Drew knocked on the door of the Petalburg gym. An unfamiliar man answered, "Can I help you?" Drew, puzzled, replied, "Uh, yeah, I'm looking for… the gym leader."

"That would be me."

Drew was beyond confused at this point. "No, I mean… Norman. Where is he?"

The man sighed and gave the teenager a sincerely concerned look. "You didn't hear, did you?"

"Hear what? What's going on?"

"The Maple family… they passed away three months ago in a car accident. It was an awful tragedy. And I have to say, it's great being a gym leader, but I still feel guilty in this position of replacement. Norman was a good man."

Drew was lost for words. He almost let out a few tears, but wouldn't let it happen.

"…Although," the man spoke again. "Their daughter May is still alive, but she's not here anymore. It's a true miracle that one of them is still okay."

Drew looked up. "What? May's still alive? Where is she?!"

"I believe she's living with her uncle in Odale now. What was it called… Maple Studio? Maple Productions?"

"Got it. Thanks," Drew said quickly before he took off running for Odale.

"With everything that poor girl's gone through… at least she has a nice man who cares for her," the man said under his breath.

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"May… I tried talking to him and getting you out if it. I'm sorry. I really tried," Layla said as she was fixing May's hair for the show.

"That's okay, I'll be fine. I appreciate you trying…" May said with a forced smile, looking down.

"May, come here," Tom said from across the room.

"So, your role tonight is going to be different. Layla said you didn't want to kiss James anymore, so ya know what? You don't have to."

May let out a sigh of relief.

"Instead, tonight we're going to do a… diving bit. In the last scene, you'll be handcuffed and thrown into a tank of water. But don't worry, they'll pull you out at the end."

He walked away and whispered to Layla, "If you tell her, then you and your brother are next." Layla silently gasped in fear, and looked over at her brother mopping the wooden stairs.

"Wow. I guess he listened to you after all," May said, sitting back down.

"Yeah… guess so," said Layla softly, holding back the tears. She finished her makeup, put a crown on her head, and gave her some sparkly ruby shoes.

It was a full house that night. The lights went dim and the show began. Pat, the director, came out and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we present to you something like no other: 'Sorrow.' Enjoy the show."

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Drew arrived at the building halfway through the show. "Hey, I need to talk to May Maple. Is she here?" he asked the ticket receptionist. "Sorry man, but if you wanna go in there, you'll need a ticket."

"Fine, give me a ticket then."

He paid and ran in. The seats were full, but he wasn't interested in watching in the first place. He opened a door, one that Tom had accidentally forgotten to lock, and walked down the hallway, in hopes of finding May.

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The other actors were on stage doing their thing. "Maple, you're on stage in 60 seconds," Pat said.

"Well, here goes."

"May…" Layla spoke.

"Yeah?"

"You… you look beautiful."

"Thank you. I have a wonderful stylist."

She was escorted out by the others, and when they stepped on stage, the crowd stood up and started cheering excitedly.

"Excuse me?" Layla turned around and saw a green-haired boy standing there, out of breath. "I'm looking for May Maple. Do you know her?"

Tears started spilling down Layla's face. "Yes. I know her."

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"Ladies and gentlemen, you will remember this night," Pat said into the microphone.

The guys handcuffed May's hands behind her back and led her up the ladder to the tank. Pat gave the signal, and they pushed her in. The audience roared with excitement, and May remained in the tank, holding her breath, just waiting for them to pull her out.

She waited, but she wasn't being pulled out. Soon enough she couldn't handle it anymore and tried to surface, but they had covered the top of the tank. She then realized what was happening. This truly would be the last night of the routine.

She struggled, trying to get the cuffs off and trying to break the glass, but it was no use. When the audience realized what was happening, they screamed in horror and looked away. Soon she stopped trying to fight. And for a moment, she felt… peace. A kind of peace that was out of this world and that she had never felt before. And she thought she heard the words: "Joy will come."

"May! No!" Drew came running on stage. He used an axe he found backstage and broke the tank and pulled her out. The audience cheered, thinking it was all part of the act. Pat, going along with it all, closed out like he always did and the curtains were closed.

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"May? May can you hear me?" There was no response for a few minutes, but in due time the petite brunette opened her eyes and realized she was resting in the arms of the man she loved. "Drew? What ha- is this real life?" The green-haired man smirked and said, "You don't miss anything, do you?"

Ecstatic, she sat up and wrapped her arms around him. Layla was ecstatic too, for she thought that was going to be the last night she'd ever see her friend.

A furious Tom came storming in. "HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing? Do you think that was cute, that little stunt you pulled?! And YOU. *Points to Layla*. You said something, didn't you? Well I tell you, I'm not holding back on my word. You and your brother Jared are both-"

"Not so fast!" An officer Jenny army came running in, shortly after Drew made the call. "Tom Maple, you are under arrest for human labor trafficking." The man was handcuffed and escorted outside, and the laborers were all set free.

"Drew, I… I'm sorry I never got back to you. You wouldn't believe-"

"May, I know. Trust me, I understand. It's okay. Let's get out of here."

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The two walked down the streets of Odale for hours. May was filling him in on everything, and eventually, she unintentionally admitted, "I really like you and I've missed you and there's no one on earth I'd rather spend my life with." She freaked out and blushed when she realized she said that. Drew, for the first time, found the strength to swallow his pride and say, "Me too. I'm done pretending. I came to find you because I care about you. And tonight made me realize that I don't have all the time in the world to wait around before telling you, so I'm not gonna play this game anymore. I like you."

May was at a loss for words, but in a good way. Drew handed her a rose. "Not for Beautifly. For you, and always for you." He looked over and smirked in the way she had missed so much.

"Hey May, wait a second."

They turned around and saw Layla running up behind them. "Are you going to be okay?"

May looked at Drew and smiled, and looked back at her. "Yeah. I'll be fine." Layla smiled and whispered in her ear: "He's the one, isn't he?"

May smiled and nodded. Layla hugged her and turned around and started walking. She stopped for a second, turned her head and said, "May? I want you to always remember one thing: soon He will perforate the fabric of the peaceful by and by."

With that, she was off. May stood there, at first confused, but moments later she understood with complete clarity. Someday she would be reunited with her family. This clarity was like when she heard the words "joy will come" while she was in the tank. There was Something so much greater that she'd been missing in her heart this whole time. Something so much more than she could've ever imagined.

"Someone said those exact words to me the other day, before I left to find you," Drew said, as he stood there frozen.

"Drew… I think there's something greater we need to pursue. Something greater than a big, golden cup."

Drew looked at her with wide eyes. "You mean-"

She looked up towards the sky and whispered, "For just one second I felt whole, as You flew right through me."

She looked back at Drew. "You know, Layla told me she used to go to this fellowship group when she lived in Orre. Drew, let's go to Orre."

It was then that Drew realized what the man back in La Rousse was talking about. He realized why he was feeling so empty, realized what that band was singing about, and realized what was missing in him.

"Let's go to Orre."

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Pat, now a free man, sat by a lake on the edge of Odale that night, and watched the couple walk out into the distance. As he watched them, he softly spoke the words: "Sorrow lasts through the night, but joy will come in the morning."

A/N: THE END. This story was a lot of fun to write, and I must say I'm feeling inspired now and will likely write more in the future.

So confession: I literally wrote this whole story in one day, one sitting. Took maybe a couple hours lol. I've learned not to do that in future fics, but if there are any obvious mistakes, lack of organization, etc. that's probably why. :P

I know the whole tank concept is what some might call morbid, but again, it's NOT meant to be morbid and it's based off a music video, and I just added a backstory to it all. I strongly encourage anyone who reads this to watch it. Flyleaf – Sorrow. They're a phenomenal band.

Feedback is still welcome (: I really love and appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this story. My first, but hopefully not my last. We'll see. So… yeah. Review if you want and I'll see you next time. ;D

2017 update: Please remember what I said at the beginning, kay? (: