Chapter 1 - The Wheels Start to Spin

Author - Chibi / Warlordess
Author - Chibi / Warlordess

Disclaimer - I don't own anything.. . But Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire is coming out on DVD as of March ofseventh and Misty's coming back as of April. . . first, wasn't it? So, eitherway, it doesn't matter, as the people who do run the shows around here arekeeping up with all of it a lot better than I ever could.

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FictionTitle -"Fighting the Fates"

Chapter One-"The Wheels Start to Spin"

Summary - While making theirway through Sootopolis, Ash and friends stumble across a local fortunetellerwho says. . . dun, dun, dun! Ash and May are destined to be together! And thenMisty and Drew pop into the picture. . . Whatever could they have to say about this?Pokeshippy and Contestshippy fic. Tee hee. :)

Ages -

Ash / 15

May / 13

Misty / 16

Drew / 14

Brock / 18

Max / 10

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"Oh, wow,guys! Look at that. . . !" May said, eliciting a squeal and revving hermotors as she ran at full speed for another one of the shops at the Sootopolisshopping center. Her arms, not to mention those of Ash, Brock, and her brother,Max, were already full of bags, but she didn't hesitate to check the price tagson a certain few items, including a new pair of slacks and a golden braceletwith a ruby jewel in the center.

"May. . .!" Max whined, "Look, where do you think you're going to put all thisanyway? We're travelers! And since when can you afford it?"

"For yourinformation. . ." And here she turned to face him, stalking in hisdirection and looking mortally offended at the remark he'd made, insinuatingthat she hadn't been holding her own weight beforehand, ". . . I've beencompeting very well lately, haven't I, Ash, Brock?" She turned to theother two.

"Yea, youhave, actually. . ." The oldest of the group stuck up for her, though hewas still frowning, "I still think it's for the best, however, to savesome of the profits for later on. Who knows what we might need them for. Imean, we do have other living things to care for besides ourselves."

"Pika. .. !" Pikachu cried from Ash's shoulder, and Ash gave a loud yawn as hisstomach rumbled.

"Yea, Iguess you're right. . ." May sighed, putting down the slacks and thebracelet.

"Great,good for you, May! You've come a long way! I see that those self-help books webought you have really helped." Ash laughed when she stuck out her tongueat him, "Anyway, can we go get something to eat?"

"Right,right. . . And I see the self-help books we bought you haven't done athing at all. . ." She commented as the group of four made their way outof one of the large department stores and down the wide hall, towards thefood-court. They passed plenty of shops and things along the way, all of themglamorous in their own way, selling monumentously different things, fromjewelry to clothes, books to holiday specialty items, flowers to gift cards,dollar-cheap things to DVD's and CD's, and then. . .

"Hey,what's that up there?" Max asked, pointing, and everyone turned and saw alarge crowd of people muddled around a wide spot. It looked like it hadformerly been renovated to include a new store, but there was nothing there nowaccept wide, gaping black drapes set high into the ceiling, and the drapesseemed to sparkle mysteriously somehow. As Ash, May, Brock, and Max got closer,they managed to catch sight of a sign just to the right of the crowd of people.

". . .'Your future is fleeting; get it read today while you have the chance.'"May quoted. "Fortune-telling. . . ? Oh, how. . . romantic, somehow!That's so cool, and it says it's only ten dollars! I think this could be fun!Can we do it, Brock?" She turned and looked up at him and he seemed tothink about it.

"I don'tknow. . . I mean, really. . . Who wants to trust their future to the'all-knowing mind' of a mall seer? And for only ten dollars? It doesn't evensound worth it. . ."

"Oh, butplease? Please, please, please, please, please. . . ?" She puckeredher lip and Ash, his stomach rumbling hungrily again, rolled his eyes.

"Brock,let her have a go at it. The sooner she gets this done, the sooner I can headover to the food-court for my two double-bacon-cheeseburgers and four slices ofpizza."

"Alright,alright. . . !" And the future Breeder waved her off as she parted throughthe watching crowd, just in time for two people, a girl with long brown hair inbraids, and some guy with short bluish-green hair, to find out the fate oftheir long-term relationship.

"It willnever last. . ." Said someone sitting at the front of the crowd; Ash, May,Brock, and Max turned to see the fortuneteller, a woman with heavy eyelidslooking like she was always half-asleep. Her voice was very deep somehow, yetstill soft and feminine. She had this way of keeping a person enthralled withher no matter what she said or did. At the sound of her words, however, thegirl who had been standing before her, broke away from the boy she'd beenholding onto and ran wildly away from him, tears leaking from her eyes. The boydidn't dare try to stop her.

"Er, h -hey. . ." May started, knowing that she probably shouldn't interfere, butfeeling just a bit bad that something that seemed so nice had ended sosuddenly, ". . . don't you think you should go after. . . Oh, no. . . It'syou!"

"Well, ifit isn't May, and her friends! Have you come to get your fortunes read,too?" Drew said, after turning to grace her with his presence. Hisever-present smirk was still fixated where it always was, and he was holding arose, too, and May looked expectant, as though waiting for him to throw it at her,and when he didn't, she tried not to look hurt.

"Actually,yes, I am. But that's not something you need to stick around for. Why don't yougo try and catch up with your girlfriend, Drew? She was looking a bit hurt,there." At the thought of Drew and said girl, May seemed just a bit morehaughty.

"I don'thave a girlfriend." May blinked at that statement and then stuttered,"This fortuneteller thrives on the futures, the bonds, of two souls. Thatgirl was a member of my fan club. . . When she found out that I was coming intotown, for whatever reason, she assumed that it would be in my best interest toaccompany her here and find out if we were meant to be together. . ." Atthe thought of it all, Drew was looking suddenly harassed, and he placed onehand to the back of his head and glanced over his shoulder, as though trying tosee if anyone was following him.

"Er. . .I - I'm sorry for you, I guess. . ." Although, for some reason, May wasfeeling a lot better, and the whole thing seemed hilarious to her now. Althoughshe was attempting to contain the urge to laugh, she couldn't, and she turnedaround to keep Drew from seeing, sure that he would be upset or offended orsomething. "St - still, even if she was a, er, a kind of. . . stalker -crazy. . ." She broke off to laugh again before continuing, ". . .This fan of yours, Drew. . . She really did like you, didn't she? You should atleast apologize, I think." And here she finally turned back to face himagain, and she saw that he was a bit red in the face.

"That isunnecessary." Everyone turned to see the fortuneteller staring almostblankly at May, "I see the truth, and this girl. . . Whoever she is,whatever she came to me for. . . The repercussions shall not matter. She knowswhat I see, she knows what it is she came to me for. The results of herquestioning such fates should not be tampered with."

"O -okay, then. . . I'm glad we've cleared that up, at least. . ." May said,saluting the woman for doing such a wonderful job at confusing her. She turnedback to continue her conversation with Drew, but he had already turned aroundand continued walking off. "Hey, what. . . ?"

"I guessI do owe her a bit of an apology. She dragged me here, yea, but it was only becauseshe wanted to know if there was a future for us. When one person feels acertain way for the other, it can't be helped that they might do stupid things.. . So I'll see you later, May, I've got something to do for now." Hefaced her again for about two seconds and threw her the rose he'd been holding,and any anger, any aggravation she'd been feeling against him for his behavior,slipped away almost immediately.

And then hewas gone.

". . .How does he do that. . . ?" She asked herself when she noticed that hercheeks had started to turn just a bit crimson.

". . .Gee, I dunno, May. . . I'm sure he just plans on finding where the girl ran offto, and saying that he's sorry that things didn't turn out the way she'd hopedthey would originally. . ." Ash said, his hands behind his head in anonchalant way as she gave him a half-glare in frustration, ". . .Although, if you ask me, it's a bit too much trouble to be going through for agirl, isn't it. . . ?"

May chose toignore him. She turned back to the woman and slammed a ten dollar bill downonto the table in a secure sort of way, as though proving that she was sure ofwhat she was doing to everyone around her, and then stared directly into thewoman's eyes.

"I wantto know my future. . ." May said confidently, "Er, please." Sheamended a second later.

The womansighed for some reason, and May blinked, confused. And then the woman turned toface Brock, who was half-glaring back at her.

"I senseyour doubt in me." She told him simply, and it seemed to shock Brock thatshe knew that about him so clearly. "It's not the first time that someonehas thought so lowly of my art, but I think you should know that it clouds mymind when dark thoughts interfere with my channeling at such a close range. . .If you must belittle my abilities, please, do it at a distance. . ."

Now that Ashand everyone had gotten close enough, they could finally see everything thatwas there. Ash had to admit, he'd been expecting a bit much more than whatthere was. . . Maybe something like a crystal ball, star charts, teaceremonies, things like that. . . After all, he heard that foretelling thefuture had a lot to do with astronomy and foggy-glass picture-gazing. . . Butthere was nothing here other than the black drapes, the chair that the womanwas sitting on, and the table. There was a small tin box that was keeping themoney she was making from her charges sitting in front of her as well, butother than that. . .

"Yea,Brock. . . !" May said, now looking just as annoyed, "If you're goingto get in the way of my fortune being read, go away! This means a lot to me andyour bad vibes are ruining it!" She huffed and crossed her arms, and Brockthrew his hands up into the air, stomping his foot.

"Look, ifI leave you here, you're going to end up spending the rest of our trainingprofits on useless things. . . I guess I'll just have to put my personalfeelings aside for now. . ."

"Spring.. ." The woman said quite suddenly, and May turned back to face her firstof all, looking just a bit shocked, followed by everyone else.

"W -what?"

"You areSpring, my dear." The woman placed her left hand onto the table in astrangely straight way. It looked pearlescent somehow, and the flesh seemed toglow white against the dark wood of the surface beneath it. "You areSpring, you have always been associated with the colors of life, and thebrightness of the sun, the flare of the light. Life, vibrant, is within you,kindness and serenity are your most profound traits and they will be the twothat get you the farthest in your profession. . ."

Suddenly sheturned to Ash and placed her right hand symmetrically beside her other.

"You areAutumn. You burn of a passion, a courage, to protect your family and friendsthat has brought you far, though you have faced many tribulations. . ." Atthis point, Ash turned and quirked an eyebrow at Brock as though asking whetheror not the future Breeder was still disbelieving to the woman's craft,"The wind at your back forces you onward, and you are determined never tostay in one place for very long, and thus, you continue to move fromdestination to destination. . ." The woman sighed again and both Ash andMay stared as she withdrew both of her hands and replaced them onto the table,palms up, ". . . I see. . ."

"Er, whatdo you see?" Ash asked, and May nodded, gulping anxiously as she leanedin, not wanting to miss a word.

"You two,a Spring and an Autumn, it is a very. . . decent thing for two such asyourselves to be acquainted with each other at such ripe ages!" The woman noddedaffirmatively as she went on in a much firmer tone. "You're lucky, youare."

"Lucky. .. ?" May asked, "Why?"

"I don'tthink I like where this is going. . ." Ash groaned.

"I decreethat you two would be very well-suited for one another. . ."

Ash and Maycontinued to stare, as did everyone else.

". . .for the rest of your lives."

"Wh -what. . . ?" May squeaked again, as though hardly daring to believe it.

"Youcan't be serious!" Ash said in a much louder tone, seemingly first to recover.In the background, Brock and Max looked ready to break out into peals oflaughter.

"Yea,what? That doesn't make any sense! Er. . ." May turned a bit red here andbroke off, slightly abashed, ". . . does it?"

"No, itcan't!" Ash continued in her place, "I mean, I'm two years older thanyou! We don't know each other well enough! You don't know us well enoughto tell us that we're meant to be, let alone what you just said doesn't makeany sense! And, well, no offense, May, but I don't really have any interest inyou, at least, not in that way. . ." He finished in a mumble.

The crowd thathad been there before Ash, May, Brock, and Max had arrived, the crowd that hadbeen silent for the most part beforehand, seemed to strike up a slight ofconversation at this point. Some of the people seemed to agree with Ash and Mayon the finer points of detail. . . but others were adamant about thefortunetellers skills.

". . .You do not understand. . . !" The woman started in explanation, but Ashwas growing weary of the entire ordeal, and as he still hadn't gotten hislunch, he was beginning to feel mighty temperamental.

"No, youdon't understand, lady! I'm tired, hungry, and you just got done telling methat I'm destined to be with my thirteen year old friend, May, who I don't haveany type of romantic feelings for! You may be good at telling us if we've beenthrough the wringer over the years of our training or whatever, but you don'tget to decide whether or not we end up destined to spend the rest of our liveswith a certain person, okay?" He finished with a huff, "Now. . . I'mstarving, and if I don't get my double-bacon-cheeseburgers and pizza soon,heads are gonna roll. Who's with me?"

He turned tohis friends and, not wanting to upset him any further, May, Max, and Brockbegan to follow after him, but he hadn't even taken three steps when the womancalled after him, and what she had to say made him stop in his tracks.

"I didnot say that you were destined to spend the rest of your livestogether."

He faced heragain, sighed frustratedly, unsure as to why he cared what the difference was.

"What'sit matter? Isn't all of this soulmate-stuff the same?"

"'Soulmate-stuff'?Dear, you belittle reality. There is no such thing." Ash blinked, but lether go on. "There's no such thing as destiny, fate, or a. . . soulmate.There is a certain level of compatibility between every two people, however,and you two. . ." And here the woman nodded between him and May, ". .. share quite a lot of it. This is the same for every Spring and Autumn, ofcourse, certain personal traits aside. Your traits are beautifully in tune,aren't they? Serenity, courage, kindness, passion; they are all links of thesame well-oiled chain, and one with no diversity. A relationship between thetwo of you would be, well, near perfect."

Ash and Mayjust stared at her. So did everyone else. They blinked, and then they turnedaway and began walking towards the food-court again, as though the whole courseof their adolescent lives hadn't just possibly been altered.

"Therewon't be any type of relationship, lady, believe us." Ash and May said atthe same time, and the crowd actually began to boo and hiss at them inretaliation to this conclusion.

"Waitjust a moment, dears. . . !" They didn't stop walking away this time,knowing that, if they did, they might end up being wrapped up once again intoanother foolish fortune-telling bargain, "Destiny or not, it is not wiseto ignore what you've been dealt by those who're wiser than you, children!There are consequences, and ignoring what awaits you will only make them worse.. . !"

Ash, May, andeveryone else thoughtlessly ignored her.

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Notes - Oh, no, I've startedanother one! Crap! Then again, this one is likely to be shorter. . . I think. .. And I couldn't help it. . . It sounded like a funny idea. Heh. And it's coolto think that Ash and May find it just as ludicrous as we do, that they're acouple. Heh. Yea, and next chapter, I think, I'll have Drew and Misty find outabout the whole thing, but I dunno if Misty will actually make it over to Hoennor not. . . Brock's going to call her to let her know, you see. . . ? Heh. Yea.. . Uhm. . . What to do about it?

God, I needhelp. I need to stop coming up with fic idea's. I need to stop writing up ficswhen I've still got plenty of other things to write. Uhm, thanks to gladdeceaseand Silverflare07 for their friendly-ships (heh!) with me 'causeit's making me feel a bit better. I've been feeling really depressed recently(lots of thoughts of suicide, although, now that I think about it, gladdeceasedoesn't even know about that) and I'm planning that, since it'sbecause I've been spending so much time with my mom (whose not such a funperson anymore), I plan on taking some time away from her. So, yea.

Anyway, shouldI continue with this fic first, or "The Strangest Kind of Love"? Heh.
 

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