Island Wolf: Yes, I'm back! I apologize for not getting my arse in gear and updating sooner but I've got through a hellish couple of weeks, between music festival, prepping for winter games, massive amounts of school work and tests, university applications and not to mention and art show at the end of the month I'm participating in. So yeah, apologies :P hopefully I'll get a chance to sit down and do some actual writing now that I've got some time off school fast approaching. Oh by the way this chapter was my favorite so far, enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except ze plot


As soon as May began to scream Maxie's dark brown eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, trying to determine whether or not he was dreaming. When it became obvious that he was indeed awake he practically leapt off of the couch and sprinted up the stairs. He winced when he threw her door open with a loud bang, but swiftly grew more preoccupied with the room's occupant. May was thrashing about on the bed, tangled in the sheets and screaming bloody murder. Without thinking he immediately tried to grab onto her shoulders and calm her down, however as soon as he did so she froze and her eyes snapped open.

They were cobalt blue.

She took one look at him before immediately resuming her struggling, screaming for him to let go. Bewildered by her reaction the former Team Magma leader attempted to retain his hold but it only seemed to agitate her further. With something akin to a snarl she managed to wrench one arm free and rammed her elbow into his throat as hard as the close quarters would allow. Maxie's reaction was instantaneous. He released her, pain blossoming in his throat, his hands instinctively coming up to his neck as he struggled to breathe. Seizing the opportunity May shoved him off of the bed and disentangled herself from the sheets bolting for the door. Maxie growled and took pursuit. She'd barely made it to the stairs when he caught up with her and used his bulk to pin her against the wall.

"Miss Maple!" He barked as she clawed at his arm in an attempt to escape, "Snap out of it! I am not here to harm you!"

"Get away from me!" She shrieked, "Let me go this instant! I will not let them take me again!"

"Miss Maple please calm down!" Maxie snapped, "No one is going to take you, you must stop this!"

"No, no I – Steven, where is Steven?" She whimpered as her struggles morphed into uncontrollable shivering and she began tugging at the metal collar around her neck. Maxie slackened his hold slightly and shifted his grip so that he was holding her by the arms rather then pinning her against the wall.

"Do you want me to take you to Steven?" He asked gently. Upon seeing her nod he let her go, "Wait here alright? I will take you to him but you must do as I say."

Instead of answering the young woman slid down to the floor, hugging her knees like a frightened child. Maxie growled and ran a hand through his tangled hair as he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He snatched the phone from the cradle and dialled Steven's number. The first ring had barely gotten through when he heard a breathless voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Steven – I'm bringing Miss Maple to the league headquarters; I think the collar needs to be removed as soon as possible."

"Are you sure its time?"

"Her eyes have returned to their normal hue and she acting quite – emotional. I don't think it would be wise to put this off any longer."

"Alright we'll have everything prepped for your arrival."

Without bothering to respond he hung up the phone and went into the living room to grab a blanket before heading back up the stairs to May who was still huddled next to the wall whimpering. She looked up at him and scuttled backwards, shaking from head to toe, a far cry from the ferocious young woman who'd thrown him off only short moments ago.

"I'm going to take you to Steven alright?" He murmured, his movements slow and careful as if he were approaching a frightened animal, "Just trust me."

May's cobalt eyes looked him up and down for a moment before reaching out a trembling out towards him. He smiled reassuringly and took her hand, pulling her up to her feet and draping the blanket around her shoulders before leading her down the stairs and towards the porch. He paused to pull on his boots and snatch his keys before gathering his petite companion up in his arms and carrying her out to the truck, depositing her into the passenger seat before climbing into the driver's side and starting the truck, the diesel engine roaring to life. Maxie's mouth was set in a hard line as he drove down onto the main road and then onto the highway. He gave her a sidelong glance when he heard her whimper.

"Please try to relax; I promise no harm will come to you May."

He heard her whimpers gradually subside, but while she seemed to calm down he felt his own heart begin racing.

He had called her May.


With a disregard to the speed limit and a lucky absence of highway enforcement the trip to the league's headquarters only took a couple of hours. The truck had barely come to a stop before Maxie threw it in park and jumped out, rounding the front to the passenger side where he gathered May up into his arms again and carried her inside.

They were greeted by a multitude of surgical staff headed by Steven who immediately proceeded to relieve Maxie of his burden. The former leader of Team Magma watched as she was carried out of sight before slumping into one of the battered plastic seats in the lobby. He completely lost track of the time so he wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting when Steven finally reemerged into the lobby. He looked up at the Champion with tired eyes.

"Well?"

"As far as we can tell it worked," Steven sighed, running a hand through his thick silver locks, "We managed to remove the collar and now that Krane's machine is operational we think we've all but eliminated any trace of Ardos' experimentation."

"I see, that's good news at least...has she woken up yet?"

"No, she's in recovery but she should be awake fairly soon. Would you like me to let you know when she does?"

"I will leave that to your digression, you know where I'll be...if there is nothing more then I shall take my leave," Maxie said quietly as he turned towards the door, "I've served my purpose."

"Maxie wait," Steven said, "I just want to thank you for taking care of May."

"It was – no problem," Maxie muttered as he continued towards the door, not even looking back at Steven as he replied, "There is no gratitude necessary, I did it for my own reasons...not for her."

Steven shook his head as his former enemy disappeared from sight. The man was in denial and as much as he disliked any feelings Maxie had for May he could see now that the ex-syndicate leader wouldn't intentionally harm her. The Champion sighed and headed back towards May's room. He would deal with this later – right now May was his priority.


Maxie wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when he climbed back into his truck and started heading home. On the one hand he was now absolved from taking care of May, but on the other hand – and he'd long since stopped trying to deny it – he was actually going miss her company. Still this was all for the best. He could return to solitude and obscurity, his part in this was done and he was dead-set on locking himself away from the world to try and forget this whole mess ever happened. He began to relax a little once he'd crossed the great bridge that connected Ever Grande City to the mainland. Crossing over open ocean had always unnerved him, he much preferred the sloping hills and dense pine forests the currently flanked the highway.

A flash of red and blue in his rear-view mirror caught his attention and a more direct glance revealed a police car behind him, lights flashing in a signal for him to pull over. The crimson haired man growled as he pulled onto the shoulder of the road. He hadn't been speeding nor breaking any other road related law, so why was he being stopped? He sighed and rolled down the window as an Officer Jenny and her male counterpart walked towards the truck. Jenny leaned against the truck and smiled at him while he waited patiently for the standard 'license and registration' question, but rather then a polite enquiry he found himself looking down the barrel of a Walther PPK pistol. Clearly this wasn't a standard stop. The decidedly fake Jenny's eyes narrowed and her smile twisted into something more akin to a leer.

"Do exactly as I say or you'll find a bullet in your brain faster then you can say Groudon," She snarled quietly, "Now, you're going to start by getting out of the truck, and moving around the front to the passenger side. Now!"

Deciding that self-preservation would be the wisest course of action Maxie did as he was bid. After complying to the fake officer's orders he found himself leaning against the passenger side of his truck, trying not to wince as the bitter wind nipped at his flesh through his thin shirt. In his haste to leave the house he'd forgotten to put on a jacket. The fake Jenny and her companion, whom he guessed were both members of Cipher, rounded the truck to meet him, the woman still pointing her gun at him. She glanced up at the sound of an approaching vehicle and growled.

"You, act like your engaging in a friendly conversation!" She hissed as she concealed her weapon from view. Again Maxie's instinct for self-preservation kicked in and he relaxed his posture, plastering a fake smile onto his face. After the car had zoomed by the impostor raised her pistol again, "Alright start walking into the woods – now before someone sees!"

The male Cipher operative hovered just behind Maxie as they slipped into the forest, out of sight from the highway, the woman walking a few paces behind with her weapon aimed directly at the back of Maxie's head. The former leader of Team Magma grit his teeth as he tried to figure out a possible escape route but any attempt would be futile. If he ran he'd be shot...but judging by their trek into the woods he began to realize he was probably going to be disposed of very shortly in any case.

"Stop right there!" The woman barked, "Now we've got a few questions for you and you'll answer. If we're satisfied with the results you might actually get out of this relatively unscathed."

"I see no reason to comply – I've no doubt you'll kill me in any case," Maxie replied bluntly. He was no fool, his military training and combat experience told him that these two had no intentions of letting him leave here alive, "So you're wasting your time. Ardos can rot in hell for all I'm concerned."

"Well maybe I can change your mind," She sneered, reaching down to unclip a pokéball from her belt, "Seviper!"

The large serpent emerged in a brilliant flash of light and hissed menacingly as he slithered around his trainer's feet.

"Seviper use Constrict!"

The large boa bared its crimson fangs before launching itself at its target, wrapping its heavily coils around Maxie's body and squeezing without mercy. Maxie fell to his knees, desperately gasping for air but it was futile against Seviper's bone crushing grip. The woman smiled and rested the gun against her hip.

"Tell us the whereabouts of project Alpha-XD1," She purred, "Better known as May Maple!"

"Go to hell with your master!" He rasped as he spat at her feet. In response Seviper tightened his grip and a dull snapping sound could be heard. The woman smiled and crouched down in front of him.

"Oops, there goes one rib. I suggest you start talking Mr. Asher before we get to your spine."

"She's safe," Maxie hissed, "Safe where Ardos can never reach her!"

He did not even flinch as the cold metal of the gun barrel pressed against his forehead. The woman cocked the weapon and grinned.

"Not the answer I'm looking for, please be more specific – where is Alpha-XD1 being held?"

"Fine, I'll at least tell you this!" Maxie said as a triumphant smile of his own appeared on his face despite his pain, "She's not Alpha-XD1 anymore – tell your Master he failed! His grand scheme was a failure!"

"How dare you!" The woman shrieked, "Master Ardos will never fail! He will destroy you all! You will die for your insolence!"

"Then tell Ardos I will be saving a seat for him in hell!"

"I can see you'll be of no use," She spat, "Fine, you wish for death then you shall receive it!"

Seviper released his grip and returned to his trainer's side as a gunshot echoed through the glade. Maxie fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder as the snow around him became stained with crimson. The woman rolled him onto his back with a harsh nudge from her booted foot, an expression of maniacal glee on her face.

"Oh you won't die that quickly – I'm going to make you suffer first. Seviper use Poison Fang!"

Maxie didn't even have time to react before the Seviper coiled itself into the classic 'S' shaped striking position and with lightning speed buried its fangs into his side. Like two hypodermic needles they easily pierced the fabric of his shirt and his flesh, to inject toxic venom into his bloodstream. The serpent hissed and relinquished its hold before the woman recalled it into its pokéball. Maxie's back arched as the wound immediately began burning, sending him into throes of agony

"Seviper venom, as I'm sure you know is lethal to humans. Its a hemotoxin and will shortly act to impede your cardiovascular system and your heart. Slower then a neurotoxin yes, but infinitely more painful. Whether from the venom, the blood loss, or even hypothermia you'll be a frozen corpse in an hour or so," She sneer before turning to her ever silent companion, "Come on, he's already as good as dead."

Maxie waited until their footsteps had receded into silence before he rolled onto his side and attempted to rise, however as soon as he tried overwhelming agony rippled through his body and he collapsed onto the bloody snow, his pained cry echoing through the glade. After a brief pause, waiting for the pain to lessen he tried instead to crawl, but he barely managed to drag his body to the broad trunk of an oak tree. With great effort he managed to work himself into a sitting position with his back pressed against the tree. The cold didn't really bother him – it only helped to numb the pain so he welcomed it. His glazed brown eyes stared up at the sky, pale grey from cloud cover, as a few snowflakes drifted down from the heavens. Perhaps it was better this way...his only regret was not being able to tell May that he was sorry for all he'd done, that he didn't wish any harm or ill-will towards her. He closed his eyes and winced as another wave of white hot agony washed over his battered body. Yes, it was best she never knew...never knew that he'd fallen in love with her.


Cobalt eyes fluttered open only to quickly shut again in an attempt to block out the harsh florescent light. May Maple groaned softly as she made her first tentative steps back into the realm of consciousness as a human. The first thing she was aware of was the dull throb in her neck and at the base of her skull and upon reaching up to brush her fingers against her throat she found it wrapped it gauze bandages. Slowly she eased herself into a sitting position and glanced around the stark white room, trying to make sense of the situation.

Without warning memories of everything that had passed since Ardos had stripped her of humanity came roaring back with the force of a freight train. She remembered everything with terrifying clarity; all the depraved things he had done to her – and had made her do. The people she'd hurt, the pokémon she'd made suffer – the destruction of her beloved Mightyena. She felt her throat tighten painfully as her eyes grew wide; pupils contracting until they were mere pinpricks in an ocean of cobalt blue. Her lips parted as her hands came up to grip her head before her vocal chords finally regained their power and a bloodcurdling shriek tore itself from her throat. Immediately the door to her room was thrown open with a loud bang as Steven came sprinting in. The silver haired champion grabbed the hysterical young woman by the shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.

"May! May, you've got to calm down!" He said firmly, "Listen to me; you're safe, no one's going to hurt you. Look its me, Steven! May you've got to listen to me, no harm is going to come to you, everything's going to be alright."

"Steven? Oh god Steven, you've got to get away from me before I hurt you! I'm a monster!"

"May you're safe now, Ardos has no control over you – you're not a monster!"

"But all the things I did!" She cried, "I – I hurt people, I k-k-killed my own pokémon!"

She collapsed in Steven's arms, screaming and sobbing into his chest. The Champion did the only thing he could; hold her close and murmur words of comfort.

"All the things he made me do," She sobbed, "All the things he did to me – I should've stopped it I should've tried harder; its all my fault!"

"May listen to me – what happened was not your fault! It wasn't you who did all those terrible things, it was Ardos. He was the one pulling the strings; there was nothing you could've done to stop it, none of this is your fault!"

"But Mightyena – he looked so betrayed, I can still see his eyes, the hurt in them!" She stammered, "And – and Maxie – I tried to kill him!"

"Shh, its alright May," Steven said softly as he rocked her back and forth. Gradually her sobs began to subside, her body to exhausted to continue such a strong physical display of emotion, though tears continued to roll down her pale cheeks, "I'm here – everything's going to be okay."

He held her until she cried herself to sleep. He laid her back down and tucked her in before taking a seat in the chair next to the window, fishing out his cellphone from his trouser pocket before dialling Maxie's number. However, rather then being greeted by Maxie's agitated voice it continued to ring until the Champion finally gave up and terminated the call with a frown. Now that was strange; he should've been home by now and he hadn't mentioned that he'd be going anywhere else. Steven's frown deepened as he dialled Maxie's cell number and waited patiently for someone to answer, but again it just kept ringing. With growing suspicion he tried one more number.

"Hello?"

"Tabitha? Its Steven."

"Steven? What do you want?"

"I'm trying to find Maxie but he isn't answering – I've tried both his home and cellphone."

"...Now that is strange," Tabitha muttered, "Maxie always answers his phone."

"Do you know where he might be?"

"I'd expect him to be home. He just checked up on his businesses not that long ago so there's be no reason for him to go to the city again so soon. I don't like the sound of this."

"Neither do I," Steven said quietly, "As much as I despise the man I do owe him for helping May and this situation reeks of Cipher interference."

"You think he's been kidnapped?"

"No, there's not a lot of point in holding him captive anymore – what could Ardos possibly gain from that? I think they've something far more sinister in mind this time."

"I hate to agree with you, but you've got a point. Listen I'll do what I can. You should probably put out an APB on his truck and maybe take a trip up to his house."

"Alright, thank you for your help Tabitha."

"Hey I'm doing this for my boss, not for you."

Steven couldn't help but smirk at the quipped reply before he hung up. The former Admin was very much like his employer. A sudden stirring caught his attention as May sat up in bed and rubbed at her eyes. The Champion braced himself for another round of hysterics but they never came. Instead she looked at him purposefully, her eyes quite clear and quite sane.

"What's going on Steven?"

"...Maxie – we've lost contact with him. I'm going to his house now to check -"

"I'm going with you."

"What!? Out of the question! You just had that collar removed and gone through a very delicate procedure! You haven't recovered -"

"Steven I owe that man my life," She retorted, "Please, I – I need to go with you. At the very least it'll give me a chance to thank him."

The Hoenn Champion was caught completely off-guard at her calm demeanour. Where did the hysterical and terrified shell of a girl go? Just moments ago she was barely clinging to reality and her sanity and now – now she seemed almost normal. Was it merely coincidence that she was thinking of Maxie? Somehow he rather doubted it. It stung him how her worry for him had calmed her far more then his gentle words and embraces had, but with her delicate state of mind he wasn't about to chastise her for it.

"Fine, but let's get you a proper change of clothes first."


May stared out the window as the world streaked past in molted shades of white, green and brown. She felt nervous and agitated for reasons unknown, but every now and again a surge of unpleasant memories would flash across her mind and her entire body would shake as she threatened to dissolve into hysterics again. The only thing that prevented her from doing so was the current task at hand – finding Maxie.

The highway wasn't usually busy even at the best of times, but now with night fast approaching it was eerily quiet; they'd only seen one car since departing and that had been a police cruiser. Something looming in the distance immediately caught her eye and she touched Steven's arm to get his attention.

"Look, that's Maxie's truck – I recognize the license plate!"

"You're right," Steven murmured as he pulled his own slate grey truck over to the shoulder of the road, "Look there – the driver's side door is ajar."

"Something's not right here," May muttered as she slipped out of the vehicle with Steven to inspect the abandoned truck. Rounding the passenger side she came across something both strange and unnerving, "Look Steve, over here – tracks. Three sets leading into the woods, but there's only two coming out."

Wordlessly the Champion selected a pokéball from his belt and enlarged it, wrist poised to set its contents free.

"May get behind me," he ordered, "And if I say run, you run, got it?"

The petite trainer nodded and stayed close behind Steven as they followed the tracks into the snow covered forest. Not far ahead May saw a dark stain on the snow and instantly she felt bile rise in her throat.

"Steven, th-that's b-b-blood!" She whimpered. Taking her eyes off of the macabre sight of the foul crimson substance tainting the white snow she tried to look ahead and was greeted by a far more terrifying sight. She let loose a horrified scream and ran forward despite Steven's orders to stay put. She fell to her knees next to Maxie, who lay against the trunk of an oak tree. He was pale, so pale and the blood staining his shirt and the snow around him made her want to retch but for his sake she held it down and inspected his nearly frozen body. She tore off her gloves and pressed two fingers against his neck whilst Steven hovered in the background calling for an ambulance. There, it was faint, but she'd found a fluttering pulse. A ragged sob finally escaped her as she took her first look at his injuries. The hole in his shoulder was clearly from a gunshot, but that was not what worried her; It was the two ragged puncture wounds in his side; the skin around them swollen and discoloured.

"S-Steven tell them to be standing by with anti-venom!"

"Yes but what kind? The wrong anti-venom would kill him."

"I – I don't know," She stammered, looking back down at Maxie's prone form. She wasn't sure whether to scream or laugh when she saw his dark brown eyes open the slightest fraction, "Maxie! Maxie what happened to you? What pokémon attacked you?"

"F-F-oolish girl," He rasped, his voice barely audible, "Get out of here before they find you!"

"No, not without you," She said firmly, but the tears rolling down her face showed that she was anything but calm. She tentatively brushed the stray locks of his hair away from his face, "Come on Maxie, you have to tell me what pokémon bit you."

"Too late," He groaned, eyes threatening to close again, "Too late..."

"No, no its not!" May said, a sob creeping onto the edge of her voice, "No, you can't die!"

"Don't cry Miss Maple...I'm not worth your tears."

"Yes you are!" She sobbed , burying her face into his chest, "Please, please just tell me! You can't – I don't know what I'll do without you! Please Maxie – please for me!"

"...S-Seviper."

"Steven did you -"

"Yes I heard, they'll be standing by with the anti-venom at the hospital. The ambulance should be here any minute."

"Just hold on," May murmured as she continued to hold him, "You can't die – I owe you to much."

Maxie didn't answer. His eyes slid shut, but he leaned into her touch with what little strength he had, a single tear escaping his closed eyes and rolling down his face. May cradled his head in her lap still murmuring to him as though he could still hear her. Steven took in the scene with mixed emotions, predominately bitterness. He turned away and sullenly made his way to the entrance of the forest path so he could lead the paramedics to the fallen Maxie. He hoped, for May's sake, that he pulled through. If Maxie died he was quite certain May's fragile link to sanity would shatter and she would lose her mind completely. Five minutes later he saw the red and white lights flashing in the distance and flagged them down.

"Here, this way – follow me!"


May refused to let go of Maxie's hand, even when the paramedics tried to shoo her away, earning them a deep throated growl and a hate laden glare. Now in the back of the ambulance she tried to keep as close to him as possible, stroking his hair while the EMT's tried their best to keep him alive.

"Damn, his heart's starting to fail!" One of them growled, "How long until we get there?"

"ETA is five minutes! I'm going as fast as I can!"

May whimpered and brought Maxie's hand close to her chest, resting it over her heart which was beating wildly. The wounded man's eyes fluttered open again and she saw the faintest of smiles from beneath his oxygen mask. May sniffed and smiled through her tears as she reached out to smooth down his hair again. Still, he was barely breathing and it wasn't long before he slipped into unconsciousness again. When they arrived at the hospital and began to wheel him inside one of the paramedics held her back. Immediately she began kicking and screaming as she fought against the man's grip.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you can't go in there – you'll have to wait out here in the lobby!"

The dismayed paramedic was quite relieved when Steven jogged through the doors and took control of the situation, pulling May into his strong embrace and nodding for the man to continue about his business.

"May calm down – there's nothing more you can do. They'll let us know as soon as anything happens," He said firmly, holding her tightly until her hysterical cries finally quieted, "You must be exhausted – I'm going to take you to your room and you are going to get some sleep."

"You can't force me to do anything Steven!" May snapped. The Champion was momentarily taken aback by the amount of venom in her words, then again perhaps he was at fault here. He had tried to give her an order and innocent though his intentions were, in her mind she probably likened it to Ardos constantly forcing his will upon her. Steven let her go and gently turned her around to face him.

"No, no you're right I can't; I'm sorry," He said, "But wearing yourself out like this isn't going to help anybody. Please, won't you try to get some rest?"

"...I – I guess it wouldn't hurt," She mumbled, shoulders dropping ever so slightly, "You will come and get me if anything happens?"

"Yes, I promise," Steven assured her as he placed a hand on the small of her back and began steering her towards the elevator that would take her to her own room, "Remember you're still not fully healed yet."

"I know...thank you Steven."

"I'm always here for you May, you know that."


Island Wolf: Yes!!! I'm back! 8D Haha, like I said, my favorite chapter so far :) hope you all enjoyed it!!!