And now, at last, the final chapter. I hope that you have all enjoyed reading this; it was a fun concept to write. As ever, any and all feedback is much appreciated =). Question of the update: What is your worst procrastination?

Charizard, breathing very heavily, materialized on the ground in front of them. His brow was wrinkled with perspiration and Ash knew that he was still very weary from his battles with the Feraligatr and Typhlosion.

"Charizard, I know you're really tired," Ash said, laying a hand on his flank. "But we really need your help right now. I need you to fly me up to the roof; the May we saw fall wasn't real, it was another illusion created by the Mirage System. We think she may be in that shack on the roof; can you fly me up there so I can get her out, and will you be able to fly us both back down?" Charizard craned his neck upwards and gauged the distance, squinting. He contemplated a moment, flapped his wings experimentally, and then roared in affirmation.

"Thank you," Ash smiled, climbing carefully onto the fire-type's back. "Gallade, I want you to teleport to the top and make sure that the roof is safe for us to walk on; you're pretty light, so it should hold you. Okay?"

"Er!" Gallade nodded, saluting quickly with a nod before vanishing from sight.

"Thank you," Ash said softly to the thin air. "Charizard, are you ready?"

"Eh, Ash... What about me?" Drew asked. "Do you want me to come up with you on Flygon?"

"No," Ash said, shaking his head. "It's hard to tell from here, but that roof looks pretty unstable. Charizard definitely won't be able to land on it, and the wing beats might even break apart what's left up there. Having Flygon up there too would only increase that risk."

"So what should I do?" the Coordinator asked, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Catch us if we fall through the roof," Ash said simply. Drew nodded wordlessly, reaching automatically for Flygon's Pokéball as Charizard took off with Ash and two extra passengers; Beautifly, who hadn't left his head, and Glaceon, whose eyes had lit up with hope when she heard that May was still alive and who had leapt up the moment Charizard spread his wings. There wasn't the slightest chance that she would miss being there for her trainer when she was freed; Charizard would just have to deal with her modest weight. Pikachu was left mournfully watching them from below; he hadn't been as quick as Glaceon, and his injured body wasn't quite up to those kinds of leaps at the moment.

Charizard climbed his way up grimly; it was harder to carry Ash than he had thought, and the combined weight of Glaceon and Beautifly was as much as he anticipated May to be. He wasn't sure he'd be able to carry them all down, though if Beautifly flew it would certainly alleviate things. Another more pressing problem soon presented itself however.

Though the roof was dotted with holes a Pokémon could fly through none of them was big enough for Charizard, and breaking through one could bring the rest of the roof down; and the shack along with it. After a moment's thought, Ash instructed the fire-type to hover beneath the opening closest to the rickety wooden building, as close to the fragile beams and tiles as he dared.

"Gallade!" Ash shouted, and the psychic-type appeared above them almost instantly. "Can you help us up?" Ash requested, and he nodded. Holding out a blade, he braced himself and pulled first Ash and Beautifly and then Glaceon onto the roof. It was incredibly windy up there and the unstable surface beneath their feet groaned with the slightest movement, threatening to break underneath them. Despite the danger, Ash nodded to the shack directly in front of them, and the shiny new padlock on the front that seemed oddly out of place up there in that world of desolation.

"Think you break through that?" he asked, and Gallade nodded, his blades elongating and turning violet with Psycho Cut. Concentrating hard, Gallade did not even need to take a step forward to sever the lock; it was a technique he had trained very hard with Ash to accomplish, elongating his blades to a length of several feet. It was something he had learned to catch his opponents off-guard in battle, and it was useful for this moment too. He simply flicked his wrist slightly and the lock went skittering harmlessly along the rooftop before dropping through a hole to the ground below.

Ash took several nervous steps forwards to the now unlocked door, testing the roof thoroughly before placing his full weight down on the tiles. Taking a deep breath, he finally made it to the door and opened it cautiously.

There she was, still in her pyjamas, tied up cruelly and gagged. Her eyes wide and fearful as she gazed into the sudden light, her eyes trying frantically to adjust so she could see who it was. They widened in shock, and a blaze of warmth shot forth as she recognized his figure, the relieved smile on his voice, his movement as he rushed to her side and ripped the gag away.

May gasped at the sudden sensation and licked her lips, trying to soothe the places where the tight cloth had cut into her skin. Then she smiled.

"I knew that you'd come for me. I knew that you'd figure it out," she said softly.

"I almost didn't," Ash said, moving behind her and beginning to work quickly on the knots that held her arms and legs in place. "Drew crushed Dr. Yung's controller and put an end to the Mirage System. If he hadn't we'd still be thinking you were dead." May let out a moan of pain as the ropes were pulled away and Ash began rubbing her arms and legs quickly with his palms. It took several moments for the blood to start flowing through the constricted arteries, and it was an incredibly unpleasant sensation.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Ash said, pulling her to her feet. She stood unsteadily trying to keep her balance with difficulty. "Can you walk?" he asked in concern.

"I think so," she nodded, taking a step forward and wincing. "It'll take me a few seconds. How did you get up here?"

"I flew up on Charizard," he said casually. "Beautifly and Glaceon came up with me and I got Gallade to break through the lock. They're waiting outside."

"Ash..." she said softly, a hidden smile crinkling her eyes. He helped her move unsteadily towards the door, and both of her Pokémon rushed up in their eagerness to be reunited with her, tears flowing from both of their eyes. She dropped down to their level and embraced with equal affection

"If it wasn't for these two we'd have never made it," Ash said, watching them hug each other tightly. "They both helped destroy the Mirage System on each floor, and..."

"Ash, I know," May interrupted, parting from her Pokémon gently and rising back to her feet. "When the System was still running Yung left a screen on in that room. He wanted me to watch you try and make your way up. I think he expected you to fail and wanted to see you beaten. Just his way of torturing me," she added bitterly. Ash took her hand and gently led her along the roof to the opening where Charizard hovered, patiently waiting for them.

"Gallade, can you take Glaceon and Beautifly down?" Ash asked. "I don't know if Charizard will be able to manage them too." Gallade nodded and vanished, taking Beautifly and a very indignant-looking Glaceon with him. "Easy," Ash advised, helping May to lower herself through the opening and onto Charizard's back before dropping on behind her. He gripped Charizard securely with his knees as the fire-type made a slow descent and held tightly onto May in front of him; there was no chance that he was going to let go of her and chance her falling after all that had happened. They drifted quietly for a moment before he ventured to break the silence.

"How much of it did you see?" he asked.

"Everything," May replied simply. "When those Electrode exploded and the camera blacked out... I thought for sure that you were gone. And then when you broke through the wall on Charizard it was as if the sun was shining again; I knew then that no matter what happened you'd find a way to rescue me."

"For a moment there I wasn't so sure," Ash said, smiling awkwardly although of course she could not see it.

"Ash," she began after a moment more when they were almost halfway down; "I heard everything too." His grip on both her and Charizard suddenly faded.

"What do you mean?" he asked, almost too quickly.

"I mean that I heard you and Dr. Yung talking about why he captured me." Ash's breathing almost stopped at those words, and he barely felt it when May's cool hand moved slowly up and gripped his own, squeezing tightly.

"Oh... well... I... uh, that is to say..."

"It's okay," she said softly. "You don't have to say anything. I feel and know it too. Just don't say anything about it to Drew, okay? He'll be really disappointed."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Ash found himself saying, his mind barely working in its surprise.

Charizard landed and let out a slight groan of relief as May and Ash both slid from his back. May rushed over to join the rest of her fawning Pokémon and Ash recalled the fire-type with the biggest smile of gratitude he could muster. He turned to the stoic and solemn Gallade and recalled him too before returning his attention back to the Coordinator and her rival.

"So, you're safe then," Drew said in an offhand manner and May smiled.

"Yes, all thanks to you," she said with a quick grin. "What, no rose this time?"

"The Mirage Magikarp ate them all," Drew grumbled. May laughed. He raised his arm in farewell to them both and recalled Flygon before turning and walking out of the building, leaving them alone.

"See you at the Grand Festival, Drew!" she shouted after him. "I'll beat you again for sure!" Giving no other indication that he had heard her save for a flick of his hair, the Coordinator continued on his way through the overgrown garden and passed beyond the wall to vanish into the forest. May shook her head with a knowing smile on her face before turning back to Ash.

"Alright Ash, hand it over," she said, placing her hands on her hips haughtily.

"Huh? Hand what over?" he asked in surprise.

"My bandana," she said, clicking her fingers. "Come on, hurry up!" It took Ash a few seconds to remember that he was still wearing her bandana in place of his hat; that he had worn it since beginning the challenge.

"Oh, sorry!" he said, fumbling with the knot. Beautifly suddenly swooped out of the room and flew quickly towards the wall. She returned a few seconds later and dropped something onto May's head before turning and landing on Ash's. Pikachu scampered across the room and climbed up onto her shoulder to complete the picture. The two trainers stared at each other a moment and then burst out laughing; Ash wearing May's bandana and Beautifly, and May wearing Ash's hat and Pikachu.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ash said, holding his hand out to the Coordinator. "I know a great ramen restaurant in New Bark Town; why don't we head on over there and celebrate?"

"Okay," May agreed, recalling all of her Pokémon save Glaceon and Beautifly before taking his hand happily. "What shall we celebrate? Life? Love? Freedom?"

"Each other," Ash said simply, leading them from the dank ruins of the past into the sunlit world of the future.

Thank you all for reading!