A/N: Okay, so this was supposed to be a oneshot...and it was supposed to come out before Christmas. But as you can see, it didn't and it is not a oneshot. Because there was more story to tell than I originally thought, I decided to just make this a short story. The chapters will be a bit shorter than you're probably used to from me at 4000-6000 words, and there will be only five or so chapters.

And I must say, this story is going to be cheesy as hell. But hey, cheesy Christmas movies are some of the best entertainment out there. That being said, I hope to really illicit some emotion from you guys in this one.

This story is my first time tackling the whole 'tragedy' and 'hurt/comfort' genres (as well as romance, of course.) And while the main pairing is advanceshipping, there will be hints of pearlshipping, amourshipping and rayshipping (I just couldn't help myself lol). Anyway, with that being said, I hope you enjoy this first chapter of "One More Night".

Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Tragedy, Romance

Extended Summary: 2 years. That's how long it'd been since the world lost Ash Ketchum. His death had wrecked his friends emotionally, especially a particular brown haired coordinator. With Ash gone, May felt as if her life no longer had meaning. Her passion for the things she used to love had been extinguished. And the worst part is, she never got to tell him that she loved him. Oh what she wouldn't give for even just one more night with him...Advanceshipping. Hints of Ray/Pearl/Amourshipping

"...no matter what comes next, there's one thing I can say with complete confidence... My world ended the moment Ash stopped breathing."

-May Maple

One More Night

2 years.

That's how long it'd been since that day.

The day the world stopped for a number of people.

The day that Ash Ketchum died.

It all happened when Ash and May had made plans of visiting one another, with Ash going to Hoenn to see her. To say May was excited would've been a massive understatement. She was so happy that she was going to get to see him again.

It'd been three years since Ash journeyed through Kalos, and immediately after finishing in the aforementioned region, May had returned to travel with Ash and had been doing so ever since. They quickly realized that their bond never even came close to breaking during their time apart, something they were both incredibly grateful for.

After their most recent journey, Ash was going to take a break from traveling for a while, about four months, he decided. He was going to use this time to train his pokemon and spend time with his mother for a while.

May respected his decision and actually decided to do the same at her own home. She needed to spend some quality time with her parents after only seeing them for a few days at a time over the last several years. Plus, she didn't want to start another journey without Ash; she would never go anywhere without him again, no matter what.

A month into their 'vacation' of sorts, May found herself happy with how the break was going. The only problem was that she missed Ash like crazy. They'd only been apart a month, and they talked nearly everyday, but it just wasn't enough for her.

She wanted to see that big goofy smile in person, she wanted to smell his scent, to feel the warmth of his embrace...

It was hardly a secret that May was madly in love with Ash. She'd come to this realization a long time ago, but her feelings were stronger than ever these days.

May'd been trying extremely hard to convince Ash to come to Hoenn for a visit during this break but on a few of occasions, Ash would say that he didn't want to screw up his newly formed training schedule by leaving.

Though, it didn't take too much to convince him to come. After all, he missed May greatly.

...And there was also the fact that he was in love with her as well.

Ash'd come to realize his feelings for the brunette after reuniting with her about three years ago. Like May, he discovered that he'd had these feelings since their first journey together, but just hadn't realized it. But now that he was 19, and May was 18, they were both able to finally recognize their true feelings for one another.

That being said, neither Ash nor May knew that the other was in love with them. But hopefully, that wasn't going to be the case for much longer.

Both Ash and May had decided that it would be during this visit that they would finally confess their feelings to one another. It was a nervous and exciting time for May and Ash, with both of them being incredibly eager to see each other and hopefully, begin their new relationship together, especially since it was now the holiday season, with Christmas being just around the corner.

The Christmas spirit floating through the air would only serve to make their rendezvous all the more special. May, knowing that Ash loved Christmas, and loving Christmas herself, had already planned out a bunch of things they could do that fit the holiday theme. This was shaping up to be the best Christmas May would ever have.

The only problem was that when Ash was planning how he was going to get to Hoenn, he discovered that all of the ferries that typically ran from Kanto to Hoenn had been canceled. As of late, there had been a lot of intense storms over the sea that separated the two regions and a few of the ferries were actually destroyed by the harsh weather. Luckily, nobody was hurt during those instances, but just the fact that this weather was powerful enough to destroy a boat was scary.

While this did discourage Ash, he wasn't going to let it stop him from seeing May. He was going to get to her, somehow, someway.

Ash decided his best bet would be to fly across the sea on Pigeot, whom he had reunited with a few years prior. She definitely had the stamina to fly this distance and with her speed, they would be in Petalburgh City in no time.

Ash made sure to inform May of his plan. This made her incredibly happy as she'd been immensely discouraged and depressed when she discovered that no ferries were running between their two regions for the time being. She'd thought that they weren't going to be able to see each other, so this was amazing news to her.

Though, May made sure to tell Ash to be very careful about how and when he would fly. She told him to make sure to pick a day where the weather forecast showed nothing but sunny skies, all the way from Kanto to Hoenn.

Ash happily obliged and looked up the weather right away. He quickly realized that two days from then would be his best chance to get to Hoenn. Ash made sure to tell this to May, which made her even more excited than before as she now had a set date of when he would be arriving.

Ash also made sure to give her an estimated time of when he would arrive in Hoenn. He used Pigeot's speed to determine just how long it would take. He told May that he would be leaving at noon and arriving at about 4 pm that day.

The next two days went by incredibly slowly to Ash and May. It was like they were kids again, waiting for Christmas, which was ironic considering just how close Christmas day actually was.

Eventually, the day came for Ash's trip. The raven haired trainer made sure to call May before he left, informing her of his departure.

May was bubbling with excitement all day long. The only thing that kept her sane while waiting were the joyous daydreams she was having. She pictured many different scenarios of her and Ash together, both deeply in love with each other. She was more than excited to do these things in real life once she confessed. And if she had to wait a while longer for this to happen, then she would happily do so.

And so, she waited.

And waited...

And waited...

4 pm had come and gone and Ash had still yet to arrive. May wasn't worried by this, however. She knew that Ash had simply guessed the time at which he thought he would arrive. He was probably just running behind schedule and off on his prediction.

While she waited, May decided to watch some TV as if she were to just sit around and do nothing for much longer, she was sure that she would go crazy.

May flipped on the TV, noticing that it was on a news channel. She was about to change it when she saw that they were currently discussing weather. Though, this didn't really interest May as she was sure she already knew what the weather was like today. Even this morning, the forecast had called for clear skies.

Though, that forecast was being betrayed by what May currently saw on the TV. They were showing footage of the dark gray clouded sky off of the coast over the ocean separating Kanto and Hoenn. It was clear to see that the wind was blowing incredibly quickly and every once in a while, she would see lighting flash up in the clouds, as well as hear thunder roar through the speakers of television.

May's heart immediately sunk and started pounding as she became incredibly concerned. Though, she quickly made herself take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Ash was probably fine. She remembered him telling her about the storm he'd had to weather in order to get to New Island during his first journey, and that was surely worse than this one was.

May managed to convince himself that this was simply why Ash was late, because he had to be more careful during the flight. But in the back of her mind, there was still that one shred of doubt. That one horrible thought.

All May could do was wait, having no way to contact him while he was in the air. 5 pm came and went quickly, but it was nothing compared to how fast 6 and 7 pm flew by. Once the clock hit 8 pm, May really started to worry.

May went to her parents, informing them of Ash's tardiness. Norman and Caroline had been aware that Ash was coming from the start, and had also been wondering where Ash could be.

And once they saw their daughter, her face covered in worry, they became concerned themselves, especially after what she said.

"Ash still isn't here yet. He was supposed to be here four hours ago." May started. "And a storm came out of nowhere and he's gotta be flying right through it. I'm just... I'm really scared."

A few tears began to well up in May's eyes, prompting Caroline to hug her daughter.

"Oh honey, I'm sure Ash is fine. The storm just has him running behind, that's all." Caroline said in an attempt to reassure her daughter.

"And you always say how Ash is the strongest person you know, and I've seen that first hand. He's more than strong enough to get through some silly storm." Norman chimed in, truly believing his words.

May broke away from her mother and nodded her head whilst also wiping away the tears that'd overflowed from her eyes.

"Y-Yeah, you guys are right. Ash will be here, probably any minute now." May spoke hopefully, trying to convince herself more than anybody.

"Come on. Why don't we all go into the family room and wait for Ash together. We can watch a Christmas movie!" Caroline suggested, hoping to take May's mind off of Ash for the time being. And because Christmas movies were almost always lighthearted, she thought this would be a good idea.

May nodded at her mother's words, thinking it would be better than simply waiting around doing nothing. Though, she knew that she wouldn't be able to enjoy the movie. Not until Ash arrived.

And so, Caroline, May and Norman all gathered in the family room, with Max joining them a few minutes in ,and watched the movie.

Though everyone's, even Caroline and Norman's, minds were stuck on the raven hared man that they'd all come to love and respect. And the later it got, the more worried they all became.

When the movie ended two hours later, Ash still hadn't arrived. May was now scared beyond belief, and her parents and brother were worried as well.

"Maybe he turned back when he saw the storm coming." Norman threw out this possibility.

As much as May wanted this to be the case, she knew that it wasn't. "He would've called if he did that."

No one had anything else to say after that. While the TV kept some sound in the room, the family of four simply waited, not paying attention to anything. No one dared to move, even when the clock struck 3 am.

Norman had managed to fall asleep somehow by this point, and so had Max, his younger age causing him to need rest more so than the others. But May and Caroline were still wide awake, both worried beyond belief. Both of their minds were now focused on the worst case scenario, but neither could say it out loud.

They hadn't slept more than a wink when they heard the phone ring at about 9 am. Caroline walked over to the video phone and answered, noticing immediately that it was Delia, Ash's mother on the other end.

Delia shot Caroline a friendly smile before speaking. "Hi, Caroline! I'm just calling to see if Ash is there with you. I told him to call me when he got there, but he hasn't. I'm guessing he must've forgotten."

Caroline's heart sunk once she realized she was going to have to tell Ash's mother that he wasn't here, that he never arrived.

Preparing herself as best she could, Caroline proceeded, with May listening in on the conversation. "Delia...Ash, he...he never showed up yesterday. And he's not here now."

Delia's face contorted in confusion. "Huh...that's strange. He told me that he'd be arriving yesterday. I even saw him off..."

Caroline knew that she had to tell Delia about the storm, about what might've happened. "Delia, a storm hit out of nowhere yesterday. A bad one. Right over where Ash was flying..."

Delia's face retained the confused look for a few moments before it finally sunk in. A look of absolute horror and worry overcame her features as she thought about the possibility of something having happened to her son.

"Do I...Should I call the police...? I- I don't know what to do. I'm-..." The panic in Delia's voice broke Caroline and May's hearts.

"I think that's a good idea, Delia. It's better to just be safe in this case." Caroline told her fellow mother.

Delia nodded at Caroline before saying goodbye and calling the police. May and her mother locked eyes, both incredibly scared at the moment. The possibility of something having happened to Ash had just become very real with the inclusion of the police.

May just couldn't hold it back any longer. She began sobbing as many different scenarios played out in her head. And they were nothing like the daydreams she'd had the day before. Instead, they were filled with horrifying images, things she didn't ever want to see.

May dropped to her knees, prompting her mother to rush over, tears in her eyes as well, and embrace her daughter. She allowed May to cry into her shoulder for hours.

Even after Max and Norman had woken up, May still hadn't let up. Caroline made sure to inform Max and Norman about what was going on now, causing both of them to freak out, Max especially.

He didn't know what to do, so Max simply ran up to his room and slammed the door behind him. Knowing that this wasn't good, Norman followed him to make sure that he would be okay.

They were informed later that day by Delia that a search party had been sent out to look for Ash. This was good news, but it was hard to think about anything being 'good' in this situation.

The next few days included much of the same. The only time May had stopped weeping was when her body would shut down and force her to sleep for an hour or two. May would stay up until the exhaustion literally overwhelmed her and forced her to close her eyes and rest for a while.

Though, May knew that Ash's other friends needed to know what was happening. On that first day of the search, she'd managed to compose herself just long enough to call up every friend of Ash's she could think of. She told Brock, Misty, Dawn, Serena, Cynthia, Iris, Cilan, Clemont, Bonnie, Gary, even Paul received notice of what was happening She'd omitted Professor Oak and Tracey from this list as she assumed Delia had already told them.

All of them had similar responses, with some taking the news harder than others. Dawn, Serena, Cynthia and Misty took it the worst, though. They ended up in a state much like May's, more scared than they'd ever been in their entire lives.

And even though the others appeared to take it better than the three girls, May knew full well that they were just as scared as she was.

While the search continued on, Christmas had come and passed. Even on the actual day, any and all Christmas spirit was entirely absent for everybody involved.

In fact, many of Ash's friends had pretty much ignored Christmas all together and came to Hoenn to see if there was anything that they could do to help. Misty, May, Cynthia, Serena, Dawn, Brock, Clemont and Bonnie were amongst those who came to Hoenn; the others would have as well, but the one's who weren't there had any number of circumstances that made them unable to leave for the time being, which was more than understandable; they'd actually been surprised that Cynthia had managed to get away from her duties to come to Hoenn. Delia also came to help, not wanting to just sit around and do nothing while her precious son needed her help.

They don't know how they did it, but they had managed to fit all of the visitors into the Maple household. Of course, the majority of them didn't get to sleep in beds, but none of them cared in the slightest. They weren't here to be comfortable. They were here to help find Ash.

Since that day, not a single storm had occurred, which lead the ferries to start running once again once the new year commenced. Taking this a sign that it would be safe, the group began going on their own searches for Ash.

Apparently, Norman knew a guy that was willing to let him use their boat for this, so none of them would have to ride out in the ocean on their pokemon.

They searched dusk till dawn everyday for weeks, scanning every part of the massive ocean, as well as any landmass, that they could. But even after two full weeks had passed, Ash had still yet to be found.

Everyday, any hope the group had was becoming harder and harder to hold onto. There was still no sign of Ash anywhere...

It wasn't until three and a half weeks had passed that anything was found.

It wasn't found by the group of friends, but the coast guard, whom was aiding them in their search. When the gang of friends were told that they'd found something, their eyes lit up, hopeful that this 'something', was Ash.

But when the coast guard officer pulled out what looked to be the belt that Ash wore to hold his pokeballs, their hearts sunk deeper than they ever had before. Many fell to the ground, crying hysterically at the implication.

Brock, while still feeling more intense worry and sadness than he ever had before, realized that six pokeballs still remained on the belt. And one in particular, had a small yellow lightning bolt on the front.

Having a funny feeling about this, Brock asked for the belt and unclipped Pikachu's pokeball from it.

"Guys..." Brock said, hoping to gain everyone's attention. While they were still crying, the group had the wherewithal to look at Brock. "I think Pikachu is in his ball. Maybe he knows something."

Because of the potential hope this brought the gang, nobody realized just how odd it was that Pikachu was in his ball... what that might mean...

Brock proceeded to release Pikachu, the yellow pokemon materializing in front of them.

Instantly, Pikachu started looking around frantically, yelling out 'Pika Pi!' over and over again.

It wasn't long before Pikachu finally realized where he was. He saw all of Ash's and his friends, with sad, yet hopeful eyes. Pikachu really didn't want to rip this hope out of them, but he just couldn't control it. He knew what'd happened. He knew what had come of his best friend and trainer...

Pikachu started crying.

Wailing, actually.

As they realized what this meant, the group went completely hysterical. No one was spared by the emotion that swept through the crowd.

Pikachu had singled out May and rushed into her arms, still sobbing. May, not noticing Pikachu's arrival until the last second, hugged the pokemon tightly, crying heavily right along with him.

After a few minutes, May knew that she needed confirmation of what they thought. And so, with a voice so full of sorrow that it was difficult to understand, May spoke.

"Pikachu...is Ash..-is he..." May couldn't bring herself to say that one word, but everyone knew what she was trying to say.

Pikachu pulled away from May just slightly and looked directly into her eyes. After just a few seconds, Pikachu nodded his head and returned to his previous position.

Even though they knew this was the case before, the fact that it was now confirmed to be true cut everyone deeply. No one reacted for a few moments, too surprised to do anything but sit and stare at nothing.

Though when Delia let our her first tear filled shriek, the others followed soon after.

The coast guard felt an incredible amount of sympathy for these people and was deeply saddened himself that they hadn't been able to find their friend in time to save him. This was always the hardest part of his job.

But he still had a job to do. He had to contact headquarters and tell them to call off the search and rescue. That there was no point anymore.

That the man they'd been searching for, Ash Ketchum, was dead.

The next few days passed in a blur. Delia couldn't let go of the brief hope that Ash was still out there, alive somehow, and she was furious at the coast guard for calling off their search.

Everyone else felt nothing but pure sorrow and depression. They all remained at the Maple household as no one had the strength to go back home.

In fact, the parents of a few members of the group actually made their way to Hoenn themselves after being told of the news. Dawn and Serena's mothers showed up, and so did Misty's sisters, as well as Clemont and Bonnie's father.

Gary and Paul also came, laving behind whatever was keeping them at home before, not knowing what else to do..

It was more than a full house at this point but even still...

May, as well as the others, had never felt more alone.

Everyone was taking this hard, but it was easy to tell that May was taking it the worst out of everyone, and that was saying something considering how badly everyone else was feeling. And while this was true, Serena, Dawn and Cynthia were handling this no better than May was.

Pikachu had spent all of his time by May's side, in a state much like hers. May appreciated the link to Ash that Pikachu brought her, even if she couldn't exactly feel that at the moment.

A few nights, May would find herself cuddled up between her parents in their bed, like she used to do whenever she had a bad dream as a child.

And on those rare occasion where she would actually be able to sleep for a while, May desperately hoped that she would wake up, only to realize that everything that'd happened was just a horrible, horrible nightmare. But every time her eyes wold flutter open, the reality of everything would hit her, making her feel worse and worse every time.

Caroline, Norman, Johanna Berlitz and Grace Yvonne had spent the few days after the news of Ash's passing trying to help Delia set up his funeral. None of them could think of a worse thing than losing their child. No parent should ever have to bury their kid.

And yet, here they were, helping Delia prepare to do exactly that.

By the time they were all to leave for Kanto for the funeral, many had stopped crying so frequently. Not because they felt any better, but simply because their bodies could not keep producing the amount of tears they needed to sob like they were at all hours of the day.

When May wasn't crying, she was almost like a robot. She would often be seen staring blankly at nothing, hardly noticing anything going on around her.

Her parents were incredibly concerned about their daughter and were actually beginning to worry if she would ever get past this. Norman and Caroline both knew of May's love for Ash, and they couldn't even begin to comprehend how hard it would be to lose the person you love more than anything else in the world.

The other parents were incredibly worried for their children as well, with many of them reacting similarly to May. They knew full well just how important Ash was to their children. In nearly all cases, he was the most important person in their lives. This was by far the hardest thing any of them would ever have to go through.

No one had any idea what to do next. Well, other than one thing.

The funeral.

The date had been set and everything had been arranged. It would be held at Professor Oak's ranch. All that was needed at this point was for everyone to gather in Pallet Town for the event.

People came from across the globe to witness Ash's burial. Well, the burial of a casket that signified Ash. After all, they'd never found the body...

Everyone was surprised by just how many people Ash had impacted enough for them to come to their funeral. Gym leaders, Elite 4 members, Champions and dozes upon dozens of other people were all packed into the small town of Pallet for the service. There had to have been almost 250 people there.

On top of this, every single one of Ash's pokemon were present as well.

Many of these people were even crying, the Sinnoh champion Cynthia being one of them.

Cynthia had met up with Ash many times over the past three years, also meeting May in the process. Her relationship with both Ash and May had grown to be incredibly deep and to Cynthia, these two were without a doubt her best friends.

Cynthia sought out May before the service began, taking her to a more secluded spot.

It was here that both of them broke down once again and embraced each other for a while. It was still so hard to believe that Ash was gone. They just couldn't control their emotions at the moment.

"I never even got to tell him...He doesn't even know that I love him!" May sobbed into Cynthia's shoulder as the two embraced.

Cynthia felt worse than she ever had in her life but no matter how bad she currently felt, she knew that May had to be in an even worse way.

Cynthia had actually developed deep romantic feelings for the raven haired man after they'd met up again and started spending more time together. But once she found out that May was in love with him, she told herself that she would never interfere with them getting together, and she'd stuck to that promise. But now, it looked like that didn't matter...

Once they returned to the crowd, Cynthia made sure to seek out Dawn as well, having not forgotten about her and the time they'd spent together.

It wasn't long after this that everyone was called for the service to start. The entirety of those present took their seats and waited for the even to start.

They all watched as the pallbearers, who were made up of Gary, Brock, Paul, Tracey, and Norman, walked with the casket to the area they'd been told to place it, on a platform above a grave that'd been dug earlier.

The service started quickly after that. After a while, Brock went up to the podium and made a heartfelt speech about Ash and how he'd impacted all of their lives. He was forced to cut his speech short however as his emotions overtook him in the end. Though even with him failing to properly conclude what he was saying, his speech was lovely.

Delia had actuality stated that she wanted to say a few words after Brock, but there was no way, in the state she was currently in, that she was going to be able to do that. May noticed this and recognized that something had to be done.

May was at that familiar stage of the day where she'd run out of tears, and this was the only time she'd be able to get any words out. She had so much she wanted to say, it was just a question if she'd be able to get it all out before she lost control again.

Placing Pikachu, who'd been seated on her lap, down on the chair she'd previously been sitting in, May approached the podium as everyone watched on in silence. May looked over the crowd, amazed at just how many people had shown up, how many lives Ash had impacted over the course of his journey. He had brought so many people together, and he didn't even know it. The thought of this normally would've made May smile.

But not today

Actually, May wasn't entirely sure that she would ever smile again.

Everyone waited patiently for the beautiful brunette coordinator to begin speaking. May used these few moments of silence to try to gather her thoughts in the jumbled mess that was her mind. She knew that the only way she was going to be able to do this would be to speak straight from her heart and hold nothing back...

Just like Ash always did.

May took a deep breath before finally beginning her speech. "I-I don't really know how to start this, so forgive me if my words come out all jumbled." May prefaced the crowd. "...I still don't feel like it's real. Everyday, I wake up from those few minutes I'm able to sleep a night and think that I'd just had the most horrible dream ever, only to find that my worst nightmare is now also my reality."

May's words struck many people in the heart. No one could turn away from the lovely brunette dressed in black, the emotional start to her speech leaving the crowd wanting to hear what she had to say next.

"Some of you know this already...most of you probably don't. Either way, I'll say it right here and now. I was, am, and always will be, in love with Ash Ketchum. So in love that I could never even so much as think of anyone other than him in that way. In fact on...on that day...Ash was coming to Hoenn so we could spend time together before Christmas. And during his trip, I was going to tell him how I felt about him..." May looked down. Her body had somehow managed to produce a few tears that ran down her cheeks.

May looked back up at the crowd before she continued. "I'll never love anyone the way I loved Ash, not after being with him for so long and experiencing all of the wonderful things he brought to the world. He was my everything and just the thought of a life without him...it sounds like the worst form of torture there could ever be. But that's the reality I face now..." May paused, the emotion in her voice intensifying to the point where she had to stop for a moment. She took another deep breath before shaking her head and continuing. "I know that I'm never going to get past this, and I'm just going to have to accept that. But no matter what comes next, there's one thing I can say with complete confidence... My world ended the moment Ash stopped breathing."

Most everyone, her parents especially, became incredibly worried over what May had said. She sounded almost suicidal. But that wasn't who May was. She would never, never kill herself under any circumstances; even when she was depressed beyond belief, she still recognized that life was precious and ending it would solve nothing.

She was simply telling the truth.

There were only a few certainties May had in her mind, the first of which being that she would always love Ash, and no one else; there was just no way anyone could ever compare or take his place. She also knew for a fact that this would be something she would never get over, no matter how hard she tried or how much time had passed. And she knew that the others who'd been closest to Ash wouldn't get over this either, even if there came a time when it seemed like they had.

"Brock covered pretty much everything that needed to be said about Ash. But I do have one correction to make." May said, holding up one finger. "You said that Ash was a great man, but you're wrong about that, Brock...Ash was the greatest man to have ever walked this Earth. No one can ever compare to him."

Tears were flowing down May's cheeks, but she wasn't wailing, her face was simply stoic. "So I guess if I have just one more thing to say, it'd be this..." May looked up toward the sky before speaking. "I love you Ash Ketchum, and I'll be counting the seconds until I get to see you again."

May stood staring at the sky for a few moments longer before returning to her seat. Brock commended her on her speech with a pat on the shoulder, but she hardly even noticed. By this point, her emotions had overtaken her completely once again.

The rest of the funeral flew by and by the time it was over, the sun had just began to set.

A few hours after the service and wake had ended, May found herself in the backyard of the Ketchum household, leaning over the railing of their deck and looking at the sky.

She was so engrossed in her gaze that she didn't even notice Brock and Gary approach her. She only pulled her stare from the night sky once the two were standing directly next to her.

May watched as Gary took a swig out of something in a paper bag. Gary then motioned the drink to May. "You want some?"

May, not being a drinker and knowing that alcohol would only make things worse, shook her head in the negative.

"Gary, you know that's not a good way to handle this." Brock scolded the young researcher.

"Relax, Brock. I'm not even drunk. I just need something to get me through tonight, and then I'll stop." Gary told the older man, truly meaning it. Gary actually wasn't a huge drinker either, which made Brock believe Gary's words. This was the worst day of their lives, and Brock couldn't really blame Gary for needing something to help him get through it.

Brock simply nodded at his friend before May's soft voice rang out.

"Brock...?" May started, the familiar emotional tone still present in her voice. "What are we supposed to do now...? Where do we go from here?"

May's voice had a pleading tone in it, which stabbed both Brock and Gary right in the heart. Brock looked at May, noticing she was looking up once again, and then shifted his gaze toward the sky as well.

"We live." Brock said simply. His words caused May to look at him. "That's what Ash would want us to do. It's gonna take time...a lot of time... but eventually, we're gonna have to start living again. It's all we can do."

May didn't say anything as she turned her gaze back toward the sky, her mind stuck on just one thought.

"I just don't know if I'm ever going to be able to do that Brock..."

The years that'd passed since Ash's death had been the hardest of not only May's, but everyone's lives. Delia almost never left her house, and she would often times find herself just sitting in Ash's room, crying.

Misty had returned to her gym, but had her sisters take over as leaders for a while. It was only about a month ago that she'd tried to return to her duties, but she was having a harder time than she'd thought she would in terms of battling challengers; her mind simply couldn't focus on only the battle as it used to.

About two months ago, Dawn had tried to return to coordinating. She really did try her best in her first contest back, but she just didn't have the same spark, the same drive, that she used to. The passion was gone. It just felt so meaningless. It quickly became obvious that she needed more time before she'd be ready to return to the coordinating circuit.

Serena hadn't left her house much, like May, only leaving every few months to go to Pallet Town and stay with Ash's mother for a while. Grace hated that she almost never saw her daughter smile anymore, but there was nothing she could about it. Serena hadn't yet tried to return to performing as she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.

Brock had taken a year off from is pokemon doctoral practice. When he returned, the only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that this was what Ash would want him to do. That being said, Brock often times still found himself breaking down. He missed his brother in all but blood so much.

The others were all in a similar way. Most everyone had tried their best to return to their lives a they were before the accident, with some having greater success than others. That being said, no one was exactly doing great.

May though, she'd stuck true to her word. She wasn't getting past this, and she wouldn't anytime soon. She was still almost certain that she would never be able to move on from this.

Even two years after his death, the love May felt for Ash still burned as strong as ever. Many days, she'd find herself staring at her half of the Terracotta ribbon for hours, just reminiscing about their time together.

But just as her love still burned for him, so did the pain she felt over his passing. Even after two years, it was still hard to believe that he was really gone.

Ash had always been the strong one, the person who could make it through anything. He'd faced rampaging legendary pokemon, evil organizations and more and come out the other side. But something as trivial as a bad storm was what took him out in the end.

When a person's luck runs out, anything can happen, May supposed.

Pikachu had decided to go live with May after the funeral, all but officially becoming her pokemon. Though, this didn't really matter as May hadn't even considered going back to coordinating at this point; there was just no way she'd be able to do it, especially since Ash played such a pivotal role in getting her into contests in the first place. The act of performing would only serve to remind her of him, which would lead to her breaking down.

Pikachu wanted to come with May back to Hoenn because out of all of Ash's companions, Pikachu felt the most comfortable with May. As the saying goes, a pokemon's feelings often mimic those of their trainer. And because Ash had loved May deeply, Pikachu did as well.

This also aided the development of Pikachu and May's Glaceon's relationship. Pikachu, much like May, still hadn't gotten any better in terms of getting past the loss of his trainer. But Glaceon was there for him every step of the way. She would comfort him, talk to him, anything she could do to help him, she would do it, and Pikachu appreciated this more than she would ever know.

As it was nearing Christmas time, Caroline had decorated the house for the theme, hoping that maybe, it would help May in some way. The fact that she hadn't gotten any better emotionally after two years worried both her and Norman immensely; even Max had shown some level of improvement over this significant amount of time. Not much, but some.

But now, along with Christmas also came the anniversary of Ash's death, which ruined everything about the holiday that May used to love. May hated Christmas for the sole reason that it reminded her of the day she was supposed to tell Ash of her feelings, only to have him never show up.

On some level, May appreciated what her mother was trying to do by decorating the house, but it simply wasn't going to work. Norman and Caroline had tried almost everything they could think of, but nothing could break May out of her crippling depression.

May wouldn't eat even close to as much food as she used to. She still had trouble sleeping. Nothing her parents would do could cheer May up. The best they ever got was a momentary smile, but they knew that most of them were forced.

To say that May was depressed would be a gross understatement. She was a shell of her former self, and it was starting to seem that there was no way that she'd ever return to who she was before the tragedy.

May rarely left her house anymore, only ever leaving to go visit Delia every once in a while. May would visit the Ketchum household because even though being reminded of Ash was painful, it was nice to feel somewhat near to him once again. Plus, she loved Delia like a second mother, and even with her dealing with her own pain, May wanted to do ll she could to help her.

It wasn't just herself who made this pilgrimage every few months. Serena, Misty and Dawn also visited Delia semi-regularly. Cynthia had also stopped by a few times over the years. Delia was still having a very hard time and while Professor Oak and Tracey were taking good care of her, they could only do so much; having May and the others there was always a big help.

The only thing that got May through the day anymore was the faith she had that she would see Ash again one day. That someday, somehow, they would be reunited, and they would never be forced apart again.

The next time they met, it would be forever.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "One More Night". To answer your questions, yes Ash really is dead, not just missing somewhere. I know, I know, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me! I have come to notice that Ash does have it pretty rough in my stories. In "A Trial of Will", he gets shot, in "Facade" he's stabbed, in "How to Change a Life", he falls nearly to his death. The only story he's spared in is "We All Want What We Ain't got" lol. I guess I just have a thing for making Ash suffer. But that's what so great about Ash as a character; no matter what happens, he always comes bouncing back. Well...usually. In this case, not so much.

Also as you saw, I decided to make Cynthia a bigger part of both Ash and May's life in this story, with them being best friends. I've always loved Rayshipping and have never included even hints of it in any of my stories. And while I will eventually write a rayshipping story, I just couldn't resist writing Cynthia to have feelings for Ash in this story. But for any of you that are worried, Advanceshipping is still the main pairing and will be by far the main focus of the story.

Anyway, next chapter will reveal quite a lot and things will continue to get heavier and heavier. Please follow, favorite and review! See ya!