I still don't own Pokémon or Monopoly.
Rated: PG
Summary: After losing in the Rubello Contest, everything is going wrong for May. So getting stuck in the same Pokémon Center as Drew after a tornado, with nothing to do except play a board game, is just another thing to add to the list. Right?
Twirling and whirling, glowing and flashing, twisting and turning...
Her eyes widened.
It was beautiful.
They did it! They actually did it!
This was going to be so...
...so...
...uh-oh.
"Ahh!"
Ducking to the ground, the attack passed just over May's head. Shockwaves from the explosion kicked up her hair, blowing dust everywhere, and in the distance she thought she heard a snap-
CRASH!
That didn't sound good.
Once it seemed like peeking out from under her arms wouldn't get her head knocked off, she tried to assess the situation. Coughing, she staggered to her feet, dazedly looking around to see if her friends were still in one piece.
"Beautifly! Torchic! Um, Skitty? Bulbasaur? Hey guys!" May called out.
"Beau-tifly!" Finally getting a response made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh, there you are," she smiled as the butterfly Pokémon fluttered over to her, "but where is everyone else?"
"Beau…" It sighed and pointed in another direction to where the smoke had cleared.
"Nyaaa." Swirls were spinning in Skitty's eyes as it did some kind of bizarre dance. But at least the little pink cat was moving, because Bulbasaur was completely out for the count, and Torchic was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Torchic! Where ar-ahhhhhhh!" She dropped to the ground, shaking in terror, gaping at the vicious looking mud monster that lunged out of the earth right in front of her. What kind of horrible creature was-
"Torchic!"
Okay, so apparently Torchic had been buried by dirt since it was closest to the explosion. It also made sense that she would be um, surprised, by its sudden appearance.
"Um, T-Torchic?" Her eyes twitched. Grooming it in time for the contest, if she decided to use it, was going to be a pain.
So taking stock of the situation, Bulbasaur was still out of it, Skitty didn't seem to know which way was up or down… or left and right, and Torchic was still preening its feathers for dirt in places it didn't know it had. But at least Beautifly seemed okay…
Hey, where was Beautifly anyway?
"Huh?" May jerked her head around in all directions, but apparently it knew how to pull a vanishing act. "Oh no, not again." With its ability to fly, it could quite literally be anywhere.
"Beau-beau-tifly!" Or in the middle of some nearby bushes.
"Beautifly you shouldn't disappear like that. I didn't know what happened," she mildly scolded it in relief.
It murmured an apology.
"Oh it's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." May smiled, but then blinked. "But what are you…" she trailed off when she got close enough to see what it was staring at.
The twisted remains of trees.
The Pokémon Center's trees.
Oh dear.
"Um, well since today's practice is over, you deserve a rest." She recalled all of her Pokémon and started running.
May sighed as finished her fifth bowl of noodles. They weren't the best she had ever eaten, but she really needed a pick-me-up.
She really thought that they had the combinations down this time, but just like their fifteen or so previous tries, it ended in failure... and a much more destructive failure at that.
Ever since she lost at Rubello, it seemed like karma had decided to come back to haunt her, big time. Her Pokémon couldn't pull off any combinations, she missed the next contest by five minutes, and the one after that because of a three ribbon requirement... three ribbons which she would have had if she hadn't lost in Rubello.
So this is what I get for acting like such a big shot, huh?
But.. but... she just couldn't help herself! After winning two ribbons in a row, she really seemed to be going somewhere, and when she met the MFP mothers and they praised her so highly - it had fueled her confidence. So it also seemed like the perfect time to finally get over on Drew. The so called O Great One who could do no wrong.
"Forget what you've won, May, and concentrate on the future."
Stupid Drew, and his stupid whim of the moment "advice". He never missed an opportunity to take a dig at her skills no matter the situation. What made it worse was when he was right, but she would never admit that. Never. Never. Never.
"So you came here to hide from the police?"
Groaning, she turned to look at the owner of the accusation, someone she did not want to see right now.
"What do you want, Max?"
The eight year old put on a cheeky grin. "Oh nothing. I just wanted to know where my sister had disappeared to for the last few hours."
"I was hungry," she muttered.
"Then why didn't you go to the Center's cafeteria?" he sang, hopping into the booth.
She bit her lip. Admit to nothing. Admit to nothing. Admit to nothing. "I heard about this place in my travel brochure and wanted to try it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? And that has nothing to do with the trail of destruction at the training grounds?"
Gulping, she protested, "But I didn't-"
"Oh elementary my dear, May." He smirked. The little brat was enjoying this! "You see, Brock saw you out there training at 2:45, but by 3:15 a boy told Nurse Joy that grounds had been destroyed. Then you disappear for the next two hours without a word to anyone, until I find you here. Hmm... So what happened in those thirty minutes?"
She glared. "You can't prove anything." Normally she wouldn't be so obstinate about a mistake, but this was Max she was dealing with. He could always push her buttons, just like a certain arrogant rival.
"So you don't have an alibi?" he gasped mockingly.
"I don't have to deal with this," she scoffed, getting up to leave.
The boy shrugged. "You know, vandalism is a serious crime. If you don't have the money to pay for the damages then..." he trailed off.
She stopped in her tracks just in front of the door. "Then what...?"
"Then you could go to jail," he noted somberly. "Or in the best case scenario, you'll have to do community service... like picking up garage on the side of the road."
He watched as she paled, then twitched, and finally screamed, "You've got to be kidding me!" and ran out of the diner.
Max shifted his glasses. "That's what she gets for using The Pokémon Reference Guide: Volume 4 for target practice."
Nurse Joy didn't really understand much of what had been said by the sobbing girl who had literally thrown herself at the woman. But that wouldn't stop her from trying to console her. "Now, now dear. I'm sure that whatever it is isn't so bad."
"No, it's worse!" she cried.
"Well I don't know about that," the nurse smiled softly, "maybe if you could try telling me again?"
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Nurse Joy! I didn't mean to do it!" she pleaded with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Do what?"
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and admitted, "I'm the one who wrecked the training grounds."
"So that was you?" May nodded in shame. "Oh, I'm glad that you told me, but don't worry about it. This happens all the time."
"What?" Her eyes snapped open.
"Oh yes. Training grounds are prone to all sorts of accidents, that's why we have their upkeep and repair included in the budget," Joy explained.
"Oh," May replied feebly.
"Feel free to ask if you have any more questions," Joy finished happily and walked away leaving a still reeling brunette in her wake.
So close... almost there... all he had to do was make it through one more hallway and he would be home free.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Or not.
Max gulped. His looking-way-too-happy-for-anything-good sister was grinning manically at him. "H-hi, sis."
"Hello, Maxy~" she trilled. Uh-oh. Using that name had never boded well for him.
Since desperate times called for desperate measures, he pulled out the "cute innocent kid" act. "Guess what? I learned something new, wanna see?" he asked excitedly. Before she could react, he tapped her on the nose, doing a mild imitation of a car horn. "Beep."
Now that did it. She growled, "What was that for?"
"Did you know a beep on the nose is a sign of affection?" he offered.
May blinked. "That doesn't make any- hey!"
He was already sprinting down the hall.
"Hey, May? Where were you? It's not like you to just disappear like that."
Flopping onto one of the couches, she sighed. "Let's just say that I've had rough day, Ash."
The raven haired boy shrugged, accepting her explanation. "Well, you know what they say, things have to get better, right?"
At that moment the PA system clicked on:
"Attention Everybody! A Tornado Warning has been issued for our area. The Pokémon Center will now go into lockdown. Please follow emergency guidelines and evacuate to nearest safe area accordingly."
May buried her head in her hands. Gulping, Ash rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But I guess they could be wrong."
So that was how May ended up in a crowded hallway, with nothing to do but hope a violent windstorm didn't decide to destroy the building she was in. Across from her, Ash was busy scratching Pikachu behind the ears in an effort to keep him calm. And Brock...
"Wh-what in the world?"
"Yes, my lovely, if today is to be our last then there's no one I'd rather spend it with than you. Let us whisper sweet nothings to give us strength during this arduous ordeal."
May rolled her eyes. If there was one thing to be said about Brock, he was persistent. Speaking of which, why hadn't Max pulled him away by now?
In fact, after glancing around, she didn't see him anywhere. Swallowing her rising panic, she asked Ash if he had seen the boy, and when the answer was no, she marched over to Brock to drag him away herself.
"Ow! Hey! Watch the ear!"
"Have you seen, Max?"
Rubbing his injury, he replied, "No, I thought he was with you."
But the last time she had seen him was when he had run off earlier. And that meant... that meant... he could be anywhere!
Though he had to have heard the warning right? Surely he was safe?
Clenching her fists, she couldn't stop her stomach from churning. He may have been a brat, but he was still her brother.
"I've got to look for him!" she declared, not even waiting long enough to hear her friend's agreement before dashing off to find her charge.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her nerves. This part of the Center was part of the shutdown, so the only decent light in the dark hallways came from windows where the constant lightning was shining through. The storm was raging outside, and it only seemed to be getting worse.
"Max? Come on, I'm not mad at you anymore! Now's not the time to be hiding!" she pleaded.
Only the thunder answered her.
Not to be deterred, she kept up her search. Come hell or high water, she was going to find him.
Yet it was then she noticed that the thunder hadn't stopped. In fact, it only seemed to be louder... and louder... and LOUDER...
When the building began to tremble, she let out a shriek and starting running.
"Oomph!"
"Ow!
Groaning, she wondered briefly what had happened when she realized was she tangled up in a mess of limbs, and quite literally on top of someone.
"Max?" she squeaked hopefully.
"Try again." The muttered answer made her gasp.
There was no way! It couldn't be possible! Could it? "D-Drew?" she stuttered in disbelief.
"Who else?" She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Now if you don't mind...?" he drawled.
But her mind, her muscles, her... everything had shut down. Frozen, she trembled slightly at the feeling of his breath on her face.
It took a crash outside to break the spell.
"AHHH!" she screamed, scrambling off of him. Panic had overtaken her senses in more way than one. The rumbling from before hadn't let up, and now the roof was creaking.
"May! Get a hold of yourself! That's not going to solve anything!"
She didn't hear him. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"
"May!" he tried again. Growling, he grabbed her hand and ran, yanking her along. "I don't know about you, but I don't plan on dying."
Finding what appeared to be a storage closet, he shoved their way in and shut the door. Letting out a hiss as something else hit the Center, he certainly hoped this worked. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was worried...
...but not scared. Oh no. Drew was never scared.
May, however was more than happy to give up any notions of dignity at the moment. Another crash, another scream, and she was clinging onto him for dear life. And crying, don't forget the crying.
Normally, now would be the right time for one of his sarcastic quips. Especially since the situation made him highly uncomfortable. Yet, even he wasn't so cruel to deny her.
Part of him didn't want her to let go either.
"Max! Where have you been!?"
Flinching, the boy stated the obvious, "I was taking shelter in one of the safe areas."
Brock groaned. "May took off looking for you quite awhile ago. Now we can't find her."
"Oh," he mumbled. Now he felt somewhat guilty for not trying to find her when the evacuation order was issued. He figured she was still mad at him, but now things were going to be even worse.
"Max!" Speaking of which...
Turning to see the aforementioned sister marching toward him though the crowds, he steeled his determination. If he was going to get pounded, he might as well take it like a man.
Then she hugged him.
After the storm, it had been determined that no serious damage had been done to the Center. Of course the building was built stronger than most after all. However, there had roof damage to a few places. Though any further assessment on what happened wouldn't be possible until morning.
In the reorganization, May and the others drew the short side of the stick. So now they were camping out in the lobby.
"I saw Drew earlier."
"You did?" she feigned surprise.
"Yeah, when we were looking for you and Max, I ran into him." Ash looked thoughtful. "He acted kinda weird when I told him you ran off."
May forced her herself to not ask what that meant. "Yeah... well... whatever," she offered lamely.
As it was, she was still trying to figure out what happened in storage closet. All she could remember was her own terror, Drew, and then being alone when the lights came back on. But the person she was with couldn't have been Drew. Drew wouldn't have been that nice.
Either way, nobody could ever find out about what may or may not have happened. NOBODY.
"I'm so bored," Ash moaned.
"Me too," May sighed.
Max let out a grunt of agreement, and Brock set down his magazine. "Sorry guys, but there's nothing we can do about that."
Despite the fact that they would all normally be sleeping, their latest brush with disaster had set of an adrenaline rush. As a result none of them could even felt like closing their eyes. Thus they were stuck in the lobby with absolutely nothing to do.
Apparently fed up with this situation Pikachu leapt off the couch to go exploring. "C'mon! You're can't just leave me here!" his trainer whined.
"Pi pika pikapi." The rodent gave him a smile and ran off.
"Traitor."
On the other hand, Max thought that Pikachu may have been on to something. Getting up, he went looking through the lobby. For awhile he figured it was probably pointless, but then he spied a box in the corner. Pulling it out, he was disappointed to find nothing but a lot of old magazines, and started to get up when his finger brushed up against something. Taking a second look, his face lit up in glee. Perhaps the night wouldn't be a total loss after all.
"Hey guys! Check it out!"
The four of them were now all sitting around a classic game board. Max was excited, May rubbed her hand in anticipation, Brock seemed to already be strategizing, and Ash looked utterly disappointed.
"Monopoly? We're gonna play Monopoly?"
May blinked at his tone. "Yeah, it's fun."
"And it's a great strategy game! You have to outmaneuver your opponents at every turn. There's more to it than buying every property you land on," Max gushed.
"I have to admit I have some pretty fond memories playing this with my siblings." Brock nodded.
Ash groaned. He had memories of playing this game too... with Gary. They weren't good either.
"I'm going to be the banker!" Max volunteered.
"Oh no you don't!" May huffed. "I'm going to be the banker!"
"But you'll cheat!"
"No I won't!"
"You have before!"
"No I didn't! You were the one who cheated!"
"GUYS!"
"Huh?" they mumbled in unison.
Brock sighed. "I'll be the banker."
"Okay."
Once the banker "issue" was settled, and Ash had accepted the fact that he could either play or stare at the wall, they could begin in earnest.
"So what do we have here? Don't tell me this how you spend most of your time, May. No wonder your combinations have been failing."
Or so they thought.
May twitched and turned around with a glare. "What are you doing here?"
Her opponent casually flipped his hair. "Oh nothing. I was just curious about the cause of your current skid. It's been kind of embarrassing, even for you."
"That's it!" She launched herself at him. While things had calmed somewhat since that first contest, she was not in mood tonight. Come to think about it, what happened earlier must have been a dream, or better yet a nightmare. Because there was no way Drew was capable of common decency.
She also hated the fact that he could still hold her off with only one hand too.
"Aw, May, I thought you were beyond petty violence by now."
"Not when it comes to you!"
The standoff would have continued if Brock, once again hadn't intervened. "Hey, Drew? Since you're here why don't you join us?
May stopped struggling, and the emerald haired boy quirked an eyebrow. "You want me, to play Monopoly with you?"
Brock shrugged. "Sure, why not? You and May are pretty competitive, and rather than having this end with an impromptu battle in the Pokémon Center's lobby, I figured this would be better."
"Brock! You can't be serious!" she yelled.
Drew, for his part, felt slightly affronted about the insinuation that he would let his confrontation with May escalate to such a level. Then again, May didn't seem to be thinking very clearly at the moment. "Well if it stops May from bringing down the roof on top of us," he paused to flick his hair, "I guess I'll give it a shot." Besides he had played this game plenty of times before and the allure of having a brand new, unexplored way of antagonizing her was just too strong.
It would also help him forget about whatever had happened earlier.
"B-but... you can't!" May tried.
"What's the matter, May?" He smirked. "Afraid that you'll lose to me?"
That did it. "Never!" she snarled and grabbed the dice.
Sometime later everyone had settled into their roles. Brock's strategy involved buying all of the cheap properties right after GO, Drew was buying all of the expensive ones, May was buying anything and everything, and Max seemed to be building an infrastructure empire.
Ash couldn't seem to understand why he continued to land on Community Chest or Chance though. Again... and again... and again...
Eventually time wore on, and the heat turned up. The rent eventually became too much for Ash, and Max's strategy had backfired because he applied too much real world logic to the game. "But if you own the utilities and railroads you pretty much control everything!"
So that left May, Drew, and Brock in the final stretch. May had a few monopolies, but she hadn't been able to exploit them because of the amount of money she had spent in the beginning. Plus constantly losing her two hundred poké or more to Brock every time she passed GO hurt. But there was reason to hope, because one of monopolies commanded a high price if she could complete it. She already had one hotel, and sooner or later Drew or Brock, hopefully Drew, would land on her trap. All she had to do was survive in the mean time.
And then she saw where she landed after her latest dice roll.
"N-no! Not a hotel!" she gasped in horror.
A chuckle made her look up at her worst nightmare. "Well, May, it looks like you owe me 1275 poké." Drew grinned.
Paling, she quickly noticed that even if she mortgaged everything she wouldn't have enough. It was then that a sudden insane idea popped into her mind. Perhaps it was her desperation not to lose to Drew, to bribe him, to distract him, anything! Because the next thing she knew she had tapped him on the nose. "Beep."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing?"
"Did you know a beep on the nose is a sign of affect- er, that you're wrong?" she explained, nearly choking on that last part.
Drew shook his head in mock disappointment. "If that's your best comeback, then you should pay up already and save yourself some dignity."
She growled indignantly at him. Steeling her resolve, she mortgaged her properties and handed the money over with a glare of defiance.
"There's only 876 here..." he muttered. Shoot. Why did he have to count it? "Don't tell me your math is as bad as your recent coordinating."
May bit her lip, trying to prevent various threats from flying out, and glanced down at the few poké she had left. Looking back at Drew, he had quirked an eyebrow as a taunting grin formed on his lips, as if he were daring her to admit it. Admit that she had lost to him out loud.
Absolutely not. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
So he did it for her. "So it seems you're bankrupt."
"I am not!" she retaliated instinctively.
"Yes," he flicked his hair, "you are."
"I am not bankrupt!" she shouted desperately.
"Then what else do you call having no money?"
"I- I- I-" she stuttered, face turning red.
"May," Brock sighed, deciding to put an end to it, "you're bankrupt."
Releasing a breath, she nodded vacantly to Brock, and walked away.
"Hey, sis."
"Huh? What is it?" She glanced up from her magazine.
"The game's almost over. I thought you might want to see the winner," Max said.
Well that was a surprise. She thought they would have quit by now. "They're still playing?"
"Yep, they've been at this forever."
May blinked and followed her brother. Sure enough, there in the center of the lobby were Drew and Brock, still facing off against each other.
"Hey, May!" She turned to find Ash making his way toward her. "So you do think will win?"
"Um..." the question caught her off guard. While she naturally wanted to say Brock would be victorious, because somebody had to beat Drew, she found that she couldn't dismiss the emerald haired coordinator's skill either. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Drew won, so she had to brace herself for that fact. "I don't know, but I hope Brock can pull it out."
"Yeah, he's really good at this," Max acknowledged.
"So is Drew. It'll come down to the wire," Ash stated.
And so it did. Eventually one of them was able to turn the tides, gaining a monetary upperhand on the other. With one unlucky roll of the dice, it was over.
Drew handed over the last of his money. "Good game."
"You too," the breeder agreed. "Nobody has challenged me like that for a long time."
"Me neither." He nodded and got up to leave.
That was it? After all of that, this was how it ended? Somehow it seemed... lacking. Not that she was expecting... she wasn't sure what she was expecting, aside from some kind of vindication on her part. But she didn't even feel that to extent she was hoping. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, it wasn't like Drew lost his cool when he was defeated at their previous contests.
Maybe it was the way he took the loss?
That couldn't have been it, could it?
She didn't know what she had been thinking. Probably she hadn't been thinking at all. Still here she was, having slipped out of the Center at the first opportunity, paying no attention to various damages and debris left by storm, with only one thing on her mind. Yet she couldn't get her body to move from its hiding place even as he walked away. Instead all she could do was berate herself, both for not doing anything and for trying to do anything at all.
"You know, if you have something to say, then you should just say it."
Gasping, she saw that he had stopped, waiting for an answer.
"I... um... well... I..." she fumbled, hating that she was put on the spot.
"If that's all then." He shrugged, continuing to walk.
"No! I... I mean... no. That's not all. I mean... what I'm trying to say is..." He chuckled, and she scowled. "Oh, just forget it. I don't even know why I thought-"
"You want to know what you've been doing wrong, am I right?" he suggested, turning around to face her.
"What I've-" she sputtered. "Listen, I don't need you to tell me how awful you think I am! Haven't I heard enough of that already?"
He flicked his hair. "Then you obviously haven't been paying enough attention, have you?"
"Oh really?" she snorted. "And what could I have possibly missed?"
"Oh nothing," he said casually. "Just the part of forgetting the past and focusing on the future."
May crossed her arms."What does that have to do with anything?"
Drew looked into her eyes. "Because if you only think about what can go wrong, then it will." His serious face dissolved into a smirk. "Just like if all you can remember is winning, you'll think it's a given. It's not that hard to figure out, May."
She gulped at the words for a moment, then muttered, "Yeah, well... I guess." Had that really been it? Was she creating her own bad luck?
He shook his head at her, moving to leave. "Hopefully you won't stumble into your next contest. How can beat someone who loses in the first round?"
"Wh-what!?" she shrieked. "Beat me? Ha! Next time you're going down, Drew!"
"Just keep telling yourself that, May," he replied as he continued down the road.
Muttering to herself, May started to walk back toward the Center. It was then she finally saw in the early morning light just how much damage had been done to the surrounding area. While the Center itself was still intact, it had definitely been battered and parts of the roof were missing. Though what really sent a chill down her spine was the distinct path of destruction that led up to the building, then faded away, before beginning on the opposite side of the property. It was almost like...
"It missed the Center," she breathed.
Without trying her thoughts went back to storage closet... and Drew. Instinctively she looked back at him, his image just disappearing against the horizon. Was that strange memory of hers really true? We could've... We almost... No, I can't think like that. She shook the morbid thoughts from her head. For a moment, she considered calling out to him. However he hadn't mentioned anything, nor had he acted different... So what did it mean?
Maybe it was a sign, a way of telling her that things were finally going to look up. No, she knew they were going look up. She was done with creating her own bad luck. From now on, she would hope for the best. And it only took him, of all people, to remind her of this.
"Thanks, Drew."
Not that she would ever admit that to him, of course.
Okay, believe it or not this was inspired by Charlie Brown, or rather a scene with Lucy and Schroeder, of all things. The line, "A beep on the nose is a sign of affection." came directly from that. For some reason I always wanted to do that with May and Drew.
Reviews are very much appreciated.
Rated: PG
Summary: After losing in the Rubello Contest, everything is going wrong for May. So getting stuck in the same Pokémon Center as Drew after a tornado, with nothing to do except play a board game, is just another thing to add to the list. Right?
---
Twirling and whirling, glowing and flashing, twisting and turning...
Her eyes widened.
It was beautiful.
They did it! They actually did it!
This was going to be so...
...so...
...uh-oh.
"Ahh!"
Ducking to the ground, the attack passed just over May's head. Shockwaves from the explosion kicked up her hair, blowing dust everywhere, and in the distance she thought she heard a snap-
CRASH!
That didn't sound good.
Once it seemed like peeking out from under her arms wouldn't get her head knocked off, she tried to assess the situation. Coughing, she staggered to her feet, dazedly looking around to see if her friends were still in one piece.
"Beautifly! Torchic! Um, Skitty? Bulbasaur? Hey guys!" May called out.
"Beau-tifly!" Finally getting a response made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh, there you are," she smiled as the butterfly Pokémon fluttered over to her, "but where is everyone else?"
"Beau…" It sighed and pointed in another direction to where the smoke had cleared.
"Nyaaa." Swirls were spinning in Skitty's eyes as it did some kind of bizarre dance. But at least the little pink cat was moving, because Bulbasaur was completely out for the count, and Torchic was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Torchic! Where ar-ahhhhhhh!" She dropped to the ground, shaking in terror, gaping at the vicious looking mud monster that lunged out of the earth right in front of her. What kind of horrible creature was-
"Torchic!"
Okay, so apparently Torchic had been buried by dirt since it was closest to the explosion. It also made sense that she would be um, surprised, by its sudden appearance.
"Um, T-Torchic?" Her eyes twitched. Grooming it in time for the contest, if she decided to use it, was going to be a pain.
So taking stock of the situation, Bulbasaur was still out of it, Skitty didn't seem to know which way was up or down… or left and right, and Torchic was still preening its feathers for dirt in places it didn't know it had. But at least Beautifly seemed okay…
Hey, where was Beautifly anyway?
"Huh?" May jerked her head around in all directions, but apparently it knew how to pull a vanishing act. "Oh no, not again." With its ability to fly, it could quite literally be anywhere.
"Beau-beau-tifly!" Or in the middle of some nearby bushes.
"Beautifly you shouldn't disappear like that. I didn't know what happened," she mildly scolded it in relief.
It murmured an apology.
"Oh it's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." May smiled, but then blinked. "But what are you…" she trailed off when she got close enough to see what it was staring at.
The twisted remains of trees.
The Pokémon Center's trees.
Oh dear.
"Um, well since today's practice is over, you deserve a rest." She recalled all of her Pokémon and started running.
---
May sighed as finished her fifth bowl of noodles. They weren't the best she had ever eaten, but she really needed a pick-me-up.
She really thought that they had the combinations down this time, but just like their fifteen or so previous tries, it ended in failure... and a much more destructive failure at that.
Ever since she lost at Rubello, it seemed like karma had decided to come back to haunt her, big time. Her Pokémon couldn't pull off any combinations, she missed the next contest by five minutes, and the one after that because of a three ribbon requirement... three ribbons which she would have had if she hadn't lost in Rubello.
So this is what I get for acting like such a big shot, huh?
But.. but... she just couldn't help herself! After winning two ribbons in a row, she really seemed to be going somewhere, and when she met the MFP mothers and they praised her so highly - it had fueled her confidence. So it also seemed like the perfect time to finally get over on Drew. The so called O Great One who could do no wrong.
"Forget what you've won, May, and concentrate on the future."
Stupid Drew, and his stupid whim of the moment "advice". He never missed an opportunity to take a dig at her skills no matter the situation. What made it worse was when he was right, but she would never admit that. Never. Never. Never.
"So you came here to hide from the police?"
Groaning, she turned to look at the owner of the accusation, someone she did not want to see right now.
"What do you want, Max?"
The eight year old put on a cheeky grin. "Oh nothing. I just wanted to know where my sister had disappeared to for the last few hours."
"I was hungry," she muttered.
"Then why didn't you go to the Center's cafeteria?" he sang, hopping into the booth.
She bit her lip. Admit to nothing. Admit to nothing. Admit to nothing. "I heard about this place in my travel brochure and wanted to try it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? And that has nothing to do with the trail of destruction at the training grounds?"
Gulping, she protested, "But I didn't-"
"Oh elementary my dear, May." He smirked. The little brat was enjoying this! "You see, Brock saw you out there training at 2:45, but by 3:15 a boy told Nurse Joy that grounds had been destroyed. Then you disappear for the next two hours without a word to anyone, until I find you here. Hmm... So what happened in those thirty minutes?"
She glared. "You can't prove anything." Normally she wouldn't be so obstinate about a mistake, but this was Max she was dealing with. He could always push her buttons, just like a certain arrogant rival.
"So you don't have an alibi?" he gasped mockingly.
"I don't have to deal with this," she scoffed, getting up to leave.
The boy shrugged. "You know, vandalism is a serious crime. If you don't have the money to pay for the damages then..." he trailed off.
She stopped in her tracks just in front of the door. "Then what...?"
"Then you could go to jail," he noted somberly. "Or in the best case scenario, you'll have to do community service... like picking up garage on the side of the road."
He watched as she paled, then twitched, and finally screamed, "You've got to be kidding me!" and ran out of the diner.
Max shifted his glasses. "That's what she gets for using The Pokémon Reference Guide: Volume 4 for target practice."
---
Nurse Joy didn't really understand much of what had been said by the sobbing girl who had literally thrown herself at the woman. But that wouldn't stop her from trying to console her. "Now, now dear. I'm sure that whatever it is isn't so bad."
"No, it's worse!" she cried.
"Well I don't know about that," the nurse smiled softly, "maybe if you could try telling me again?"
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Nurse Joy! I didn't mean to do it!" she pleaded with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Do what?"
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and admitted, "I'm the one who wrecked the training grounds."
"So that was you?" May nodded in shame. "Oh, I'm glad that you told me, but don't worry about it. This happens all the time."
"What?" Her eyes snapped open.
"Oh yes. Training grounds are prone to all sorts of accidents, that's why we have their upkeep and repair included in the budget," Joy explained.
"Oh," May replied feebly.
"Feel free to ask if you have any more questions," Joy finished happily and walked away leaving a still reeling brunette in her wake.
---
So close... almost there... all he had to do was make it through one more hallway and he would be home free.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Or not.
Max gulped. His looking-way-too-happy-for-anything-good sister was grinning manically at him. "H-hi, sis."
"Hello, Maxy~" she trilled. Uh-oh. Using that name had never boded well for him.
Since desperate times called for desperate measures, he pulled out the "cute innocent kid" act. "Guess what? I learned something new, wanna see?" he asked excitedly. Before she could react, he tapped her on the nose, doing a mild imitation of a car horn. "Beep."
Now that did it. She growled, "What was that for?"
"Did you know a beep on the nose is a sign of affection?" he offered.
May blinked. "That doesn't make any- hey!"
He was already sprinting down the hall.
---
"Hey, May? Where were you? It's not like you to just disappear like that."
Flopping onto one of the couches, she sighed. "Let's just say that I've had rough day, Ash."
The raven haired boy shrugged, accepting her explanation. "Well, you know what they say, things have to get better, right?"
At that moment the PA system clicked on:
"Attention Everybody! A Tornado Warning has been issued for our area. The Pokémon Center will now go into lockdown. Please follow emergency guidelines and evacuate to nearest safe area accordingly."
May buried her head in her hands. Gulping, Ash rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But I guess they could be wrong."
---
So that was how May ended up in a crowded hallway, with nothing to do but hope a violent windstorm didn't decide to destroy the building she was in. Across from her, Ash was busy scratching Pikachu behind the ears in an effort to keep him calm. And Brock...
"Wh-what in the world?"
"Yes, my lovely, if today is to be our last then there's no one I'd rather spend it with than you. Let us whisper sweet nothings to give us strength during this arduous ordeal."
May rolled her eyes. If there was one thing to be said about Brock, he was persistent. Speaking of which, why hadn't Max pulled him away by now?
In fact, after glancing around, she didn't see him anywhere. Swallowing her rising panic, she asked Ash if he had seen the boy, and when the answer was no, she marched over to Brock to drag him away herself.
"Ow! Hey! Watch the ear!"
"Have you seen, Max?"
Rubbing his injury, he replied, "No, I thought he was with you."
But the last time she had seen him was when he had run off earlier. And that meant... that meant... he could be anywhere!
Though he had to have heard the warning right? Surely he was safe?
Clenching her fists, she couldn't stop her stomach from churning. He may have been a brat, but he was still her brother.
"I've got to look for him!" she declared, not even waiting long enough to hear her friend's agreement before dashing off to find her charge.
---
Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her nerves. This part of the Center was part of the shutdown, so the only decent light in the dark hallways came from windows where the constant lightning was shining through. The storm was raging outside, and it only seemed to be getting worse.
"Max? Come on, I'm not mad at you anymore! Now's not the time to be hiding!" she pleaded.
Only the thunder answered her.
Not to be deterred, she kept up her search. Come hell or high water, she was going to find him.
Yet it was then she noticed that the thunder hadn't stopped. In fact, it only seemed to be louder... and louder... and LOUDER...
When the building began to tremble, she let out a shriek and starting running.
"Oomph!"
"Ow!
Groaning, she wondered briefly what had happened when she realized was she tangled up in a mess of limbs, and quite literally on top of someone.
"Max?" she squeaked hopefully.
"Try again." The muttered answer made her gasp.
There was no way! It couldn't be possible! Could it? "D-Drew?" she stuttered in disbelief.
"Who else?" She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Now if you don't mind...?" he drawled.
But her mind, her muscles, her... everything had shut down. Frozen, she trembled slightly at the feeling of his breath on her face.
It took a crash outside to break the spell.
"AHHH!" she screamed, scrambling off of him. Panic had overtaken her senses in more way than one. The rumbling from before hadn't let up, and now the roof was creaking.
"May! Get a hold of yourself! That's not going to solve anything!"
She didn't hear him. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"
"May!" he tried again. Growling, he grabbed her hand and ran, yanking her along. "I don't know about you, but I don't plan on dying."
Finding what appeared to be a storage closet, he shoved their way in and shut the door. Letting out a hiss as something else hit the Center, he certainly hoped this worked. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was worried...
...but not scared. Oh no. Drew was never scared.
May, however was more than happy to give up any notions of dignity at the moment. Another crash, another scream, and she was clinging onto him for dear life. And crying, don't forget the crying.
Normally, now would be the right time for one of his sarcastic quips. Especially since the situation made him highly uncomfortable. Yet, even he wasn't so cruel to deny her.
Part of him didn't want her to let go either.
---
"Max! Where have you been!?"
Flinching, the boy stated the obvious, "I was taking shelter in one of the safe areas."
Brock groaned. "May took off looking for you quite awhile ago. Now we can't find her."
"Oh," he mumbled. Now he felt somewhat guilty for not trying to find her when the evacuation order was issued. He figured she was still mad at him, but now things were going to be even worse.
"Max!" Speaking of which...
Turning to see the aforementioned sister marching toward him though the crowds, he steeled his determination. If he was going to get pounded, he might as well take it like a man.
Then she hugged him.
---
After the storm, it had been determined that no serious damage had been done to the Center. Of course the building was built stronger than most after all. However, there had roof damage to a few places. Though any further assessment on what happened wouldn't be possible until morning.
In the reorganization, May and the others drew the short side of the stick. So now they were camping out in the lobby.
---
"I saw Drew earlier."
"You did?" she feigned surprise.
"Yeah, when we were looking for you and Max, I ran into him." Ash looked thoughtful. "He acted kinda weird when I told him you ran off."
May forced her herself to not ask what that meant. "Yeah... well... whatever," she offered lamely.
As it was, she was still trying to figure out what happened in storage closet. All she could remember was her own terror, Drew, and then being alone when the lights came back on. But the person she was with couldn't have been Drew. Drew wouldn't have been that nice.
Either way, nobody could ever find out about what may or may not have happened. NOBODY.
---
"I'm so bored," Ash moaned.
"Me too," May sighed.
Max let out a grunt of agreement, and Brock set down his magazine. "Sorry guys, but there's nothing we can do about that."
Despite the fact that they would all normally be sleeping, their latest brush with disaster had set of an adrenaline rush. As a result none of them could even felt like closing their eyes. Thus they were stuck in the lobby with absolutely nothing to do.
Apparently fed up with this situation Pikachu leapt off the couch to go exploring. "C'mon! You're can't just leave me here!" his trainer whined.
"Pi pika pikapi." The rodent gave him a smile and ran off.
"Traitor."
On the other hand, Max thought that Pikachu may have been on to something. Getting up, he went looking through the lobby. For awhile he figured it was probably pointless, but then he spied a box in the corner. Pulling it out, he was disappointed to find nothing but a lot of old magazines, and started to get up when his finger brushed up against something. Taking a second look, his face lit up in glee. Perhaps the night wouldn't be a total loss after all.
"Hey guys! Check it out!"
---
The four of them were now all sitting around a classic game board. Max was excited, May rubbed her hand in anticipation, Brock seemed to already be strategizing, and Ash looked utterly disappointed.
"Monopoly? We're gonna play Monopoly?"
May blinked at his tone. "Yeah, it's fun."
"And it's a great strategy game! You have to outmaneuver your opponents at every turn. There's more to it than buying every property you land on," Max gushed.
"I have to admit I have some pretty fond memories playing this with my siblings." Brock nodded.
Ash groaned. He had memories of playing this game too... with Gary. They weren't good either.
"I'm going to be the banker!" Max volunteered.
"Oh no you don't!" May huffed. "I'm going to be the banker!"
"But you'll cheat!"
"No I won't!"
"You have before!"
"No I didn't! You were the one who cheated!"
"GUYS!"
"Huh?" they mumbled in unison.
Brock sighed. "I'll be the banker."
"Okay."
Once the banker "issue" was settled, and Ash had accepted the fact that he could either play or stare at the wall, they could begin in earnest.
"So what do we have here? Don't tell me this how you spend most of your time, May. No wonder your combinations have been failing."
Or so they thought.
May twitched and turned around with a glare. "What are you doing here?"
Her opponent casually flipped his hair. "Oh nothing. I was just curious about the cause of your current skid. It's been kind of embarrassing, even for you."
"That's it!" She launched herself at him. While things had calmed somewhat since that first contest, she was not in mood tonight. Come to think about it, what happened earlier must have been a dream, or better yet a nightmare. Because there was no way Drew was capable of common decency.
She also hated the fact that he could still hold her off with only one hand too.
"Aw, May, I thought you were beyond petty violence by now."
"Not when it comes to you!"
The standoff would have continued if Brock, once again hadn't intervened. "Hey, Drew? Since you're here why don't you join us?
May stopped struggling, and the emerald haired boy quirked an eyebrow. "You want me, to play Monopoly with you?"
Brock shrugged. "Sure, why not? You and May are pretty competitive, and rather than having this end with an impromptu battle in the Pokémon Center's lobby, I figured this would be better."
"Brock! You can't be serious!" she yelled.
Drew, for his part, felt slightly affronted about the insinuation that he would let his confrontation with May escalate to such a level. Then again, May didn't seem to be thinking very clearly at the moment. "Well if it stops May from bringing down the roof on top of us," he paused to flick his hair, "I guess I'll give it a shot." Besides he had played this game plenty of times before and the allure of having a brand new, unexplored way of antagonizing her was just too strong.
It would also help him forget about whatever had happened earlier.
"B-but... you can't!" May tried.
"What's the matter, May?" He smirked. "Afraid that you'll lose to me?"
That did it. "Never!" she snarled and grabbed the dice.
---
Sometime later everyone had settled into their roles. Brock's strategy involved buying all of the cheap properties right after GO, Drew was buying all of the expensive ones, May was buying anything and everything, and Max seemed to be building an infrastructure empire.
Ash couldn't seem to understand why he continued to land on Community Chest or Chance though. Again... and again... and again...
Eventually time wore on, and the heat turned up. The rent eventually became too much for Ash, and Max's strategy had backfired because he applied too much real world logic to the game. "But if you own the utilities and railroads you pretty much control everything!"
So that left May, Drew, and Brock in the final stretch. May had a few monopolies, but she hadn't been able to exploit them because of the amount of money she had spent in the beginning. Plus constantly losing her two hundred poké or more to Brock every time she passed GO hurt. But there was reason to hope, because one of monopolies commanded a high price if she could complete it. She already had one hotel, and sooner or later Drew or Brock, hopefully Drew, would land on her trap. All she had to do was survive in the mean time.
And then she saw where she landed after her latest dice roll.
"N-no! Not a hotel!" she gasped in horror.
A chuckle made her look up at her worst nightmare. "Well, May, it looks like you owe me 1275 poké." Drew grinned.
Paling, she quickly noticed that even if she mortgaged everything she wouldn't have enough. It was then that a sudden insane idea popped into her mind. Perhaps it was her desperation not to lose to Drew, to bribe him, to distract him, anything! Because the next thing she knew she had tapped him on the nose. "Beep."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing?"
"Did you know a beep on the nose is a sign of affect- er, that you're wrong?" she explained, nearly choking on that last part.
Drew shook his head in mock disappointment. "If that's your best comeback, then you should pay up already and save yourself some dignity."
She growled indignantly at him. Steeling her resolve, she mortgaged her properties and handed the money over with a glare of defiance.
"There's only 876 here..." he muttered. Shoot. Why did he have to count it? "Don't tell me your math is as bad as your recent coordinating."
May bit her lip, trying to prevent various threats from flying out, and glanced down at the few poké she had left. Looking back at Drew, he had quirked an eyebrow as a taunting grin formed on his lips, as if he were daring her to admit it. Admit that she had lost to him out loud.
Absolutely not. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
So he did it for her. "So it seems you're bankrupt."
"I am not!" she retaliated instinctively.
"Yes," he flicked his hair, "you are."
"I am not bankrupt!" she shouted desperately.
"Then what else do you call having no money?"
"I- I- I-" she stuttered, face turning red.
"May," Brock sighed, deciding to put an end to it, "you're bankrupt."
Releasing a breath, she nodded vacantly to Brock, and walked away.
---
"Hey, sis."
"Huh? What is it?" She glanced up from her magazine.
"The game's almost over. I thought you might want to see the winner," Max said.
Well that was a surprise. She thought they would have quit by now. "They're still playing?"
"Yep, they've been at this forever."
May blinked and followed her brother. Sure enough, there in the center of the lobby were Drew and Brock, still facing off against each other.
"Hey, May!" She turned to find Ash making his way toward her. "So you do think will win?"
"Um..." the question caught her off guard. While she naturally wanted to say Brock would be victorious, because somebody had to beat Drew, she found that she couldn't dismiss the emerald haired coordinator's skill either. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Drew won, so she had to brace herself for that fact. "I don't know, but I hope Brock can pull it out."
"Yeah, he's really good at this," Max acknowledged.
"So is Drew. It'll come down to the wire," Ash stated.
And so it did. Eventually one of them was able to turn the tides, gaining a monetary upperhand on the other. With one unlucky roll of the dice, it was over.
Drew handed over the last of his money. "Good game."
"You too," the breeder agreed. "Nobody has challenged me like that for a long time."
"Me neither." He nodded and got up to leave.
That was it? After all of that, this was how it ended? Somehow it seemed... lacking. Not that she was expecting... she wasn't sure what she was expecting, aside from some kind of vindication on her part. But she didn't even feel that to extent she was hoping. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, it wasn't like Drew lost his cool when he was defeated at their previous contests.
Maybe it was the way he took the loss?
That couldn't have been it, could it?
---
She didn't know what she had been thinking. Probably she hadn't been thinking at all. Still here she was, having slipped out of the Center at the first opportunity, paying no attention to various damages and debris left by storm, with only one thing on her mind. Yet she couldn't get her body to move from its hiding place even as he walked away. Instead all she could do was berate herself, both for not doing anything and for trying to do anything at all.
"You know, if you have something to say, then you should just say it."
Gasping, she saw that he had stopped, waiting for an answer.
"I... um... well... I..." she fumbled, hating that she was put on the spot.
"If that's all then." He shrugged, continuing to walk.
"No! I... I mean... no. That's not all. I mean... what I'm trying to say is..." He chuckled, and she scowled. "Oh, just forget it. I don't even know why I thought-"
"You want to know what you've been doing wrong, am I right?" he suggested, turning around to face her.
"What I've-" she sputtered. "Listen, I don't need you to tell me how awful you think I am! Haven't I heard enough of that already?"
He flicked his hair. "Then you obviously haven't been paying enough attention, have you?"
"Oh really?" she snorted. "And what could I have possibly missed?"
"Oh nothing," he said casually. "Just the part of forgetting the past and focusing on the future."
May crossed her arms."What does that have to do with anything?"
Drew looked into her eyes. "Because if you only think about what can go wrong, then it will." His serious face dissolved into a smirk. "Just like if all you can remember is winning, you'll think it's a given. It's not that hard to figure out, May."
She gulped at the words for a moment, then muttered, "Yeah, well... I guess." Had that really been it? Was she creating her own bad luck?
He shook his head at her, moving to leave. "Hopefully you won't stumble into your next contest. How can beat someone who loses in the first round?"
"Wh-what!?" she shrieked. "Beat me? Ha! Next time you're going down, Drew!"
"Just keep telling yourself that, May," he replied as he continued down the road.
Muttering to herself, May started to walk back toward the Center. It was then she finally saw in the early morning light just how much damage had been done to the surrounding area. While the Center itself was still intact, it had definitely been battered and parts of the roof were missing. Though what really sent a chill down her spine was the distinct path of destruction that led up to the building, then faded away, before beginning on the opposite side of the property. It was almost like...
"It missed the Center," she breathed.
Without trying her thoughts went back to storage closet... and Drew. Instinctively she looked back at him, his image just disappearing against the horizon. Was that strange memory of hers really true? We could've... We almost... No, I can't think like that. She shook the morbid thoughts from her head. For a moment, she considered calling out to him. However he hadn't mentioned anything, nor had he acted different... So what did it mean?
Maybe it was a sign, a way of telling her that things were finally going to look up. No, she knew they were going look up. She was done with creating her own bad luck. From now on, she would hope for the best. And it only took him, of all people, to remind her of this.
"Thanks, Drew."
Not that she would ever admit that to him, of course.
---
Okay, believe it or not this was inspired by Charlie Brown, or rather a scene with Lucy and Schroeder, of all things. The line, "A beep on the nose is a sign of affection." came directly from that. For some reason I always wanted to do that with May and Drew.
Reviews are very much appreciated.
Last edited:
