AN: Umm, I lied. Sorry. Wednesday's lab was actually exhausting, and Thursday after classes I helped out our local Habitat for Humanity by tying candy canes to little sheets of paper for hours on end in preparation for the Christmas parade. Literally, we were there for hours. Anyway, Friday was a work day, and I was on the move the entire time. I hate it when I drive somewhere, and then when I get back, my boss tells me 'Oh yeah, you need to go back to the place you just left because I forgot something'. RAWR! Plan ahead for once woman! ...Eh, it's a paycheck, so whatever I guess. Saturday I helped out at the build site with Habitat and then promptly went out to help them in their parade. Then Sunday I had my second-to-last parade with my old high-school's colour guard. That was kind of depressing, but it was ruined by the fact that I was sick of hearing Jingle Bells over and over again. Right after that one of my friends threw a surprise 'beat each other senseless in a game of Smash Brothers Brawl' party that went until 9, so that was the end of Sunday. Monday was another work day similar to Friday, but it also involved a wreath, a Christmas tree, and a lot more swearing than usual. T_T)) And so, that brings me to, well, today. Sorry about that everyone. At least I didn't leave you with too much of an evil cliffhanger! *flees from small angry mob* *starts wondering if there are even enough readers to form an angry mob* *gets depressed*

10. In Which Team Magma Finally Shows Up and Catastrophe Strikes

Darius stood staring into the desert. Or rather, staring at the wall of flying sand that hid the desert from sight. While Darius was standing several feet away from the wall, May was partially in it, howling about how stupid sand was. Darius sighed and sat down on a nearby rock, watching May struggle. He'd insisted that they find another way around the desert, but so far, May was having none of it.

"I demand that you cease your incessant flying!" May shouted loud enough for even Darius to hear. He couldn't help but chuckle. After he and Steven had sorted themselves out the day before, Steven told May that to get to Lavaridge they'd have to go back through Mauville and then head north from there. There would be a desert and nearby was the lift to get to the top of the volcano, and also Lavaridge. Thus Darius and May had gone back through the Rusturf tunnel, back through Veranturf, spent the night at the same hotel in Mauville, and then headed north at sunrise. They'd hit the wall of sand about 2 hours after setting out, and while May challenged the sand, Darius began searching for another path. He believed he'd found it, but he had to wait until May was done with the desert before he could communicate to her that there was another path. Finally however the girl gave up her argument with Nature and joined Darius in sitting on the ground.

"Stupid desert." She grumbled. Darius simply said 'mmm'. "How are we supposed to get up to Lavaridge now?" She grouched.

"I was studying the PokeNav while you were attacking the desert." Darius said, leaning away from May's pinching attack. "It looks like there should be another path around here that loops around the desert." The boy stood up and May quickly followed suit, spitting some sand out of her mouth.

"I'm going to have the taste of sand in my mouth for weeks." She complained. Darius couldn't help but laugh at her.

"That's Nature's way of saying she doesn't like being yelled at." May huffed and stuck her tongue out at the boy before spitting again. They only had to walk for half an hour before the lift came into view. May shouted happily, delighted at the idea of not having to climb the mountain herself. She quickly took off, running to the base of the mountain while Darius trailed along at a slower pace, eyeing the lift suspiciously. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't even moving. As he approached, the lift continued to be stationary. Darius could feel the hair on the back of his neck rising as he glanced back down at the road to see May furiously waving him over. The boy quickened his pace to join her. The girl was scowling.

"Is the lift out of order?" Darius asked curiously. May shook her head.

"Not that I know of. Come here and look at this." She hurried up the stairs that led to the lift station and stopped, crouching on the top steps. Darius hurriedly joined her. She nodded quietly towards the doors to the station and Darius slowly peeked above the stairs, eyes instantly locking on the source of the trouble. Two men in red capes were sitting in the doorway, playing some kind of card game. A Mightyena and a Poochyena were curled up next to the men, watching the surroundings. Darius bent back down out of sight and glanced at May.

"I tried to get past them." The girl whispered. "But they said the lift was closed. I demanded to know why and they just said it is. Then that Mightyena started growling and I had to back off. Stupid men." Darius shook his head.

"Let's see if we can sneak a bit closer, around through the trees. It looked like they were talking, we might be able to overhear something." May hesitated, obviously wanting to simply run at the men and make them move, but Darius began shuffling off the stairs and onto the steep rocky hillside and May carefully followed after. They shuffled for five minutes before Darius held up a hand to signal to May before peeking over the edge again. The men were still playing their card game and hadn't noticed the two sneaking children.

"I still don't know why we had to guard the stupid lift while everyone else got to go off to Fallabor." One of them was grumbling.

"It's because Maxie doesn't want anybody snooping around the volcano and possibly getting in the way." The other replied. "Especially none of those damn guys from Team Aqua."

"I heard they tried to steal some crap from some ocean scientist a few days ago. They got beat up though."

"Serves those damn idiots right. Disrespecting our beautiful land like that."

"Why did everyone else go to Fallabor anyway?"

"Weren't you listening when Maxie told us?"

"I forgot!"

"Tch. They had to get some meteorite from those caves near the town to operate the machine. How else do you think we'd wake it? Tickle it with feathers while dancing and chanting?"

"No! I just don't understand what a meteorite has to do with waking-" The man who had been talking abruptly stopped and Darius quickly grabbed the back of May's shirt and pulled her out of sight. He began scurrying down the cliff as quietly as possible with May hot on his heels.

"What?" The other man asked. Darius heard feet crunching and quickly rolled behind a bush, pulling May with him. They both lay like that, holding their breaths. The footsteps stopped at the top of the cliff and the second pair soon joined them. "What is it?" The man asked again.

"I thought I saw something." The one who had been talking said. "Guess I'm just seeing things."

"I didn't see anything." There was another pause before the footsteps retreated back to the doorway they had just vacated. Darius and May let out their breaths at the same time. Darius glanced at May and saw her frowning.

"Those guys didn't look like the men that attacked us in Slateport." She whispered. Darius shook his head. He began climbing back towards the stairs and May carefully began following him.

"I think they're from a rivalling group called Team Magma." He whispered over his shoulder. "Anyway, it sounds like they've got something going on at Fallabor, and since we can't get up to Lavaridge with them blocking the way,"

"We'll have to go to Fallabor and mess up whatever they're doing so they get out." May finished in a triumphant whisper. "But how do we get to Fallabor?" They arrived back at the stairs and Darius gave May a grin.

"Stay her for a sec." He said before running up the stairs. He heard May stifle a protest but he didn't turn. The two members of Team Magma looked up as he approached and the Mightyena rose to it's feet, growling menacingly. Darius ignored it.

"The lift's broken brat, there's no going up." One of the men said, frowning. The other was rolling his eyes.

"Oh no, I don't want to go up." Darius said in a chipper and friendly manner, smiling at the men. "You see, I'm trying to visit my uncle in Fallabor town, but he didn't give me very good directions on how to get there. He said north of Mauville, past Lavaridge. But there seems to be a desert in my way. Do either of you know a way around?" The two men glared at him suspiciously before one of them sighed.

"Follow me brat, I'll show you the way." He and his companion nodded to each other and the man began leading Darius away from the lift. As they walked past the stairs Darius had come up, the boy spotted May frowning at him, still hiding. The man hadn't seen her. Darius quietly motioned to her to follow, but stay hidden. She nodded and began scrambling along the side of the cliff. Darius deliberately slowed his pace and his guide turned back to him with a glare.

"Hurry up." The man growled. Darius pasted a sheepish grin on his face and laughed.

"Sorry! I just love the view out here. It's really amazing." The man looked around and shrugged.

"I guess. You still gotta hurry up though, I don't have all day." Darius nodded and began following the man again, still walking slower than before, but just fast enough so as to not annoy the man again. He kept an eye on May who was stealthily following, making sure she was able to keep up. Finally the man stopped in front of the mouth of a cave. "That tunnel," he said, "will put you just north of the desert. Walk east until you find the road, and then follow the road north, and then west. You'll get to Fallabor that way. Now shoo." Darius nodded and thanked the man, still smiling and entered the tunnel. He struggled not to gasp at the heat. He was positive now that wherever he'd come from originally, it was not a volcano. The man watched him go in before finally turning and returning to his comrade. Darius peeked out the tunnel and waved to May, who quickly ran over to join him. Upon entering the tunnel she gasped.

"What is with this heat?" She demanded. Darius shrugged, wiping his brow with his forearm.

"This tunnel goes through the edge of the volcano." He said. "The magma is radiating such heat that this tunnel ends up this temperature." May nodded and then crossed her arms.

"Nice acting skills by the way. I hadn't thought of making those idiots show me the way. But why did I have to hide?" Darius shrugged and began walking into the tunnel. May huffed and began following him.

"You'd already approached them about trying to go up, so they might have been more suspicious if you'd suddenly come back and asked how to get to Fallabor." May continued to frown before simply shrugging.

"Whatever." Suddenly she took off running, dashing past Darius with a wicked grin on her face. "Race you to the end of the tunnel!" She shouted over her shoulder. Darius huffed and promptly took off after her, laughing as he slowly began to catch up to the girl.

Darius frowned as he paused yet again to brush the ash off his arms where it was building up very quickly. May was doing the same while snorting in annoyance.

"Who in their right minds would build a town in this mess?" She demanded, stomping forward once more, leaving deep footprints in the ash-covered grass. Darius smiled and shook his head, trailing after her. Darius had to admit though, with the constant ash-cloud hovering over the area, it really was a dreary place. Because of the sun being blocked however, it was even cooler Mauville, which was about the same distance from the volcano. The temperature was closer to Dewford, with the sea wind bringing in the cold air off the ocean.

May stomped into the town, sending up little ash-clouds with each step and ignoring the few people that were outside that waved to the travellers. As May passed by them Darius waved back rather apologetically. He understood May's determination to get to the cave that Team Magma had gathered in, but Darius was more worried about a little detail May seemed to have missed. He hesitated before wandering off towards one of the townspeople. The young woman looked up as he approached and smiled warmly.

"Welcome to Fallabor stranger. You looking for something?" She greeted, shifting the large stack of papers that rested in her arms so as to shake Darius's hand in greeting. Darius nodded.

"Thank you. I actually have a few questions if you don't mind answering them."

"Shoot stranger." She said with a laugh.

"Have you seen any strange people around town lately? They'd probably be wearing red cloaks of some kind." The woman nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, them people've been hanging around the professor's place a lot lately. They give me the creeps but they's funding his research so whatever, yeah?" Darius nodded.

"What kind of research does this professor do?" He asked casually.

"Who, Cosmo? Why he's studying meteorites and the such. That's why we moved the lab up here- to get closer to them Meteor Falls."

"Meteor Falls?"

"Yeah, they be just west and south of here. Long time ago a big old meteor shot down and smashed right there, so there be a bunch of little shards just hanging 'round. Come 'ta think of it, the prof and several of them red-cloaks just went down that way to go dig up this giant chunk they just found." Darius nodded, frowning.

"Thanks ma'am." He quickly ran to catch up to May. He found her on the western edge of the town, pacing through the ash and grumbling to herself. She paused when she spotted the boy however.

"Where've you been?" She demanded. "I just turned around and you were gone!"

"Sorry about that May." Darius apologized quickly. "But I just asked around a bit; those members of Team Magma have been funding a professor's research of meteorites in this town for a while now. According to his assistant, those men just came up this way not to long ago and went out to Meteor Falls with Professor Cosmo."

"Yeah?" May said curiously. "And where are these falls anyway?"

"This direction." Darius said, quickly walking past May and heading west. The two followed the road at a brisk pace before the road gave way to a rocky path that wound around the cliffs. The only marginally slowed, determined to find out what Team Magma was up to.

Darius couldn't help but stop and stare in awe at the cave he'd just entered. It was beautiful. A faint mist hovered in the air, creating an ethereal feeling, and the smooth stalagmites and stalactites made it look like he'd just stepped through a portal onto a different plant. He heard May gasp softly from behind him. Echoes of a waterfall reached the boy's ears and he couldn't help but smile. He felt comfortable in the cave. It was a strange feeling. Sighing, Darius shook off the nostalgic feelings and began looking for traces of Team Magma's presence. He heard May shuffle behind him and knew she was doing the same.

"I didn't think there were places like this." She breathed, keeping her voice low. Darius simply nodded. He knew what she meant. "It's just so magical, it's the kind of place you only really see in pictures."

"Even the pictures are real places." Darius offered.

"I know, but the places in the pictures, they're places that seem impossible to reach, and yet, here's one just hanging out a few days travel from home." Darius nodded in understanding. May sighed. "Anyway, let's get looking for these goons. If they're as violent as the ones you pissed off then I'm worried about that professor." Darius nodded again and the two quickly set off deeper into the cave. Not long after they came upon the waterfall. Water poured down from a cliff high above the children's heads and crashed on the rocks far below, sending up a chilly white spray. From there the water ran fast and deep in a river that had carved a deep gorge in the middle of the cave. A rickety-looking wooden bridge spanned the gap, and on the other side of the bridge Darius finally spotted their target. There were five men all wearing the same outfit that the two they'd met earlier were wearing. There was also a brawny man with shaggy black hair who was dressed slightly differently from the others but was still wearing the trademark cloak and a woman fitting almost the same description. She wore a red belly shirt and a black miniskirt, and her cloak was much shorter than all the others. She and the brawny man were obviously the ones in charge of the others. Darius could see that they were talking, but he couldn't hear them over the roar of the water. As he continued to watch, a man in a white lab coat clambered out of a large hole, one arm wrapped protectively around a strange looking rock. Once the man was out of the hole the Team Magma lackeys surrounded him. They began to argue. Darius guessed by the looks of it that the men wanted the meteorite and the scientist wasn't handing it over. All five men released their Pokemon and Darius heard May gasp.

"They're going to attack him!" May yelped. Darius's mind was already whirring.

"May, wait here- I'll distract them!" The boy jumped to his feet and began running across the bridge. As soon as one of the men spotted him they yelled and pointed and the brawny man quickly moved to block Darius's path.

"Where do you think you're going in such a rush boy?" The man sneered.

"I'm here to stop your men from attacking the professor." Darius informed the man.

"Be careful Mitch." The woman said, popping some bubblegum. "Don't underestimate the boy."

"Whatever you say Marge." The man laughed. Faster than Darius thought the man could move he whipped out a pokeball and released a Torkal. "If he's a problem, we'll just make him go away! Torkal, Rock Slide!" Darius's mind flew as the fire-type growled. His head whipped around as he heard a deep echoing rumble. He heard May yelling and he felt the bridge shake as she began running towards him. His mind clicked in understanding and he spun around to face her, feeling fear rising in his chest.

"Get back May!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. At his shout she backed off the bridge in surprise, just at the rocks crashed down, destroying the bridge and sending it, and Darius, into the river below.

AN: Um, buwahaha! Looking back (this chappy's been written for a while) it was kinda really short and anti-climatic, but still, ending deserves a little author's buwahaha methinks. Um, hang on. Methinks. Buwahaha. Interesting... FF's doc manager doesn't mark 'methinks' as misspelled. That means... it's a real word?! O.O Learn something new every day! Anyway, I have to go calculate a cut roof for a hip roof with multiple dormers now... I hate homework... Jamatane, minna-san!