Hello ! It's been awhile, huh? ^^; Between college, job interviews, and writer's block, I haven't really been able to sit down and write much. And then when I finally had some free time, I just wasn't able to create the same quality of work that won you guys over to begin with. I'm sorry that I haven't been fair to you all, but that ends here. No more running away. It's time to face my inner demons head on! Now then, in the last chapter of So Glad You're Safe, our young trio of heroes consisting of Brendan, May, and Wally embarked on a journey to find Steven Stone and rescue May's father, Professor Birch, from the clutches of the Devon Corporation. Arriving in Rustboro, the trio was shocked to find Steven there, who had discovered that the notorious Team Aqua had hijacked the corporation and taken all of their hostages to their base in Lilycove. With the younger Stone now among them, how will the trio fare against the likes of Team Aqua? Let's find out, shall we?
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~Team Aqua's Lilycove Headquarters~
"Now then," Matt began, cracking his knuckles and glaring menacingly at the tied up hostages. "Which one of you bros here know about this thing called Mega Evolution?"
"Mega what? What was that? Speak up, sonny," Mr. Stone quipped in an exaggerated old man voice.
"NO! Not megawatts! Mega Evolution! I know you eggheads at Devon know a thing or two about stones, so fess up now!"
"What does this have to do with me?" Professor Birch questioned aloud, squirming in his rope. "I don't even study evolution! Now a colleague of mine from Sinnoh, on the other hand…"
"For the love of Jirachi! I'm at my wits' end over here and you louts are still refusing to cooperate," Matt shouted, balling his fists.
"You're at your wits' end? How can there be an ending to something that never began?" Mr. Stone chortled, causing the other Devon employees and Birch to start laughing. Seeing this filled the Aqua Admit with an intense rage, and Matt found himself reaching for his Poke Ball and summoning his Sharpedo. Seeing this, the hostages grew quiet and Birch's eyes widened, never having seen such a fearsome Pokémon before.
"Now you've really made me mad! Fortunately for you, my bro Archie wants you lot in one piece. Doesn't mean I can't rough ya up a bit though," Matt grinned evilly. "Sharpedo, use Sla- "
Suddenly, there was a loud crash sound from outside the room they were in. Numerous Grunts could be heard shouting panicked orders and furniture could be heard being thrown across the room. Matt and the hostages stared at the door, wondering what could be causing such a ruckus. Both Mr. Stone and Professor Birch's eyes widened instinctively as they both sensed a familiar presence.
"Steven!"
"May!?"
Without warning, the door was kicked open so hard that it flew off its hinges and crashed loudly against a nearby wall, making everyone flinch. A large, burly blue Pokémon walked into the room slowly, asserting its dominance with its massive forearms.
"Swamp perswamp!"
"What the heck is THAT?" Matt asked, his Sharpedo noticeably shaking behind him. "That thing's almost as tough looking as I am!"
"You asked for a Stone?" a silver-haired man spoke, walking out from behind the Mega Swampert with a fierce scowl. "Here I am."
"Steven!" Mr. Stone cried.
"What the-!? I remember you from Southern Island! You and that brat in the hat got in our way!" Matt snarled.
"Who are you calling a brat, Matt?" May questioned angrily, also stepping out from behind the Mega Swampert.
"May!" Birch shouted.
"Daddy!" May perked up.
"Daddy?" Matt slapped a hand to his forehead. "Shelly, what did you rope us into this time…?"
"I-I'm here too, everyone," a green-haired boy stuttered, shyly looking out from behind the large water type. "Just thought I'd let you know."
Finally, a boy in a strange white cap appeared, climbing on top of the Mega Swampert's back. "It's over, Matt. Let them go."
At first, the room was quiet. Then Matt began howling with laughter.
"Gahahahaha! Well look who it is! The grand savior of Hoenn himself, and you got a crew of your own to boot! Well, no can do, little buddy. I'm on strict orders from my bro Archie to milk as much information out of these guys as possible! You want 'em, you're gonna have to go through me! Get 'em, Sharpedo!"
With a fearsome war cry, the Brutal Pokémon used Aqua Jet and charged right at our heroes only to be met with a large blue fist in response, Mega Swampert not even having moved an inch from its position. Matt could only gape in shock as his Sharpedo went flying across the room and into a wall, the impact forming a crater and rendering the Pokémon unconscious instantly.
"Woah, bro… So this is Mega Evolution's power…"
"Brendan isn't the only one with a powerful partner," Steven warned. "Leave. Now."
"Grr… Fine! But you haven't seen the last of me, little buddy," Matt snarled. "Next time is gonna be different!"
Having made his piece, Matt swiftly recalled his Pokémon and sprinted out of the room, leaving Brendan and the others to cut the hostages free of their binds.
"Oh, Dad! I'm so glad you're okay," May sobbed into her father's chest, the normally absent-minded man becoming serious.
"Now, now, May. It's alright. Honestly, this whole time I was more worried about you and your mother. I don't really care what happens to me, so long as the lights of my life are safe. Besides, you have your friends and Pokémon at your side. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Dad…"
"So, I see you finally found us after all," Mr. Stone began, addressing his son. "And here I was worried I would have to leave the company in your hands. Dohohoho!"
"Dad, please," Steven groaned. "You just got out of a potentially life-threatening situation. Is now really the time for jokes?"
"Steven, my boy, there comes a time in every lad's life where he realizes that there's nothing wrong with a little levity in any given situation. Speaking of which, how's your blonde little lady friend in Sinnoh doing?"
"D-Dad!" Steven protested.
Meanwhile, Brendan was off to the side, lost in thought. He could have sworn that Team Aqua had promised to do better after the scuffle in Sootopolis, so why would they go through the trouble of kidnapping people and framing the Devon Corporation? And for that matter, where had Team Magma disappeared to…?
"Brendan."
The boy was pulled from his thoughts by the sweet voice of his rival. "Hmm?"
"We're all heading back to Petalburg," May said with a smile, her cheery demeanor back once more. "Are you coming with?"
Brendan felt a slight tug at his heart as he gazed into his rival's steel gray eyes. He wanted to be with her right now more than ever, but he still had work to do. "Actually, I think I'll stick around here for a bit longer. Just to make sure nothing weird's going on, y'know?"
"Oh," May's smile faltered, "o-okay. Well, just c-call me anytime you want on your PokeNav, okay? And also…"
Suddenly, the brunette leaned over and kissed Brendan on the cheek, both kids now red in the face. "Thanks for saving my dad. Really, Brendan. I couldn't have done this without you."
"Y-Yeah, no problem, May…"
With that, everyone made their way out of the Aqua HQ except for our hero in the white hat, who decided to sit on a crate instead and began to think about what he should do next. As Brendan became lost in his thoughts once more, he failed to notice that a shadowy figure in a cloak had been quietly observing him in the vent above him.
'Yes,' she thought to herself. 'He'll do quite nicely.'
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Yeah… This one's left me stumped for quite a while. Not really my best work, but I suppose this is what I get for disappearing from the Internet for a year. I promise that these next few chapters will be better and will come MUCH faster than this one has. As always, any and all feedback is welcome and please feel free to check out some of my other stories if you'd like. This isn't the only story I'm returning to, and who knows? Maybe I might even post something new. Thank you so much to everyone who's read this and stay tuned for more!
