends with Jamie, why did things turn out the way they did?” he asked.

Tana hesitated. “I…don’t know. She doesn’t even know that I’m going to betray her for that matter. I just can’t believe she’d treat Brock the way she did after everything we did together on the beach. She seemed to really like him at first, just like I did, but something was still bothering her. I guess it was the fact that Ross is power and money hungry, just like she is, and she wants that back. She’s…willing to sacrifice Brock just to get back together with that madman, it’s insane.”

“Was there a reason they split up in the first place?” Norman asked, “I’m awfully curious, since you can let me in on clues on Ross’ behavior that I didn’t otherwise notice.”

“Yeah, there was a reason, I was the reason,” Tana said bluntly, “After the bastard nearly beat her to death, I talked some sense into her and managed to break them up for her own safety. It worked too, at least for a little while, where it was just me and her going about our business and trying to put our past behind us. It wasn’t until we met Brock and his friends that the thought of Ross popped back into her head, the thought that Ross would forgive her if she delivered him a Gym leader.”

“She’s too loyal, and she’s oblivious to the harm he’s caused her. I can see now why you’re trying to save her,” Norman said.

“Yes,” Tana sniffed, “I need to save her from getting herself killed. Guys like Ross will never change, he’ll cause misfortune and ruin upon everyone around him for his own personal gain. Why Jamie wants to make up with the man is beyond me, I just hope it’s not too late to talk some sense into her. Come to think of it, I’m certain that Premium Ball incident on the beach was the first clue that Jamie had other plans in store when Ash’s money was accidentally transported into our hotel room.”

“Ah, yes, Max told me all about that little mishap. Professor Latrommi’s Premium Ball transported the money Ash got from his mother into the wrong place. Of course there was other foul play involved, namely those hooligans from Team Rocket, but I remember my son saying about how Jamie wanted to keep the money for herself, even after she found out that it belonged to Ash?” Norman asked.

“Yeah, Jamie was awfully persistent about keeping that money, even though she knew it blatantly belonged to Ash. Brock tried to talk some sense into her, and after some more quarreling, the money was rightfully returned to him. Now I’m curious if she was keeping that money to try and butter Ross up with, she probably had plans to hand it over to him rather than keep it for herself,” she said.

“What a shame, I’m just glad that Ash indeed got his money back,” he said, nodding, “He used his original sum to buy a gift for my daughter, a certain swimsuit she had her eye on, I heard he paid a pretty penny for it. He also gave some of the remainder of the money to Max to spend as he see fit. It’s heartwarming to know that he split the money over my kids without hesitation, that’s the kind of boy I want my children to be traveling with.”

“Ash is a wonderful young man, and considering the close bond I’ve seen May and Max share with him, it’s easy to see that they’re all so tightly knit,” she said confidently, “Heh, may I say something personal?”

“Sure.”

“I…think your daughter and Ash would make a cute couple,” she said, smiling, “I saw how enthusiastic they were together while they were surfing on the beach, especially during the competition. Their smiles, positive behavior, and overall demeanor was encouraging. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were developing strong feelings for one another. It was pretty easy to see the spark between them, the certain spark that was brewing, at least from what I’ve witnessed, that they care about each other a whole lot. If your daughter stays with Ash, she’ll be in good hands for the rest of her life.”

Norman chuckled and moved away from the wall.

“I’ve thought about that myself, and I sure wouldn’t mind,” Norman said, smiling, “They certainly match each other well, don’t they? They’re both kind, considerate, and optimistic go-getters but a little naïve, rambunctious and too headstrong. If Max is there to balance them out, they’ll be fine. In any case, my daughter couldn’t have made a better choice.”

“I’m glad you think so too. After all the heartache Jamie, Brock and your wife are going through now, it would be nice to see at least one couple that doesn’t have some kind of tragedy attached to it,” Tana sighed, “I…could probably take a page from them, I would like to be happy like they are. If…if we manage to rescue Brock unscathed, I’m hoping that he and I could continue where we left off. I need a man like him by my side, I can’t let Ross ruin it for me.”

“It would seem like we’re all affected by love then,” Norman said, “We want to save our loved ones and make sure no harm comes to them. We’re trembling inside at the moment, unsure if we’ll even lay eyes on their innocent faces ever again. We want things to go back to the way they were, before this disaster took place. We…”

“…want to be like Ash and May,” Tana finished.

“Yes,” he said, nodding, “Strange, isn’t it? We’re grown adults and we want to be like a pair of children. It goes to show you that we can sometimes learn from the younger generation, just as much as they can learn from us.”

Gardevoir turned to the humans and motioned for them to follow her, it was finally able to zero in on Ross’ location thanks to the energy residue she was able to detect from his body around town. Tana and Norman glanced upon each other and smiled contently, they knew that they were in this mission together no matter what. It was a mission to save their loved ones from a common enemy, one who inflicted pain upon them all.

Gardevoir hovered down the empty streets quickly, hoping to not lose track of the energy signal. Norman and Tana jogged after her, both hoping that this would lead them to the end of their busy search.

Tana held her pants pocket down as she ran, for she was afraid that it would fall out of her pocket if she ran too fast. She originally hoped that Brock could help her with this, but that plan backfired when Jamie delivered him to the devil. Still, she wasn’t afraid to do it herself if need be.

She had something very important to deliver to Ross when she saw him; a bullet through the brain.

~*~*~*~

“It’s 10 O’clock,” May said, “They’ve been gone a long time now.”

Ash put two dishes full of Pokemon food down on the grass for Slakoth and Vigoroth. The two simian Pokemon quickly hopped over to the food and began digging their claws through the chow and brought it to their mouths hastily. Ash smiled and stepped backward before patting the two Pokemon on the head.

“It’s awfully quiet in the greenhouse now, should we shut the lights?” Ash asked.

May walked across the grass and looked up at the switch on the wall which would turn off the large lights on the ceiling which overlooked the greenhouse. She shook her head and winked at him.

“No, I don’t think Slakoth and Vigoroth want to sit here eating in the dark,” she mused, “I think my Dad always leaves the lights on overnight anyway, we don’t have to worry about electric bills or stuff like that with the salary my Dad earns.”

“Yeah, I keep forgetting that Gym leaders are pretty well off. I guess that’s how Brock always had enough money to keep all his little brothers and sisters well fed,” he said, walking next to her, “Do you ever think about them, May?”

“Hm, who?”

“Brock’s brothers and sisters, have you been thinking about them lately?” he asked, “I hope we don’t have to relay any bad news to them depending on what happens tonight.”

May grabbed Ash’s arm and pulled him with her to the exit of the greenhouse. The two walked slowly while she held his arm.

“Ash, don’t make me feel depressed and hysterical again,” she sulked, “I don’t want to hear any bad news. I do think about Brock’s family a lot, and if we ever tell them what happened to him, they’ll probably feel as much pain as we did. I…still can’t get over what happened to my mother, it’s just so hard to grasp the reality of it. I don’t want Brock’s little brothers and sisters to go through the same thing we did, so hopefully Dad and Tana get him and everyone else back safely. It’s just…too depressing thinking about the alternative.”

“Ok, I’m sorry. I should have never brought it up,” he sighed.

“It’s ok, the waiting is the hardest part anyway. C’mon, let’s go see what my little brother is up to. He’ll need our support right now, and I don’t want him to feel scared for the rest of the night,” she said.

They walked back into the Gym as the electronic doors closed behind them when they exited the greenhouse. May still clung to Ash’s arm as they walked, despite what she said about her brother needing support, it was obvious that she still needed it too.

“Didn’t you want everyone to sleep together in the same room for tonight? Should we go back for Slakoth and Vigoroth?” Ash asked.

“Nah, they prefer the greenhouse where they can hang from the trees and run around anyway. I don’t think they’d be too comfortable in a small bedroom, and they’re Dad’s Pokemon as well. I’d like all of our Pokemon together for the night, since you know, we’re our own little group separate from Dad?”

“Hm, the three of us and our Pokemon, kinda…like what Norman wanted,” Ash said.

“Yeah…just us,” she said, holding Ash’s arm closely and chuckling, “Dad made a good choice when he decided to let me travel with you when you first met him all those years ago. He must have somehow known that you would be special.”

“Heh, and what did you think when you first met me?”

“Me? Uh, I dunno, I just thought you were some funny looking kid with a Pikachu,” she said, laughing.

Ash rolled his eyes.

“Of course that was before you barbecued my bike, which I was then ready to pick a bone with you for. Now that I mention it, I still never really got why Pikachu’s electricity managed to fry my bike when it was attacking Team Rocket’s robot,” she pondered.

“I dunno, I’ve never been really lucky with girls and bikes,” he said, “It happened to Misty during the start of my journey too!”

“Jeez, Ash, what’s with you and destroying girl’s bikes?” May asked snootily, “One has to ponder if you do that just to get a girl to follow you around.”

“Hey, you think I destroyed those bikes on purpose?” Ash bantered.

“Either that or you have a blazingly positive track record for destroying girls’ bikes. Methinks you did it purposely because you were lonely and wanted a nice, sweet girl to tag along with you!”

“I think you’re crazy!” he bantered.

“But hey, it worked, huh?” she teased, winking.

“Wuh? Now you’re really getting the wrong idea,” Ash mused, “Um, anyway though, it did kinda set us up to travel together, so maybe…it was for the best?”

“Maybe! Of course when we get older and I buy myself a car, I sure hope you aren’t as dangerous to cars as you are to bikes!” May squealed.

“What?! What would make you say that?”

“Like I said, you don’t have a very good track record with girls’ vehicles. Maybe…I won’t let you near my car, I’d fear that you and Pikachu would burn it to a crisp!”

“Uh, isn’t it a little early to think about getting a car?”

“So? I know it’s early, but it’s always good to think about the future! You know, when we’re older and stuff.”

“A car together? I kinda prefer traveling on foot,” Ash moaned.

“Well…we’ll see. Of course we’d buy one together, Ash,” May said. She stopped walking and looked up at his face. “We’re going to be together forever and ever, aren’t we? We should think about these things sometimes.”

Ash didn’t answer right away, so May eyed him curiously. Did he fully grasp what she meant?

“We’re going to be together forever and ever, right, Ash?” she asked again, more serious in manner.

She looked at him sternly, anxious of his response.

Ash hesitated for a second before reassuring her. He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Definitely,” Ash said, rocking her shoulders.

May gasped joyously and allowed him to bring her close against his chest. She rested her face on his shoulder while they embraced each other with feelings of commitment and no lingering doubts.

“Thank you, Ash,” May exclaimed, holding him tightly.

“It’s the truth, I’ll always be with you, May,” Ash said lovingly, “I won’t disappoint you.”

They continued holding each other passionately, both in a world of apparent bliss while a pesky little brother and Pikachu spied on them from around the corner.

“You ever get somewhat annoyed how Ash shows more attention to May now than he does to you, Pikachu?” Max asked.

Pikachu shrugged. “Pikachu, chu,” it said.

“Heh, same with me,” Max chuckled, “I’m her little brother who she vowed to take care of and now she’s more interested in Ash. And you’re Ash’s first Pokemon and best friend and he’s spending a lot more time with May than you.”

“Piiikaa,” it cooed.

Max sighed, the sight of seeing Ash and May blushing as they acted romantic with each was starting to gross him out.

“We’re both becoming second fiddles now, even though those two lovebirds won’t admit it,” Max said, yawning.

“Pikachu. Pika, pika! Pikachu! Pikachu, chu, Pika!” it said encouragingly.

“What? You’re saying that as much as they love each other now, that there’s still room for us and they’ll never forget us?” Max asked, curiously.

“Pika!” Pikachu nodded.

Max glanced back over at them and nearly gagged as their mouths started intertwining with each other. He turned toward Pikachu and smiled.

“I…I guess so, Pikachu. You’re probably right, my sister still loves me a lot and would do anything for me, and Ash will always be your best companion, no matter how much their priorities shift toward each other. That’s kind of like Mom and Dad too, they’re married but they still love their children a whole bunch. It’s…kind of amazing how love is different when it’s about someone you have feelings for and then the love for your family and friends,” he said, “I suppose if Mom and Dad can love us as much as each other, then Ash and May could probably do the same thing too. But yuck, their smooching is seriously grossing me out.”

“Chaaa,” Pikachu chortled.

May’s lips slid off Ash’s cheek as she heard whispering from around the corner. She lowered her arms and motioned with her head toward the direction of the wall near the kitchen.

“I think my brother is spying on us,” she whispered, still holding Ash close.

“Really? How can you tell?” he asked as he rubbed her face slowly.

“I can faintly hear his little voice and Pikachu’s too, I bet they’re talking about how goofy we look kissing each other,” she said.

“Eh, they’re probably right, too! Ugh…now that awkward phase is setting in again, how about we stop for now, please? I’m getting a little nervous,” he said jittery.

“Heehee, ok, Mr. Pokemon Master, I understand how you feel,” she said, chortling, “If you haven’t noticed, I’m kinda shaking myself!”

The couple let go of each other and took a deep breath. They both started awkwardly walking toward Max and Pikachu while they regained their composure. May pulled on her white skirt again as she walked, which was a nervous habit she had yet to break, while Ash, as usual, lowered the brim of his hat to cover his eyes a bit.

“Oh no, I think they see us!” Max cried.

“Pikachu? Pika!”

“What should I say? I don’t want to say I purposely decided to spy on them to watch them kiss…even though…you know…that kinda IS the reason I decided to spy over the wall here,” Max said, flustered.

“Pika, pika!”

“Yeah, lucky you. You don’t even speak human languages so you don’t have to do any of the explaining! Lucky, Pokemon,” Max scoffed.

Pikachu laughed and ran away.

“Hey, wait, don’t go!” Max pleaded, “Even though you don’t have to talk I don’t want to face them all alone!”

Pikachu stopped in its tracks and turned around. Max clasped his hands together and put on a puppy-dog expression.

“Pikachu,” it sighed, it had no choice but to return thanks to Max’s watery eyes.

Ash and May walked across the corner as Max was sitting on the floor with Pikachu a few feet ahead of him.

“Um, Max?” May asked, “You ok?

Max jumped up quickly and smiled nervously. “Yeah, sure! I was uh…just wondering if you finished feeding Slakoth and Vigoroth for the night!” he shouted unintentionally.

“Yep, we did!” Ash said, nodding, “I just gave them their dinner.”

“Oh, well…ok then,” Max said.

He put his hands in his pockets and began whistling nonchalantly as he timidly tried to walk away.

“Nice try,” May said, as she dashed over and put her hand on his head to keep him in place.

“It’s the truth!” Max pleaded, “Tell them, Pikachu!”

Ash grinned as Pikachu ran over to him and jumped on his arm. Ash and his Pokemon rubbed their cheeks together contently while a desperate Max watched.

“Traitor,” Max muttered.

“Max, you’re a cornball,” May teased, “There’s…nothing exciting about watching me and Ash kiss. We’re actually quite bad at it, to tell you the truth.”

“We’re probably two of the worst kissers in the world!” Ash said, scratching his arm timidly.

“Yeah, we like totally suck!” May exclaimed.

“Jeez, you two are actually making it sound like I WANT to watch you do that stuff,” Max moaned.

“Tee hee! Is that why we caught you peeking at us from around the corner?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Ugh, just let me go! I don’t like this conversation!” Max whined.

He pushed her hand off his head and ran away as quickly as possible. May snickered as she put her hand on her hip and turned to Ash and Pikachu.

“I bet he won’t be doing THAT again,” May said, “He’s awfully embarrassed now!”

“Pikachu, pika!” Pikachu giggled.

“That’s a relief,” Ash said, his nervousness fading. “Um, did you really mean that though?”

“Hm, mean what? You really need to stop it with the open-ended questions, Ash,” she chuckled.

“That we’re quite bad at kissing? You were the one who said it first and I just went along with you. I can’t really tell if we’re doing it the right way or not!”

“Nah, I’m sure we suck,” she grinned. “But as I said before, that’s why practice makes perfect! We’ll have lots of opportunities to practice and get better at it, I can promise you that.”

She tapped him on the shoulder and walked off to follow her brother. Ash and Pikachu watched her from behind.

“She probably wasn’t kidding, was she?” he asked.

“Pika,” it shrugged.

“Sheesh, at this rate I’ll be using my mouth more for her than I will for eating food!” Ash gasped.

Pikachu fell off Ash’s shoulder anime-style because of his naïveté.

"Chaaaaaaa!" it sighed.

Continued below...