May could barely remember anything that happened later.
Following the pillar of light that had already disappeared, reaching Seafloor Cavern, diving in the cold water, and finally resurfacing just to see the stolen submarine. The whole place was packed with Team Magma grunts, but the deeper the brunette girl got in the cave, the less willing they were to fight. Some of them were tired, and nearly noone knew what Maxie was actually going to do.
They follow his ideas so blindly they don't even bother questioning anything? May was pretty shocked by that turn of events. All she knew was that she had to reach the core of the cavern as soon as it was possible.
The blue-eyed trainer's memories of what happened next were even hazier.
In the deepest chamber of Seafloor Cavern she found Maxie standing in front of a pool of magma. He was laughing maniacally as he saw her and Archie appear. The heat in the cave wasn't helping May in focusing either.
And then, she saw it. The legendary, super-ancient Pokemon everyone feared of. Groudon. The only person who seemed unfazed by its presence was the Team Magma Leader. After all, it was his goal to awaken it and obtain its power for himself. He said something about 'introductions' and his goals, but nothing mattered at the moment.
May knew she had to do everything she could to stop him. Steven was counting on her. So she challenged Maxie to a battle. It was one of the toughest fights she'd been through. Her opponent surprised her when he admitted to having a Key Stone on his own. The brunette girl felt forced to use the Mega Evolution on her own if she wanted to win.
The leader of Team Magma didn't lose his "good mood" even after his defeat. Laughing like a madman, he dared to call May "a hero", who had decided to defy his ideals. The girl felt a faint pain in her heart, when she heard that. She could recall Maxie being so proud of everything he'd been doing, saying nothing would stop him. Not even Admin Tabitha, who tried to tell him this will all bring a disaster upon our world.
Maxie didn't listen to anyone, when he raised his hand holding the Red Orb, waiting for Groudon to absorb its power and undergo Primal Reversion. At that point, the young trainer felt helpless. She could only stand in that terrible heat and watch things unfold.
Only after someone from outside reported to Maxie that the heat outside was far stronger than they'd expected, he came back to his senses. They all left in hurry, with Tabitha yelling to May to go with them.
What… Did that mean? And what just happened…? She stared at the pool of magma, still unable to understand what she'd just witnessed. But there was one thing she was sure of. She shook her head and sprinted out of the cave. This is bad! I need to see what's going on the surface!
The moment she appeared above the water level, her face was hit by a terrible heatwave. The air was too dry, the girl could barely breathe. She wanted to look around, to see how things had changed, but the sunlight was too harsh for her eyes.
May didn't focus on what the people around her were talking about. Just a few sentences, sounding more like panic than triumph. Soon, they were gone.
And now, she was left behind.
The girl covered her eyes, hoping to hide from the sun, but the sea was reflecting the light, still blinding May nearly completely. She gave up and squatted, closing her eyes.
Standing on the shallow part of the sea aimlessly, she tried to rethink everything she'd heard in the cavern. If this isn't what Team Magma wanted, then what is it...? Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a sound of Pokemon's wings and a shout:
"May! Are you alright?!"
She dared to open her eyes and look at the person calling her. "Steven..." She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be here sooner…" He jumped off his Skarmory and returned it to its Pokeball. "Terrible. So that's what was depicted in the Granite Cave…"
May blinked few times to get used to the blinding sunlight. She still had to look at the silver-haired man with narrowed eyes.
"Right. You couldn't be here sooner," she said bitterly. "But you sure found time to send me here."
Steven looked at her and sighed heavily. "I do realise it was… Stupid. Before you ask, no, I didn't want you to stop Team Magma by yourself and save this world. I just couldn't think of anyone else at that moment." He ran his hand through his hair. He hadn't thought about that this way earlier, so guilt was slowly getting to him. After a minute of silence, he murmured: "If this doesn't stop... All Hoenn- no, the whole world will burn up. Nothing can live in this dreadful blaze…"
May stood up and looked at the man, this time with fully-opened eyes. "Why do we even have to deal with it?" she asked, with indifferent face. Steven looked at her in surprise. "There are stronger trainers… Like, I don't know, the Champion?" she asked with a bit of contempt in her voice.
"How can you tell the Champion isn't doing anything?" The silver-haired man crossed his arms and asked in a serious tone.
"Because all I can see are just a teenage girl and a rock maniac worrying themselves with the fate of this world." May put her hands on her hips. Even though you might be a bit more than just a rock maniac, being son of a big company's president…
"Rock maniac… Was that supposed to be an insult?" He furrowed his eyebrows. May giggled in response.
"Well, I don't know how to make it sound more serious."
"Don't use the word maniac, thank you very much." She could pick a hint of annoyance in his voice. Steven sighed and closed his eyes in thought. "Come on, Steven... Think! What are you going to do?"
The brunette girl looked back at the sea. Seriously. How is this our concern? She thought it might have been her eyes playing tricks on her, but it looked as if the water level kept decreasing.
"No. There's no point in worrying like that from here." The silver-haired man clenched his fists. " I'm going to Sootopolis. There must be some answers there."
Am I supposed to follow him there? May didn't look at Steven. She just wished she wouldn't be involved in any of this anymore. And yet, she knew that she would be for sure, because of that one particular Orb she'd been given.
"I know how this is going to sound to you after what happened here… But I'll count on you to help with this crisis." He relased his Skarmory from the Pokeball and petted its beak. "... May?"
"Sure, sure…" she turned around to mumble in response and nearly rolled her eyes. "At least tell me, what in the world do you expect from me? To play the role of a goddamn hero and save Hoenn?"
Steven raised his eyebrows in shock. "And when did I say such a thing?"
The brunette girl stared at him without a word. That's right. He didn't say it… But somehow I know he's going to be as responsible as Maxie turned out to be. The tone she used in her own thoughts was so sarcastic, she felt a slight smile appear on her face. That only confused Steven even more.
"Just… Promise you won't do anything reckless," he responded with concern in his voice.
I'll try.
"Well then… I'll go ahead to Sootopolis. Good luck to you." The silver-haired man flew off on his Pokemon.
May was sure this was harmful to her eyesight but she couldn't resist following him with her eyes. She could barely see the Skarmory as it was further and further until it disappeared from her line of sight completely.
Only after Steven was actually gone, she started to feel scared. The silence around her was overwhelming, and there was nobody around either. The sunlight was slowly starting to burn her skin, too.
The brunette girl took out the Blue Orb of her bag. 'The Red and Blue Orb should never be separated'… So I do have to go to Sootopolis.
"Maybe I'll have to play that role of a hero after all." She smirked, talking to herself. "There will be time for stupid love confessions later."
a/n: My first attempt at writing this chapter turned out angsty as hell. I don't even know how *shrugs*
Also I hate this chapter. At first I ignored writing the first part and just focused on Steven and May's conversation. Then I had to somehow "fill in" the space and write a quick summary of what happened before. Dang it. The next one should be better.
