Hello, readers! Goodness, it's been quite some time, hasn't it. I'd like to apologize to all of you right off the bat; between school, personal issues, and things of the like, I just haven't been setting aside the proper amount of time to get much writing done. When I wrote the very first chapter, I was but a recovering junior in high school; now I'm finishing up my second year of college, and things have been tough. I admit, part of this massive schedule slip regarding updates has been due to writer's block, but I can feel the wheels of creativity spinning once again. I haven't given up on So Glad You're Safe, and I'd just like to thank all of you who haven't either.

Back to story matters: in the last chapter, Brendan and May finally became an official couple after walking home together following Brendan's crowning as Hoenn League Champion! They made it to Petalburg City when their little coupling was interrupted by a scream from Wally; turns out, Aqua Admin Matt and Magma Admit Courtney both wanted his Key Stone for some reason! Brendan and May rush to the rescue and defeat the evil duo only for a third figure to appear on the rooftop of Wally's home. Said figure is revealed to be Zinnia, who has been pilfering the stones for reasons unknown to everyone...

"... What?" Brendan asked.

"You know, me! Zinnia! The elusive 'Key Stone Caper'? I'm a triple agent," the strange woman smiled, winking. "Don't tell me you don't remember me!"

"I have never seen you before in my life," Brendan answered honestly, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Was he supposed to have met her at some point during his crazy journey?

"Brendan, I am hurt," Zinna spoke dramatically, a hand to her heart for emphasis. May gave the woman a suspicious look, unconsciously gripping Brendan's arm. Something about this lady seemed really off…

"I guess I shouldn't really be surprised though," the bizarre woman shook her head, sighing. "After all, we were supposed to meet in Littleroot Town, but somebody took his sweet time getting there!"

Turning to Matt, Zinnia continued, "Of course, I could have never captured that professor and those Devon employees without a little help… or should I say, big help!"

"HEY!" Matt shouted, clearly aggravated. "I'm buff, not fat! Big difference!"

"Wait a minute," May spoke up, her brow furrowing as she put two and two together. "So you were the one who…!"

"May," Brendan whispered, leaning in close. "Don't do anything rash!"

"How could you!?" May screamed, causing everyone present to jump. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes as she balled her fists tightly. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about him!?"

"Hey now," Zinnia spoke, raising her hands, "I didn't hurt your dad! I just needed your Key Stone and some information, that's all! You wanna talk about roughing him up, look at Matt! He's the one who insisted on taking him violently!"

"That's a lie and you know it!" The Aqua Admin roared.

"Enough," Courtney interjected. "My leader shall not be denied. You there, girl. Relinquish the Key Stones immediately… Or else trouble shall befall you."

This caused the black-haired woman to howl with laughter, disturbing everyone. She had a crazed look in her eye as she laughed and laughed.

"Trouble? Trouble!? Trouble's already befallen me," Zinna spoke, wiping a tear from her eye with a grin, "and it's coming for all of you too. Don't you get it? I need those stones. It's the only way I can prevent everyone from losing everything!"

"What?" Brendan questioned at last. "What are you even talking about? None of this is making any sense."

"Bah," Zinnia dismissed with a wave of her hand, "I've said too much already. Just know this; everything I've done up to this point has been for the greater good."

She turned to Brendan, glaring into his eyes; what disturbed the boy most, however, was that she still wore a smile on her face. "Brendan, whatever you do, heed this; Don't. Get. In. My. Way. Please…"

"I…"

Before anyone could respond, Zinnia pulled a Smoke Bomb out of nowhere and threw it to the ground, temporarily blinding everyone. In the confusion, she lunged at Wally and swiped his Key Stone from his necklace before making a hasty retreat. Realizing they were outnumbered, Matt and Courtney also chose to vanish. When the smoke cleared, only the young trio remained.

"Guh… gack!" Wally coughed, his lungs still recovering from the respiratory assault. "Where… What?"

"Wally!" Brendan and May cried, immediately rushing over to the boy's side. "Are you okay!?"

"I… I'll b-be fine, I think, but… my Key Stone…"

"Gone," Brendan noticed, closing his eyes and silently cursing himself. Villains always used smoke bombs to get away; how had he not seen this coming?

"It's okay, Wally," May consoled, rubbing the smaller boy's back soothingly. "We'll get it back. That's a promise!"

"B-b-but…"

"May is right," Brendan smiled. "There's no way we're just gonna take this sitting down."

"You guys… thank you," Wally sniffed, wiping his eyes. Turning to his friends, he smiled; he truly considered himself lucky to be blessed with such good friends. "But… where could Zinnia be…?"

Brendan and May said nothing, thinking. Wally was right; she hadn't even left so much as a clue as to where she'd be headed next. And just what did she mean when she said that she was doing this "for the greater good"? None of this made any sense to the pair. It was then that Brendan's PokéNav Plus began to ring.

"Hello?" Brendan spoke into the device.

"Brendan, it's Steven. I need you to meet me at Devon Corp in about an hour. We have to talk."

"Y-yeah, okay," the boy nodded, "see you then, Steven."

Hanging up, Brendan turned to his friends. "Guys, Steven needs to see me at Devon Corporation in Rustboro. Do you think he would know about Zinnia and the Key Stones?"

May smiled. "Steven's the wisest guy we know. If nothing else, I'm sure he'll at least give us a place to get started!"

"Great!" Brendan cheered. "So… you're coming, then?"

"Of course! I can't just let you run off into danger alone anymore, now can I?" May asked flirtatiously, winking. Brendan felt his cheeks start to heat up; when had May become so brazen?

"Ah," Wally coughed, getting his friends' attention, "I-I think I'll sit this one out, guys… If that's okay with you both." His friends nodded in response.

"Of course, Wally. Take all the time off you need. We'll be back with your Key Stone in no time flat," Brendan smiled. Wally smiled back in response, his two friends embracing him in a hug.

"You guys are the best…"

"The very best?" May questioned.

"Like no one ever was?" Brendan finished, smirking.

"S-shut up, guys… haha…"

After sharing a laugh, Brendan and May bid their frail friend farewell as the couple began to walk out of Petalburg City, hand in hand.

"You know we could just fly there, right?"

"Well, yeah, but," May replied, eyelashes fluttering, "what's wrong with taking the long way every now and again?"

"Yeah… you got me there," Brendan chuckled, blushing. "Hey, how come you're being so… flirty, all of a sudden?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean!" Brendan laughed. "It's just… you used to be so shy around me. Remember the first time we met?"

"Hey, I had a legitimate reason to be nervous," May pouted. "It's not every day that a boy in a weird hat shows up in your bedroom uninvited."

"My hat is not weird!"

"It is!" May giggled, blushing slightly. "You know, for the longest time I thought the white part was your hair."

"You're not alone there," Brendan sighed, shaking his head with a smile. "Man… where does the time go? It seems like that was just yesterday, but it's already been… what, four years now?"

"Three years and seven months, actually."

"What? No way!"

The couple continued to chat and walk for quite some time until they reached the shores of Route 105 just off of Petalburg. The sun was shining brightly and the water was azure as always. Brendan and May both sighed; this would be a great place to have a picnic with all of their Pokémon, but it sounded like Steven really needed to have a word with Brendan.

"Hey, May?"

"Yeah?"

"About what you said back there... to Zinnia..."

"..."

May let go of Brendan's hand, turning away from him.

"I just... I'm sorry."

"Huh?" May asked. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because! ... Zinnia was right," Brendan muttered, staring at the sand at his feet. "If I had been there in time, your dad might not have been kidnapped! Yeah, he wasn't hurt, but... what if he could have been?!"

"Brendan..."

"They could have tortured him and I would have been powerless to help him!"

"Brendan."

"They could have killed him, and- and then...!"

"BRENDAN!"

Brendan was taken out of his thoughts by the girl before him, who was now beginning to tear up. Without another word, she pulled the boy into a tight embrace. This one felt different from May's normal hugs; it was still tight, but it was no longer as painful as it used to be. If Brendan didn't know any better, he might have thought she was going easy on him.

"Please... please don't blame yourself," May sobbed, resting her forehead on Brendan's shoulder. "It w-wasn't your fault... a-and he's okay... he's alive and well... all thanks to you..."

"M-May," Brendan choked, returning the embrace and rubbing small circles in her back with one hand. "I... I'm sorry... Please don't cry! I didn't mean to make you feel this way... I just-"

May let out a small laugh, smiling sadly as the tears began to slow to a halt. "I know. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything."

"..."

The couple stayed like this for quite some time, hugging on the beach of Route 105. Steven needed to talk to Brendan, but they could spend just a few more moments like this, right? Brendan sighed; being so strongly attached to May - both physically and mentally - and knowing that she felt the same way... it was bliss. Pulling back from the embrace, May looked into his eyes; the sadness had been replaced with her trademark gleam as she smiled at him, leaning in closer...

There was still work to be done, but the young couple figured they could have at least a few minutes to themselves before it was back to business…

"Y-yeah, okay. See you then, Steven."

The former Hoenn champion sighed, putting away his PokéNav. He was currently standing in the Pokémon League's hospital unit in Ever Grande, just outside the room of the strange man that had fallen through that portal just a few days prior. In all his days, Steven had never seen something - someone - so bizarre. His thoughts drifted back to the even stranger note found in the man's brown trench coat.

l00k3r… Find… girl… keep… U… Bea…

What did any of that even mean? Steven closed his eyes and rubbed his chin thoughtfully; whatever it was, it seemed to be of dire circumstances…

There was also the matter of the strange stone that was found alongside the note. It appeared to be some kind of Mega Stone, but he didn't know which Pokémon it belonged to. Peering inside the room, Steven could see the man in the hospital bed, unconscious with a bandage wrapped around his head. His chest rose and fell, his breathing shallow. Several Nurse Joys were looking over him, one of them turning to Steven and giving him a smile of confirmation that the man would be alright. Steven politely smiled in return and left, his thoughts now set on Brendan. The meteoroid that Devon Corporation had discovered was well on its way; could the boy be the one to help them save Hoenn once more? No, the world?

Steven smiled as he walked out the Pokémon League's doors. He had the utmost faith in our young hero; everything would work out for the best.

As he called his Skarmory, Steven could swear he felt a pair of eyes on him, but he could find no one in sight. Shrugging, the former champion got on his metallic bird Pokémon and began to fly towards Rustboro City. Out of the shadows of the building stepped a familiar young lad with a strange white hat.

"May," he spoke into his PokéNav, "I've found him."

So, what do you guys think? As always, I'm open to any and all forms of criticism; let me know what works, what doesn't, general thoughts/comments/concerns, anything you like! I'd like to thank you all once again for reading this far and I PROMISE the next chapter will not take NEARLY as long. Until next time!