A/N: It's worth mentioning that this fic will be very flashback-driven, but I'll try and make it clear when that is happening, lol
2.
Two months later – Present time
May shuts the door behind her as she enters her hotel room, collapsing immediately on the bed and curling into its plushy comforter. At last, thinks the Champion as her tense muscles are able to relax, and she lets out a sigh as the quiet of the room sinks in. Ever since she had arrived at the Frontier her heart had felt lighter; she was truly excited about something again, and had something to look forwards to and pour her effort into. It hadn't been like this since her Pokemon journey. She rolls onto her back, legs shifting to kick off her yellow running shoes. Outside, the day is melting away and long, reaching shadows are stretching out towards the east. Day one, complete, she thinks with a smile.
She lays like this for a while, and the sun dips into Hoenn's glittering sea once again. The Frontier, operating twenty-four hours a day, lights up, one building after the other, a wonderful assortment of twinkling colors that would make one forget they were on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. The building she is in has some forty floors, but it's nothing compared to the Battle Tower which spikes up into the clouds, reflecting the rest of the Frontier off of its glass walls. I'm almost to the top, thinks May as she traces its distant outline with her eyes. Then I can fight the Frontier Brain…!
The dinner hour comes and goes and trainers excitedly make their way back out to the battle facilities. May observes this, half-hanging off of her bed. The thirteenth floor offered a view she never would've got from an ordinary Pokemon Center. Sighing, she pushes away those thoughts. The competition between the League and the Frontier was serious, and as Champion, her stance had to be one-sided.
A growl broke the serene silence of the small hotel double, and May starts, sitting up. Food… This place must have room service, right? She wanders over to the nightstand, picking up a sleek pamphlet with information on the hotel and flicking through the pages. Mightyena stirs from its place at the foot of the bed, giving its fur a few licks.
After a minute or so, the trainer locates the number for the restaurant and pads across the room to her bag. Pokenav, Pokenav… Where did I put it… Gah, no luck. I'll just use the ground line, I guess…
Just as she heads back over to the nightstand, a familiar ring cut through the air, and May swerves on her heel to her bag again, dropping to her knees. Mightyena sniffs at the noise, turning its head as well, tail twitching. Devon still hadn't released any new ringtones besides the default one, which was obnoxious, to say the very least. In the silence of the room, it felt as loud as a fire alarm.
May reaches into the outside pocket she'd neglected to search at first, frowning at the device. Whoever it was, she silently hopes they wouldn't take long – her stomach was growling once more in neediness. The trainer plops back down beside Mightyena, her free hand running along the Pokemon's black coat, earning a soft grumble. With the other, she slides open the Pokenav, blue eyes curiously scanning the electronic screen for the caller ID.
"CALL FROM: STEVEN STONE"
The ringer sounds off a third time, seeming even louder in the silence. Mightyena sits up, tilting its head at its trainer which had suddenly stopped petting. Her hand goes limp along its back; the Pokemon tries nudging the trainer with its snout, but even that accomplishes nothing. May's eyes are glued to the screen, her expression a whirlpool of a million different emotions.
Steven…? She shakes her head once, then twice, strands of brown hair falling into her face. Steven…? Why is he… The ringer sounds a fourth time, and May's hand tightens around the orange device. It would ring eight times before going to voicemail. She had to make a decision, already, to click the send button and answer or let it ring, and for some reason she can't quite understand, she desperately wants to do the latter. She scans across the unfamiliar letters again. Steven. Steven Stone. Clashing thoughts and memories hit her head at once, and she's sure she had no idea what would happen or what she might say if she took the call.
On the seventh ring, impulsively, the trainer moves her thumb and clicks the receive button, then numbly brings the object to her ear. "Hello…?" Her other hand moves to her chest, clenched and hovering over her heart which was beating wildly in anticipation. Her legs wobble, and she finds that the hotel room no longer feels as comfortable as it just had. Biting her lip, the Champion awaits a response.
"Hello?" The voice isn't Steven's, despite the horrible reception. "Is this… May?"
It's a feminine voice, quiet, and definitely not a Hoenn native – she'd lived in the region long enough to tell. Robotically, she responds: "Yes, this is May, the current Hoenn League Champion." She cringes at how unlike her she sounds. "C-can I help you?" She stumbles over her words in her confusion. "May I ask who this is?"
"Right, ah… My name is Dawn…" May's hand has moved to the bed now, fingers drumming on the comforter, earning a curious gaze from Mightyena. The accent… she just can't pinpoint its origin. "I'm also the current Sinnoh League Champion, though… That doesn't really concern… why I'm calling…"
Oh, that answers that, she thinks, slumping over a little, resting an elbow on her knee. Her brown eyebrows scrunch together. B-but… Sinnoh League Champion-? Wait… "Oh, I- is this about… The Frontier challenge? My absence from the League?"
"No. I'm calling about this 'Steven Stone'…" The name snaps May back to reality, back to the caller ID that didn't match up with this voice. Steven. Dawn. Sinnoh. The three names float around in her mind and she struggles to piece them together.
"What's going on?" she says, abruptly. In her mind she tries to connect the dots. Steven was a reserved person, and she doubted he'd ever lend someone his Pokenav… unless… Her eyebrows twitch. What was the relationship this girl had with him? If she was using his Pokenav… May looks over the fact that in order to use a Pokenav long-distance – for example, from Sinnoh to Hoenn – one had to be connected to a phone receiver in a Pokemon Center. Her mind wanders further as the trainer on the other end of the line collects her own thoughts, and her hand moves from drumming against the bed to squeezing shut and opening again, her palms beginning to sweat. Champion of Sinnoh… It wouldn't be that weird, for an ex-champion and the champion of another region to hook up, would it…? But the thought rubs May the wrong way.
"Something's happened to him…" The careful reply comes after what seemed to May like an eternity, and she freezes.
"What…?" Suddenly her thoughts become rational again, jumping to the only other reason she would have his Pokenav… "Is he okay?"
A sigh, faint, but audible, comes from the speaker, but for once May is patient. "I'm not sure. Something strange has happened to him. I think you should see for yourself. Come to Snowpoint City, in Sinnoh…"
Her thoughts begin to swirl again, and May suddenly begins to pace through the room, agitating the sleepy Mightyena once more. "S…Sinnoh? Wait, what? What's wrong with him…? Is that where he is?"
"Like I said, I'm not sure, but… I think it would be best if you came… I've already contacted someone else who I think can help, but… given your background I think it would be best if you got here as soon as possible, too…" The girl has a strange way of speaking, but May doesn't get any bad vibes from her.
The girl shakes her head again and huffs. "What is it, though? Is he sick, or something…? I'm sure if you called President Stone – err, that's… his father – I'm sure he could get him an airlift if it's… serious…"
"That's not an option, I'm afraid…" mutters the so-called Sinnoh Champion. "And although he's his dad, I'm not sure he would be as reliable as you… Not that I know you, but you're the Champion and apparently have a history with Steven, so…"
May pauses in her pacing, making a face as her stomach twists, shifting the Pokenav to another hand. Just minutes ago, everything had seemed so slow and serene, like there was no rush for once in her life, and now suddenly with this one conversation everything seemed to be moving at mach speed. "S-Sinnoh… Arceus, I… I can't just run over there… I'm in the middle of challenging the Frontier-… I'm the Champion, the League would be pissed…"
For the first time, the girl's voice seems to have a tinge of emotion in it – disappointment. "I called you because I thought you could help your friend."
Steven. This wasn't about Dawn or Sinnoh, May has to remind herself - something had happened to Steven, according to her, something his father himself couldn't be let in on for whatever reason… It was a reason, too, simply to seek him out without feeling ridiculous. May moves to the window, staring out over the glittering landscape of the Frontier. In the darkness of the room, the colors seep through the glass and cast different neon hues across her pale face as her expression shifts.
So many words had been left unsaid. Obviously, the current Sinnoh League Champion must know what the Hoenn Champion is up to, especially something as big as taking a leave of absence. This is exactly what Dawn happened to be thinking – that this girl was already on vacation, in somewhere as trivial as the Battle Frontier, and had to even consider leaving to help a friend in need – perhaps, the Sinnoh trainer thought, she had misinterpreted the relationship the two had. After all, they hadn't shown up together much in the media recently.
Back in the hotel room, May forces herself to come to a decision. She glances over at Mightyena as if seeking approval from her Pokemon, but the beast only offers her a curious tilt of his fluffy head. "I… I'll find a way over there, then."
"As soon as possible, please," is Dawn's reply, once again stoic and unreadable.
"Yes," responded May, resuming her pacing across the floor. "Where, in Sinnoh? Am I meeting you?" I don't even know how to get to Sinnoh, she mourns, though neglects to mention this, not wanting to reveal just how naïve she was to an opposing Champion. "And how long do you think this might take…?"
"…Snowpoint City, in northern Sinnoh… It's a port city, so you should probably be able to find a ship here, since I hear Hoenn has a lot of sea travel… I'll be staying at the Pokemon Center there…" She pauses, collecting herself – the Hoenn Champion has certainly given her an onslaught of questions, but given the vagueness of the situation, it's understandable. "I don't know how long it could take."
May furrows her brow once more and sighs deeply. She glances around her hotel room, empty save for Mightyena. Her thoughts move briefly to Brendan, also at the Frontier, and Wallace filling in for her at the League, of her family cheering her on in her challenge, and all the Gym Leaders, of Wally… How would they take this, should she even tell them…? What would the League think when they found out? The trainer shakes her head, urging herself to take it one step at a time, reminding herself of what may be at stake. Regardless, she thinks, I gotta find out what happened to Steven. No matter what happens. "I'll try to be there as soon as possible, Dawn."
"Good… I don't think these Pokenavs can call long distance without being at a Pokemon Center, so maybe… Just call before you leave, or once you get here." There's a rumbling in the background, followed by a strange noise that made May think briefly of the screech of a Golbat. "…I gotta go. I'll see you here, Champion May."
Just as abruptly and sudden as the call had begun, it ends, and May slides her Pokenav shut, feeling numb. She stands in place for a while until Mightyena, worried for its trainer, hops off of the bed and nudges her side. Humming, she bends down to pat the Pokemon's head once again, the soft fur giving her a brief comfort. She doesn't realize it, but her knees are shaking. Most of what May is conscious of is the unsettling memories that have suddenly resurfaced in her mind, of a time not so long ago when there were scary, vague, unsafe things happening like what Dawn had implied. Kyogre and Groudon…
Nausea settles in May's stomach and she forgets about her dinner, instead settling back into the bed, Mightyena curling up at the foot once again. She brings her knees to her chest, hugging her legs, appearing very small in the queen-size mattress. All thoughts of the Frontier, and the previous 12 hours, all the warmth and comfort and confidence of them suddenly disappear, replaced only with the looming fear of what had happened to Steven, mingled with the haunting memories from that battle. May sighs, focusing her thoughts instead on Sinnoh. How she might get there, how she might excuse herself from her Frontier challenge and from her position as Champion, and do this without giving away the reason for her sudden northern vacation. On and on she works out the details, until she drifts off into an unsteady slumber.
May sleeps restlessly, tossing and turning, disturbing poor Mightyena until he gives up and moves to the floor. Morning came perhaps too quickly, the sun bursting brilliantly from the ocean and replenishing the sky of its color. The light, shining through the room's wide windows, causes May to stir from her sleep and groan. "Morning… already… Mmf…"
She momentarily forgets about the previous night's events, opting to sleep in an extra hour since it was technically the weekend, and her next battle in the Tower wasn't until Monday. However, after five or so minutes of dozing as the sky continues to shift through a spectrum of pastels, she remembers the conversation and sits up.
Her hands pat around on the bed frantically until she finds her Pokenav, hidden beneath the folds of the comforter. Anxious, she searches the "recent calls page", and inhales sharply when she sees Steven's name at the top of it. So it was… true…
She takes a shaky sigh, sitting back against the mahogany headboard and staring at the ceiling that's a shade of blue that seems to want to mimic the color of the sky. Her voice is hardly above a whisper, but clear in the room's silence – "What should I do…"
The answer was obvious, and it comes to May in the form of Dawn's voice, crackly and difficult to decipher in the Pokenav's reception, even in her own mind: "As soon as possible." She sighs.
Outside, a familiar sockhead is clambering down the hall. He stops at a door, not bothering to double check the number, and knocks a little too vigorously for 8AM.
"May!" His voice is deep, but his tone is still casual and not the least bit professional. "You up yet?"
May huffs in response to the outburst and hops out of bed, nudging Mightyena with her foot. "Just a minute, Brendan-" she pauses, yawning. "Geez, I thought it was the weekend…"
The reply had been quiet, but Brendan's ears, perhaps fine-tuned from the field research he'd been doing, picks it up. "C'mon, you're the one who wanted to train this weekend. If you wanna cancel, you coulda at least picked up the phone earlier and told me before I came all the way up here…"
May frowns as she pulls on her signature shirt. Right, I guess there were a few missed calls from him….
"Anyway, I'll be waiting on the ground floor, now that you're up," he calls again, sounding a little less irritated. "Geez… hard to believe you're Norman's kid, sometimes."
May rolls her eyes at this. Everyone expects me to be his carbon copy, huh…? The thought of her father reminds her, however, of her impending trip – and how she will manage to tell her family of her sudden change in plans. She pauses while buckling her yellow bag around her waist, lips twitching into a frown. I'll figure something out.
Fifteen minutes is how long it takes for May to prepare herself, and downstairs Brendan is groaning in impatience. She clicks the elevator button and watches the screen at the top of the doorway number up and up, absently.
As soon as possible.
May bites her lip and her gaze moves to the floor. Her projected progress in the Battle Tower essentially had her fighting the Frontier Brain by the end of the week. But given Dawn's cryptic words and her own vow to get moving as soon as possible, a week almost seems like too long. She steps into the elevator as it opens and clicks the button for the first floor with one gloved hand, her stomach lurching. Suddenly, even the short time she spent preparing herself for the day seems like too much of a waste. Steven – something had happened to Steven… I should be on the boat, by now…
Before her anxieties can progress further, the door opens and Brendan, across the lobby, stands up from his seat on the couch, Pokeballs in hand. "C'mon!" He calls, running for the sliding glass doors that lead outside into Hoenn's beating hot sunlight. May follows, her footsteps uneven, uncertain.
In one of the dozens of the Frontier's extra battlefields, the two rivals duke it out in a familiar and almost nostalgic battle that ends with Blazekin KO'ing Swampert with a searing-hot Overheat. Losing to the Champion isn't exactly a new experience for Brendan Birch, but this battle was close, too close, even, and for once his ego is able to step to the side, enough that he notices something different in his friend's behavior.
As the two recall their Pokemon, Brendan mutters a word of thanks to the ball, noticing May does not do the same, simply tucking the object away and gazing absently at the ground. Very unlike the usually energetic girl. He jogs across the battlefield. "May! Hell-o! Anyone in there?" She glances up, and Brendan nudges her shoulder. "Spacing out? Not like you."
She blinks. "Oh, er… Sorry."
Now it was obvious to Brendan that something was on her mind. Usually his teasing was met with a huff, at the very least. Raising an eyebrow, he gestures towards the food plaza in the center of the Frontier. "How bout we grab some food while our Pokemon heal?"
May takes a breath, realizing with shock that she hadn't eaten dinner last night. "Definitely," she replies.
Brendan gives a thumbs up and runs on ahead. "Alrighty." Geez, if a Pokemon battle can't bring her back into reality, maybe food will.
"May."
What will I tell them…? I can't even explain it truthfully, since I don't know the details…
"Maaaaaaaay."
But there's no way I can get away without telling them… Uhg…
"May!" Something hits the girl's face and she's snapped from her daze. She glances across the table, shaded by a large red and white umbrella, at Brendan. He's holding up his chopsticks in one hand, and his other is stretched out as if he'd just flicked something. She glances down to her plate, which has been empty for a few minutes. There's a chunk of meat dumpling on it.
"…Hey, what was that for?" She protests, resting her elbows on the table.
Brendan deadpans. "Spacing out, again."
"…Oh, sorry."
May catches the suspicious look that the boy casts her way at this, but isn't really sure how to confront it. Brendan is a bit of a wild card, and she'd been considering telling him, but…
"Well, at this rate, I think you definitely need a break," he says all of the sudden, sounding like he's reached some grand conclusion.
May looks up, blinking. A breeze blew across the courtyard they sat in, threatening to blow away the plastic utensils and napkins. The trainer reaches up to keep her hair out of her eyes. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
The trainer and professor in-training points towards the Champion with his chopsticks. "You, May. I dunno what's up, and I don't wanna pry, but whatever's on your mind, it's affecting your battling. Let's see… You're out of sync with your Pokemon. You're not focused."
There's a small burst of hostility in May's chest, partly because of his criticism and partly because it's right. "I don't remember asking you for your advice, Associate Professor."
He shrugs, smiling sardonically. "Well, I can get your dad over here to give his professional diagnosis, but I'm sure he'd say the same thing, Ms. Champion. Think about it – if you're not on game now and you lose, you're gonna blow the whole thing up, all the progress you made this whole time. But if you take a break until you're feeling better and are back on your game, then there's nothing lost, is there? It's not like you'd have to restart the challenge."
May's shoulders slumped over as she sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right."
"…That being said, are you gonna tell me what's going on, or what?" asked the boy, taking in another mouthful of food.
May tenses, her feet shifting beneath the table. "I… I, uh… I have to… This is gonna sound ridiculous, but I have to go all the way to Sinnoh for something." She laughs nervously, trying to diffuse the weight of the statement.
"Shinnoh?" Brendan objects through a mouthful of food. "Are you sherioush?!"
"Yeah…" May nervously brings a hand to her neck and grins. "I don't know how long it'll take."
He swallows his food, but still peers at May with suspicion. "You're just gonna ditch this whole Frontier thing? Isn't the League gonna be on your ass about this?"
May clenches her hands into fists beneath the table. "That's… what I'm feeling down about…" It wasn't entirely a lie. "I'm just angry that after all that planning, I gotta leave, you know? But…" Lying is difficult for May. She struggled with it during her journey through Hoenn, dealing with Team Aqua and keeping her involvement from her family. Lying about the ordeal with Groudon and Kyogre had been a bit easier, since it was so much more detached, completely unimaginable to her mother and father… but this was something she felt guilty about. "It's… The League's the reason I'm going over there. It's, err, Champion business."
Still… not entirely a lie… May thinks, giving another shaky chuckle.
Brendan only rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, May, the League are a bunch of stuck up idiots. No offense to you and your dad. They're probably just doing this because they're mad you're spending so much time at the Frontier."
How the boy had changed, May thought, remembering a time when he'd been just as hungry for the title of Champion has she had been. It was better for them both, though, to diverge in interests, her getting involved with the League and he, studying Pokemon and taking interest in the Frontier. In a way, it had strengthened their friendship. The Champion sighs at the professor. "Either way, I have to go. But, that's the other thing. I…" She hesitates again, and thinks back to Dawn and Steven. "The League didn't want me to tell anyone about this trip, technically… so…"
Brendan had already dropped his chopsticks. He sticks out his arm, giving his friend a thumbs-up. "No problemo, May. If anyone asks me, you're off in hardcore training for the Frontier Brains."
A wave of comfort hits May at this and she slumps over onto the table a little more. "Thanks so much, Brendan. You don't know how much this means. But seriously, you can't tell anyone. Not even my parents. Which will be hard, since my dad is super suspicious about almost everything I do."
The boy shrugs. "Please, I can handle it. As a Professor in-training, it's my job to contain the world's darkest secrets, right?" May sits up at this, frowning in concern, and Brendan brushes it off quickly, shaking his hands. "Kidding, kidding. But it's no biggie… But, gee, this must be a pretty big deal if not even the Gym Leaders are in on it, huh?"
May nods. "Yeah, it's, um… between the Champions, or at least I think."
"Heh, I understand, Champion business only," Brendan chimes, his voice surprisingly lacking any bitterness towards the exclusivity of the subject. "Well, if business here is concluded, I'm gonna head over to the Battle Pike and take some notes."
May stands, picking up her tray and smiling. "Gee, you've really grown, Brendan."
Her rival follows suite, and they weave between the umbrella tables to the nearest trash can. "Yeah, well, you too, May. Later!"
May wastes no time in escaping the island atop Salamence, though it takes some effort to maneuver through the crowds of trainer or trainer-fanatics, find a remote spot, and fly off without causing a scene. Salamence is fast and as healthy as ever, though, gliding across the sea with grace. Behind the Pokemon, sea water sprays up in either direction, the size growing with each flap of its massive wings. May takes a deep breath of the salty air, sitting back on the Pokemon's back, which is equipped with a sturdy leather harness Drake had gifted to her not long ago.
As long as my Pokemon are with me, it'll be alright, she assures herself.
Salamence slows as they move along, rising higher into the sky, and soon the stark white ridges of Sootopolis appear on the horizon. May had debated not telling Wallace about her leave, due to the fact that Dawn had called her and not him, after all. But given the fact that he was Steven's closest friend, and that Wallace was already doing her the favor of filling in as Champion, she knew she had to tell him what had happened.
It's the late afternoon when the two land at the rim of Sootopolis, beside Wallace's mansion. May had called him ahead of time to say she was coming, but like the Sinnoh Champion, wanted to tell the man of the news in person.
It was particularly windy in Sootopolis that day, the breeze rustling the plains of grass that led down into the suburbs. May is grateful for the bandana she kept bound around her hair. Salamence moves to shield its trainer, but she merely chuckes. "I can handle some wind, big guy."
The front door squeaks, and Wallace emerges from his palace, holding his hat in place with a large hand, his white cloak billowing out behind him. As usual, he looks almost too extravagant. He and Steven always appeared to be almost too perfect on magazine covers or trainer guides, both giving off the image of royalty or nobility, of magnificence. May looks herself over, and feels her heart twist. Ordinary was the first word that comes to her mind.
"Boy, it's windy out today! I don't suppose this is the work of another Legendary Pokemon, huh?" Wallace hums as he approaches May on the pathway.
The younger trainer forces a smile at the comment, pretending it hadn't sent an tinge of fear down her spine.
He makes a face. "Sorry, bad taste, bad taste. Come on now, let's get lunch."
May had learned that Wallace, for all his grace, was stubborn and one of the Gym Leaders you just couldn't argue with on some things, so she follows him down into the bowels of the lively city as Salamence spreads its wings and takes to the skies again.
A/N: Excuse any of the weird tense changes in this one. The whole time I was writing this over the course of a few months I couldn't for the life of me decide what tense and POV I wanted it in - I switched around from 1st/3rd and past/present and settled on what's here.
To clarify, the scenes taking place in the past will be in past tense, like the first chapter. The present storyline will be in present tense. It'll get clearer once things progress, promise ;)