Hi all,

Here's the latest update. As always, I'm really grateful for all of your support and for reading this story :)

Chapter 32

Sitting in the foyer of the Pokémon Centre, May barely registered as the Hoenn Champion handed her a steaming plastic cup. It felt like a week ago since he'd landed with Wallace, causing a massive paparazzi storm outside of this very centre. In reality it had been an hour, but the seconds felt like hours to May, whose hands felt numb and mind was blank, focused on her rival who was in an induced coma down the hall.

'Drink,' Steven's soft voice said as Wallace paced before them, his turquoise hair a mess, his eyes the colour of his hair flickering around the room. She'd never seen the latter man look so strained, an Xtransceiver pressed against his ear as he spoke to someone May could only assume to be Drew's mother. She didn't even question how the Hoenn Top Coordinator had such data, just accepting that they had greater access to other people's data than most commoners.

Nothing at all made sense to her anymore.

Bringing the cup of tea to her lips, May took the most miniscule sip to appease her close friend. She knew that they would worry about her if she didn't at least try to drink something to compensate for the fluids she'd lost crying, but honestly, the only thing she could think about was Drew.

Setting the cup down on the plastic table before her, she placed another tissue in the nearby bin as Steven arched an eyebrow at her, his light blue hair a mess.

'It was a new team that calls themselves team Bright Moon. I think it's a homage to a team that was rampant here a few years before Max came here to study. They were called Dim Sun and went on a rampage, trying to control pokémon, but I can't remember why. Anyway, I was fighting the cronies just above the cave whilst Drew and the others were somewhere else at the foot of the entrance. I never even saw it happen,' May whispered before she once again burst into tears, Wallace's eyes intent upon her despite the woman on the other end of the line. His expression soured as Steven grimaced, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head softly.

'May, you'll be fine. Remember that you've faced tougher things in life than this. Just take it in stride, you have to,' Steven murmured as he rubbed her back, his steel blue eyes meeting Wallace's frantic turquoise ones.

'I know I've faced worse, Steven, but I've never had anyone else get hurt. I know he doesn't even see me in that way, but Drew's always motivated me to get better, to improve myself. He means so much to me, and I've always denied it. I don't know what I'd do if anything did happen to him,' May choked out, not seeing the jealousy which flickered across the current Champion's expression.

'Relax, he'll be fine,' Steven said in a guarded tone as he continued to rub May's back, ignoring the suspicious glare from Riolu as it sat opposite them.

'But how can you be so sure?' May whispered as she felt her eyes fill with tears once more. She should never have left them.

'May, I've seen this kind of thing often. He'll be fine,' Steven responded sternly, causing May to blink at him in shock, a tear rolling down her cheek.

'May?' A soft voice called, followed by the sound of clamouring paparazzi, trying to get an image of inside the foyer.

It took the brunette a moment to register who was calling her, but when she turned her attention to the door, she saw Dawn and Paul standing there, a part of the latter's forehead covered with a bandage, she couldn't help but feel relieved that they were alright.

'Over here,' May called in a choked voice as she tried to stand up, though Steven's arm kept her in place.

'How is he?' The Sinnoh native whispered, rushing over to her friend. She barely spared a second glance for Steven as Paul sent the man a suspicious glare, wincing slightly as he followed the bluenette's direction.

'They don't know, Brock's with him now,' May replied, placing her head in her hands as Riolu gave her another tissue.

'Please don't worry, Brock would do anything to help Drew. He knows how much he means to you, we all do.' Dawn offered her friend the only assurance she could, noticing Steven's glower at her statement.

'But what if it isn't enough? He's trained with pokémon, not humans!' May grimaced as Wallace hung up from Drew's mother and turned his attention to the young brunette.

'May, I know Drew well enough to know that he wouldn't want you to sit here moping about him. Try to find something to preoccupy yourself with. If you're not busy, you can always come to the Wallace Cup in Kalos this year,' the man smiled down at her as Dawn's eyes lit up at the prospect of being in Kalos with one of her closest friends.

'When will it be?' May whispered as Solidad entered the room with Harley, both appearing more at ease than before, despite the presence of the paparazzi outside. When a string of Top Coordinators were in a Pokémon Centre and another region's Champion dropped everything to be there, it was bound to attract quite a bit of attention, and they were both very familiar with being in the spotlight; especially with Harley's infamous antics.

'Very soon,' Wallace responded as Riolu frowned at the news.

'What if Drew wakes up?' May protested, uncertainly glancing at her friends. She knew they could see her hesitation to leave Drew, but she couldn't help but feel that without her, he would never have gone to Nabiki Beach and gotten himself into such a dangerous situation.

'Then I'll personally arrange for his family to grant this Pokémon Centre to contact you first, before any of his family,' Wallace assured her smoothly, his expression a perfect mask.

'That sounds like a hug request. How can you be so sure they would allow that?' May responded uncertainly, poking her fingers together anxiously.

'Because I'm almost certain it's what Drew would want,' Wallace smiled down at her, his turquoise eyes revealing his distress for a moment.

'May, Wallace is right. Drew wouldn't want you to hold off on your journey on account of him, not after how long it's taken you to get here. Besides, he already has three ribbons,' Solidad's voice called from the foyer as Zorua giggled at her feet.

'He does?' May questioned, glancing back at her friends in disbelief. Why had he never sought the time to brag of this to her? She knew he was always trying to prove his superiority to her. Could it be that he had known of her self-confidence problems? He'd always been able to see through her actions better than any, and it made her feel all the more guilty for being pressured to leave the man.

'And you'll be there for my boutique's grand opening!' Dawn agreed, offering her friend a small smile, though her blue eyes were strained with concern.

As May hesitated once more, Steven continued, 'you can't let one thing set you back, May. Yes, Drew is hurt, but from what the nurse here has told me, it's a leg injury on top of a head injury. It wasn't his heart, thank Arceus. He'll be fine. They've had to operate him, but he'll wake up soon enough.'

Seeing the smile the Hoenn native offered her, May felt her protests ebb away. Like Drew, Steven had always known when she was at her lowest point. How could she possibly argue with the Champion when he was trying to appease her, especially after everything he'd done for her?

'Besides, hon, you can stay here for as long as you want just to train. That contest and flights to it will last a week, max. Get your cute little patootie over there at the last moment, be fashionably late with that chocolate covered marshmallow over there, and win that ribbon for all of us!' Harley pressed, his hands on his hips as his green eyes flickered to Dawn.

'Chocolate covered marshmallow?' Dawn frowned as May smiled at his antics.

'Ooh! She smiled! Ten points to me, I made my favourite little gingerbread cookie smile in her hour of need! If only this was Harry Potter, I'd win us the House Cup!' Harley grinned, causing May to let out a light laugh.

'Yes, he's done it again! Fifty points to me!' Harley cackled, causing Solidad to roll her eyes in response.

'You'll be stuck with that nickname forever, now,' May smiled at Dawn, who looked horrified at the prospect of being labelled a deliciously unhealthy treat.

'But I don't want to be a chocolate covered marshmallow!' Dawn cried as Paul let out a small smile.

'What are you laughing at, Paul?' Dawn huffed as the man's smile broadened by all of a millimetre.

'You,' the man shrugged back as May registered the impeding tirade.

'Me? Who do you think you are to laugh at others?' Dawn shrieked as May bit back a groan.

Rising to her feet, she drained the remains of her berry tea before placing it in the tissue filled bin near her.

'If any of you need me, I'll be outside,' she responded, not seeing Wallace shake his head at Steven as he moved to follow her.

'Riolu,' May called as she reached the door, the small fighting type jumping over the furniture to reach her.

'May, I'll join you,' Wallace called as he stepped towards her, ignoring the surprised glances from her friends.

Seeing the turquoise haired man's gaze on her, May shrugged in response, not knowing what to say to him.

They walked out of the centre in silence, not so much as glancing at the many paparazzi that were hoarding outside, who were taking picture after picture of them both, calling out questions to them.

'Ignore them and keep walking,' Wallace frowned in her ear as his turquoise eyes flickered to the formidable presence of Jack Walker.

'May,' the man frowned as he reached them.

Seeing his concerned eyes, May nodded her head once, her nails digging into her palm as she clenched her hand.

'Come on,' the man grimaced, leading her through the paparazzi with Wallace in tow.

Hearing a loud whirring sound up ahead, May was surprised to see the woman who had helped her earlier ushering them into her farm.

'Thanks, Big Bertha,' Jackie beamed at her as May's eyes landed on a giant helicopter.

'No, I can't leave Drew,' May called, stopping in her tracks.

'And you won't, now get in,' Jackie growled as he took a seat in the giant contraption, buckling into his seat.

'No,' May glared as she felt Wallace snake his arm around her, ushering her into the seat, his expression telling her not to argue as they heard the calls of the paparazzi who followed them.

'We'll be back to Drew as soon as we can, but we need to find a place to talk alone,' Wallace said as one of the paparazzi called, 'where are you taking the Princess of Hoenn?'

'Who's the Princess of Hoenn? She's a Gym Leader!' Another snorted as May felt her heart jump in her throat.

Without a second glance back, she jumped into the helicopter, frantically buckling her seat belt as Wallace sat beside her, closing the door elegantly.

Having reached the Ranger Headquarters, May stared at the wild Staraptor that stayed outside, appearing to be perfectly domesticated as an unidentified Ranger caught it with his Stylus.

Turning her gaze to the giant tower before her, May was impressed by how imposing it looked, whilst somehow sending off a message of peace. She recognised it from her brother's pictures-the Ranger's Headquarters. She felt incredibly out of place as a Trainer, though knew better than to comment on it.

A familiar brown haired man rushed out to greet them, bowing deeply to Wallace before ushering them in.

Recognising the man to be Kellyn, May remained silent as she followed the two prominent figures inside, recognising the bright tiles in the foyer to those in the base she'd encountered in Pueltown. like Pokémon Centres, Ranger Bases seemed to try to keep things consistent. It left her feeling slightly appeased by the vague familiarity.

'Chairperson Erma is waiting for you with Professor Hastings. You'll find them upstairs with our Operators,' the man explained as he walked up the stairs to the left.

Climbing in silence, May wondered what she'd gotten herself into this time. If Max found her here, he knew she'd get a lecture from the man, who often forgot that she was the elder sibling. She didn't want any trouble, just for Drew to be safe and healthy.

After climbing a few too many stairs, May glanced up to see an official looking room, with two women and one man at the controls on the left, giant screens up before them.

'Hello, you must be May and Wallace. I'm Chairperson Erma, and this is my colleague Professor Hastings,' an elderly woman smiled, her thick, grey hair pulled away from her face in two pignite tails. She wore a long, brown skirt with a white blouse above it, a matching brown cardigan over it. She was leaning profusely onto a walking stick, but seemed perfectly able bodied otherwise.

May's eyes flickered to the man beside her, a man with long, grey hair, bushy eyebrows, horizontal moustache and a goatie. He wore fluro pink pants with a matching blouse, a yellow gilet covering them with a lab coat over it. He, like Erma, had a walking stick which he leaned on as his dark grey eyes narrowed upon her.

'Hi,' May responded, offering them a feeble smile. She knew her reluctance would be painfully obvious, but she couldn't muster anything friendlier at that stage.

'You must understand that we have brought you here under the utmost discretion in the hopes of enlisting your assistance. So far, you have been witness to two attacks by team Bright Moon, and Jackie tells us that you have also aided him in his investigations off shore,' the woman frowned at May, who grimaced at her shoes, unable to meet anyone's eyes. This felt all too much like an interrogation or official reprimand to her.

'Chairperson Erma, I must insist that you delay this interview at once!' A sharp voice snarled, pulling May's attention away from her shoes.

'Why would that be, child?' The woman responded, her lips pulled into a thin and disapproving line.

'Max!' May choked out before rushing past her companions and tackling her younger brother in a hug.

'It'll be all right, sis,' Max whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, glaring at his mentor. In a heated voice, he yelled, 'I suppose this was your idea, was it? Bring her in here whilst she's under enough duress already? What's wrong with you, Jackie? Haven't you got any shame?'

'It's not like that, Max. They honestly only want to ask her a few questions,' Jack Walker groaned as Wallace frowned at Max's furious . Undoubtedly he was considering how he'd react if Lisia ever spoke to him in such a scolding manner in public.

'I see, he has a vested interest in the young woman,' Professor Hastings frowned as Max turned his angry glower onto him.

'Max, it's ok. I have to do this, team Bright Moon aren't going to stop because Drew's incapacitated,' May whispered into his shoulder, her shoulders shaking.

'Yes, but you being emotionally drained isn't going to help anyone with anything!' Max scowled down at his sister before turning an angry glare at Wallace, 'and I expected you of all people to look after her! We both know you have at least two incentives, but I see that you don't care enough about either of them. I should just Rattata you out now, whilst I still can!'

'Don't be a fool, Max! I wouldn't have brought May here if I didn't think a change of scenery would have helped her!' The man snarled as Riolu stared up at Max in confusion.

'Enough! Max, I'm going to get into this interview and then I'll have dinner with you. Drew's injury should be the worst that can happen. Wallace, please keep my brother preoccupied in the meantime,' May called as she straightened her posture and walked towards the two eldest in the room.

'It's nice of you to aid us with our investigations, please follow us,' Chairperson Erma smiled as Max opened and closed his mouth, apparently at a loss for something to say to his sister.