'Thanks again!' May called to the driver as she scrambled out of the car, trying not to trip over her feet in the process.
Hearing voices from the other side of the barricade, May glanced back to see a string of paparazzi staring at them in confused disbelief. She couldn't blame them, knowing they were questioning how either Brendan or herself had climbed into the recognisable car of a reputable organisation. Even she would question the meaning behind it and who the strangers were.
Glancing at Brendan, she registered the anxiety in his eyes and felt her heart skip a beat for her friend.
She carefully took his hand in her own and muttered, 'we'll find them.'
The man obviously recollected his resolve as May released his hand. Ignoring the paparazzi, she turned to face the familiar dirt path that climbed the mountain. Hearing the crunch of Brendan's step as he rushed ahead, May swallowed nervously.
'Orlando, Wally, hold on,' May muttered nervously as she followed him until they had disappeared into the cave at the end of the path, out of the reporter's view.
Rushing through the fiery path, May barely spared a glance for the stalagmites and stalactites that lined the ceiling and ground. Once again, she sorely wished she'd worn her running shoes as she stepped in a puddle, her own splash momentarily drowning out the drip of water somewhere further in the cave.
Seeing Orlando and Wally standing near members of both Team Aqua and Magma, Brendan lurched forward, hollering, 'hey! You jerks! Give it up, you bozos! Let them go!'
'Hahn?' A woman with long, wavy black hair questioned as she turned to face them, her sun-kissed skin exposed through her revealing outfit.
'What's this? Who is this spoiled brat?' She continued to question, only fuelling Brendan's anger.
'May! You came!' Brendan grinned as he saw her exhausted form.
'Of course I did! You made me ruin a perfect pair of shoes!' May growled at the man, upset that he assumed she'd drop out of the race so easily.
'Never mind that, we've got to save them from these weirdos!' Brendan continued, waving off her remark.
'Battle with me?' Brendan grinned at her in a winning manner, all of his anxiety dissipating now that he had eyes on his younger brother.
'Of course, don't be silly, I care about Orlando and Wally too. You take on Magma, I'll take on Aqua,' May grumbled before taking out her pokéball.
'Thanks a mill, diaper buddy!' Brendan beamed before isolating the Magma Grunts, one man and one woman, though the female Magma Grunt seemed extremely familiar to May.
'Ah,' The woman beamed as May stood before her. With a smug pose, she continued, 'even I, Team Aqua Admin Shelly, have been made a fool… Fine! Brats who don't know how to watch their mouths must be punished! I won't forgive you if you cower in fear either! Wahahaha!'
The Grunt and Shelly both released their pokémon, revealing Grimer and Mighteyena.
With a grimace, May released her Beldum and Shroomish, wondering why Shelly had to be quite so… intense.
With a growl, May called out, 'quick, iron head that Mighteyena, Shroomish you use absorb!'
'Grimer, use mud bomb!' The Grunt cried as Shelly said, 'Mightyena, swagger.'
Wincing at the choice of the woman's moves, May knew that whichever of her pokémon would be hit with the dark type's attacks would not only have an improved attack, but also confusion.
With an angry snarl, she called out, 'you can do it, guys!'
Before she could give any further instructions, the pokémon collided.
Watching, May winced as Grimer's ground attack hit Beldum in the eye, and almost groaned when Mightyena's attack was aimed at it too. Just her luck, she'd already lost one battle today, and now she was probably going to have difficulty with this one.
'Beldum!' She cried, glancing at her two challengers, assessing their speed, defensive stance and general attitude.
Grimacing, she glanced in her bag before finding a persim berry.
'Beldum,' May grimaced before giving her pokémon the berry and saying, 'Shroomish, absorb again.'
'Feel better?' May questioned Beldum, who nodded his head slightly, 'right, use zen headbutt, I know you can do it!'
Her pokémon glowed an eerie pink before it attacked the Grimer, who cried as he fell into Mightyena.
'Come on, we can do this, guys! Shroomish, you know what to do! Beldum, iron defence followed by hold back!' May cried as Shelly hissed, 'snarl!'
Blinking as Beldum's exterior glossed over with his strengthened attack, May heard the Mightyena let out an infuriated growl, attacking both of her pokémon with an enraged bite.
'Dodge it!' May cried, though saw both of her pokémon flinch momentarily with pain.
Grimacing, she said, 'you can do it, I know you can!'
At her words, Beldum released his attack on Grimer, followed closely by Shroomish's absorb. Her move set was limited, but her pokémon would only be disheartened if she recalled either of them now, especially if Orlando and Wally were relying on them.
Seeing the sheer determination in her pokémon's eyes, May knew that her friends were fighting as hard as they could for her. The Grimer was almost knocked out instantly by the ferocity of their attack, causing May to grin in anticipation.
'Come on, we can do this! Shroomish, absorb and Beldum, zen headbutt! Let's get rid of him!' May grinned as she tried not to dance around in immature joy.
'Snarl, Mightyena!' Shelly snarled, though Beldum attacked first, causing the dark type to faint with a pained yelp.
'Grrrr,' Shelly growled before recalling he pokémon to reveal a Carvanha.
'Hold back and Absorb!' May cried, clicking her fingers for effect. She ignored Shelly's dramatic eye-roll before the woman said, 'aqua jet.'
'Repeat your last attacks,' May cried, clenching her fist with anxious fear. They couldn't afford to drag this out, Brendan, Orlando and Wally were relying on them.
With a powerful combination, the moves fused to knock out the Carvanha, aided by Shroomish's super effective type.
'Ooohhhh! Are you telling me you're that strong and still just a kid?!' Shelly hissed as she returned her pokémon.
With a growl, May didn't respond to the woman's clear dig at her age. She rarely received respect due to her youth, especially as a gym leader. It frustrated her and made her wonder how other young gym leaders faired in other regions, and May didn't even consider herself to be that young.
'Ahhh?! Did I go too easy on you?!' Shelly grimaced as Brendan beamed, 'we did it, May!'
'We did,' May grinned back as Orlando and Wally rushed to them, both looking extremely relieved.
'If the tremendous energy of Mt. Chimney and the Meteorite are combined, we of Team Aqua can take a giant step toward the world that we dream of! We won't let ignorant little brats get in our way!' Shelly grinned, a strange light filling her blue eyes.
'Hmph, I can't believe these children gave us as much trouble as they did you,' Another voice scowled, pulling May's attention away from Shelly.
Hearing the voice, Shelly's eyes narrowed as she scowled, 'hmph! Even Team Magma showed their faces, huh? There's nothing to be done about it…'
'Hey! Grab that meteorite!' She snarled at the Aqua Grunt, who rushed towards Orlando and grabbed something from him.
'Wha-wha-wha-what?' Orlando hissed as his hands tightened on his bag.
'Come on! Hand over the meteorite!' The Grunt growled before yanking it away.
'Ahahaha! Later days, brats and Team Magma! All right, time to rush to Mount Chimney!' Shelly grinned before stalking away, the Grunt following her hurriedly.
'Maxie, we must give chase to Team Aqua or else…' a Magma Grunt grimaced to the man with red hair.
'Hmmm,' the man responded, his arms clasped behind his back. He stalked towards May and Brendan, his small eyes enlarged by his thick lenses. In a stern voice, he continued, '… You again. From what I have seen here, it appears that you are working against our rivals in Team Aqua… Fine. Amuse yourself with those Team Aqua fools. But be careful you do not impede our goals. Be you child or grown, oppose us in the slightest, and I, the great Maxie, will show no mercy!'
Blinking, May stepped out of his way, watching the man walk away, flanked by his Team Magma Grunts. Her eyes focused on the woman's hair triggering something in the back of May's mind, though she couldn't say what.
'That old…! He was certainly more friendly to you than he was to me!' Brendan chuckled in disbelief as he leaned on her shoulder.
'I have no idea what's going on anymore with all of these people!' Orlando exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air in disbelief.
'Never mind those berries! Are you two ok?' May frowned at the two younger men, hoping she didn't seem too concerned. From experience, young men did not want to be mollycoddled.
'B-but… they… I… only…' Wally stuttered before grabbing out a puffer and bringing it to his lips with his shaky hands.
'Looks like he's still pretty out of it,' Brendan muttered as May rushed over, rubbing the youngest man's back in a soothing manner.
There was a pause where they were all crowding around Wally, unable to help.
'Never mind what's happened! I've got to get Wally back to Verdanturf Town or we're both toast!' Orlando scowled before walking the man out of the cave.
Hesitating only slightly, May followed them, Brendan close at her heels, sharing a confused glance.
A/N
I mentioned this in my other fiction, May's Belated Journey, that I would like to update more and try to write stories with different pairings, so if you've got any requests, please let me know.
I've lost my ORAS games when I moved so I can only really use the texts I've taken notes of, so if there's any drastic differences between what I'll be writing and the authentic story, I'm sorry. I'm hoping it'll turn up, but we'll see how things play out.
Thank you so, so much for taking the time to read my stories, it really does make my day seeing it.