Hi everyone!
I love Contestshipping and always wanted to see more of Drew and May's growing friendship in the show. And after the episode "Who, What, When, Where, Wynaut?" where Drew and May get stranded together on an island, and May rescues Drew, I always wanted to see an inverse of the episode: where Drew has to rescue May. I wrote this lil story for fun and I hope I do the characters justice. :) It takes place in the Advanced series, a few months after the Mirage Island episode.
~cosette141
"Ooooh, I just can't wait!"
May pumped a fist in the air excitedly and the group collectively sighed. They were still a few hours' walk away from Celadon City, May's next Pokémon Contest. Her final contest, considering that she's already won her four ribbons and only needed one more for the Grand Festival.
"Save some energy for the Contest, will ya?" muttered Max, who was lagging behind with Ash and Brock.
"And slow down," groaned Ash, and Pikachu mumbled a "pikaaa" in agreement.
"Slow down?!" asked May incredulously, not slowing her fast pace for a moment but whirling around to face him and walk backwards. "That's strange, coming from you, so-called Pokémon Master! You're always walking too fast for me!"
"This is different," said Ash, his hollow attempt at validating himself.
"Yeah," said May with a grin, turning back around. "Because it isn't about you."
Brock looked slyly at Ash. "That's true."
Ash puffed his cheeks and crossed his arms.
They continued at that pace, May traveling a few feet ahead of them for the next two hours. May refused to stop for lunch so the boys and Pikachu ate Brock's sandwiches as they walked, May's excuse being, "registration starts in two hours and I need my beauty sleep once we get there."
Celadon City finally came into view after an hour and a half. May squealed with glee at the sight of the city shining in the sunset and her companions groaned with relief.
May picked up her pace even more—surprisingly not exhausted in the least—but turned and found her friends and brother at least twenty feet behind her.
"Come on, come on, come on!" she urged them impatiently.
"Just go ahead," suggested Brock. "We'll meet you there!"
Not a bad idea, she thought. "Okay!" She then turned and sped through the town. How could she be dragging her feet to this? Who cares if it took them eight hours of straight walking to make it here? This was going to be her fifth ribbon! And she was too beyond excited.
She made it to the Contest center in record time. She burst through the revolving doors and the cool air conditioning chilled her skin. She breathed it in and twirled with a giggle. "I'm here!" she squealed excitedly, in a voice so high only Skitty could decipher it.
May rushed to the front desk. Nurse Joy looked up in surprise at her suddenness. "I'm here!" she exclaimed, slapping her Contest ID on the counter. "May Maple; I'm ready to go!"
Joy smiled a little. "Hello, May! Unfortunately the registration doesn't start for another hour," she said with a small yet kind smile.
May's face fell and she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. She glanced at the time behind Nurse Joy. It was true; she was a tad early.
"Oh," she said with a nervous laugh, taking back her ID. "My bad. I'll see you in an hour, I guess!"
"Hm."
May froze. She knew that hm anywhere.
She turned to see the green-haired trainer sitting in one of the lounge chairs of the room. He was seated alone, legs crossed and seemed to have been there for a while. His eyes opened at her question and he looked at her with a bright, sharp gaze and flicked his fingers through his hair. "A little… excited, are we?"
May felt her blush deepen just a little but she shook it away, too happy to bother with his teasing. "Of course I am! You're entering the contest too, right?"
"Why else would I be here?"
May pursed her lips a little at the sarcasm, but shook it off. "I'm going to get my fifth ribbon," said May, closing her fist determinately, snatching the air in front of her. Something she must have picked up from Ash along the way, but whatever.
"Is that so?" Drew rose from the seat, shouldering on his backpack. May had to admit… he really did rather everything with finesse.
May crossed her arms. "It is."
"Well," he said, "sadly for you, I also need my fifth ribbon. There's no way I'm going to give it up. Especially not to you, of all people."
May bristled, an entirely new heat reddening her cheeks. "Yeah? What's that supposed to mean!"
Drew just smiled at her, in that taunting kind of way, gave her a little salute and walked off toward the rooms.
"Mmmm…" grumbled May under her breath. "I'll show him!"
"May, there you are!"
May abandoned her anger and turned. Ash, Max and Brock finally made it.
"What took you so long?" asked May, her voice still rough from her irritation with Drew. "You weren't that far behind me."
Max sighed. "We weren't, but then Brock saw Officer Jenny."
May sighed, then looked at Ash awkwardly patting a crying Brock on the back. "That explains it."
"Did you get registered?" asked Max.
The blush returned. "Um… not exactly." She rubbed her arms nervously. "We're a little… early."
"Early?!" groaned Ash. "You made us sprint here to get here early?!"
"Sorry about that," she said with a nervous giggle.
"May," came a voice from behind her. It was Nurse Joy. "Would you like me to rest your Pokémon while you wait for reg—"
Nurse Joy cut off her own sentence as her hands were swept away and Brock was kneeling in front of her. "My, Joy! You look more beautiful than any other Joy I've ever—ah, ah! Not the ear!" May and Ash watched awkwardly as Max yanked Brock away.
"Actually that would be great," said May, pulling out all of her poké balls. She handed them over the counter to Joy who put them on a tray.
"Mine could use a rest as well," said Ash, handing his over too.
"Of course!" said Joy kindly.
"Pikachu?" asked Ash to his electric type. "Do you want a rest with everyone else?"
Pikachu just nuzzled Ash's cheek. "Chuu!"
Ash laughed and scratched him behind the ear. "I guess not." He looked back at Joy. "Just those five!"
"Absolutely!" said Joy. "We also have a few open rooms left if you kids would like to stay in one."
"That would be great!" said May and Ash in unison.
Joy smiled.
Ash and May walked back over to where Brock was sitting next to Max, and looked almost like the Breeder was in time-out.
"I wonder how strong the other contestants will be," mused Brock as they watched a few trainers walking about with their pokémon.
"I know at least one will be," said May a little dully. "Drew's competing."
"You saw him?" asked Ash.
"He needs his last ribbon for the Festival, too."
"Wow!" said Brock. "I'm surprised he doesn't have them all already."
May's brows crinkled. She hadn't even thought about that. Usually Drew was on top of these things.
Hm.
It took them the next hour to settle into the room that was opened for them and to get dinner. A dinner that everyone practically inhaled thanks to their lack of stops on their way to the city.
Right afterward, May went back to Joy to register for the Contest and she and Ash retrieved their newly rested pokémon.
Now, she was sitting on her bed, the bottom bunk under Max, staring at four poké balls on the blanket while her three other companions were fast asleep. She was completely torn on who to choose.
Just then, a flash of white light erupted before her and Skitty materialized in thin air. Is that a sign? she wondered, blinking. But before she could think anything else, Skitty glanced out the open window, exclaimed "Naa!" and bounded off the bed, onto the floor and through the window.
"Skitty!" cried May breathlessly in panic.
She shot off the bed, other poké balls forgotten and leapt through the window after her pokémon, surprisingly not eliciting even a stir from the three boys.
Skitty was bounding across the grass in the moonlight, chasing what looked to be a wild ninjask who seemed to be flying for its life away from the kitten.
"Skitty, stop!" cried May, running after it and cursing herself. I need to train that pokémon not to run after everything that moves!
Skitty didn't. It kept running after the ninjask, who was trying its best to shake its tail. Skitty launched a Silver Wind at it suddenly with an excited, "Naaaaa!"
"Skitty, no!" cried May, jumping in front of the ninjask to block it, and the wind buffeted her forcefully but luckily not the ninjask. Her hair flew wildly around her face and somewhere behind her she could have sworn she heard something suspiciously like, "We're blasting off already..?!" but she dug her heels in the ground to stay planted. Thankfully the Assist hadn't been a Fire Spin.
The ninjask continued trying to get away and Skitty bounded after it.
May heaved out a sigh. "Skitty! Stop!" She ran after it when suddenly Skitty jumped through some bushes and screamed.
"Skitty!" yelled May, launching herself through the bushes after it, and realizing instantly what made Skitty scream.
The ground dropped bluntly and suddenly May was falling. Her outstretched hands felt something and she grabbed it, realizing with relief it was Skitty. She held her Pokémon close to her as she fell, and everything became black.
Max woke with a yawn, rubbing his eyes before he put on his glasses. The sun shined through the window and illuminated the room.
He would never admit it fully to May, but he was incredibly excited to see her perform. He'd never seen her so happy before and was proud to see her with her Pokémon on those stages.
He peeked his head over the bunk to look down at his sister.
...Who wasn't there.
Her poké balls lay on the blankets but the sheets didn't even seem mussed, as if they hadn't even been slept in. Max gave the bed a confused stare and climbed down the ladder.
Moments later, he was shaking Ash awake. Both the raven-haired trainer and his pokémon were fast sleep next to each other, and the shaking only had Ash swatting at his hand. "No… Corphish… stopp… attack them not me..."
"Ash!" snapped Max, and Ash's eyes snapped open.
"What!" he exclaimed, jerking upright, Pikachu following suit as if ready for battle.
"Did you see May go anywhere?" asked Max anxiously.
Ash rubbed his eyes and looked around Max, at May's empty bed. "No," he said eventually.
"Brock!" said Max to the top bunk, to which he got no response. Max sighed. "Nurse Joy is here to see y—"
Brock was out of the bed and standing beside Max in seconds. "Where? Where?!"
"Wow." said Max in monotone. "I was lying, she's not. But have you—"
Brock collapsed. "That's not nice."
"Have you seen May?" asked Max impatiently.
He and Ash got to their feet. Brock inspected her bed. "She must have gotten up early." He picked up one of her poké balls, this one opened. "This poké ball is empty. She's probably just training."
"Before breakfast?" asked Ash, seeming like that was an impressive feat. "She really is pumped."
"Yeah," said Max. "I guess that makes sense."
"All right!" said Ash excitedly. "Breakfast!"
The three trainers made their way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Dozens and dozens of trainers were bustling about the busy pokémon center, seemingly getting ready for the Contest. The buffet was as great as ever, but still didn't match up to Brock's cooking in the slightest.
"Wow!" said Max, watching a blaziken and its trainer walk by their table. "There are so many awesome pokémon in this contest!"
"Yeah," agreed Brock. "May really has her work cut out for her."
"Maybe we can catch up with her after we eat and watch her train!" suggested Ash.
"Great idea!" agreed Max.
It took another while for them to finish up breakfast and they walked outside. Ash, Max and Brock stood outside the Pokémon center, casting their gazes over the dozens upon dozens of trainers practicing with their pokémon.
"Hmm… where could she be?" asked Ash.
"Well, she's gotta be here somewhere," said Brock, the ever-voice of reason.
Except…
After their second circle of the grounds, May was nowhere to be found. They searched the immediate perimeter where most of the trainers were practicing but May was nowhere in sight.
"We looked everywhere, right?" asked Ash, scratching his head.
"Pika…" said Pikachu in agreement, his little black eyes scanning the people as well.
"Where is she?" asked Max, starting to feel just a little worried. It wasn't like May to take off for hours in the morning without telling them something.
"Well," said Brock. "We can just wait for her inside, then. She might have wanted somewhere private to practice. No sense looking for her if she wants to be alone."
Max's shoulders dropped. "Guess so."
They started back toward the pokémon center. Ash grinned. "It's not like she's going to miss the Contest! She'll be back in no time."
"And here it is, folks! Less than an hour and this Pokémon Contest is about to start!" said the announcer, the Contest's usual MC, Vivian, enthusiastically from the TV in the lobby of the pokemon center. "It's a big one; any coordinators trying to enter in this year's Grand Festival with only four ribbons have their last chance! This is the final Contest of the year. Now, let's talk about the odds of…"
Ash frowned at the screen of the TV. He, Max, Brock and Pikachu were sitting in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, which was beginning to thin out a little as the coordinators made their way to their locker rooms to get prepared for the Contest.
But May still hasn't come back yet.
"Where is she?!" exclaimed Max, standing on the couch and looking out the window at the almost empty grounds outside. "She's gonna be late!"
"Ash," came Brock's whispered voice, and Ash tore his gaze away from where he was staring in space, lost in thought.
"Yeah?" he asked, noticing that Brock was turned away from Max and keeping his voice low enough that the younger boy couldn't hear.
"It's not like May to be late, you know," he said, and Ash could see the concern edging into his eyes.
The same concern starting to itch at his own chest. "I know." Ash stood up, Pikachu jumping from his lap to the floor. He walked up to the counter, Brock behind him as they approached Nurse Joy. And for the first time in front of a Joy, Brock didn't even so much as look at her funny. "Nurse Joy?"
She turned away from a computer to look at him. "What can I do for you, Ash?"
"It's about our friend May," Ash started. "We think she got up early to train for the Contest but we can't find her anywhere. Did she already check-in in the locker rooms or something?"
Nurse Joy's brows kneaded. "No, I'm afraid not. The lockers just opened now."
Ash's brows creased. He looked at Brock. "Should we check outside again?"
"She's not there," stressed Max, coming over to stand with them. "Where is she?!" He looked around anxiously. Then, "Wait! We can track her pokédex, right?"
"It's still in the room," said Brock, and after a shrug, "I tried that."
Ash swallowed, looking around. "Well, we'll have to split up then! Pikachu and I will look outside, Brock how about you check the locker rooms and Max, check the rest of the Center!"
"Right!" Brock and Max said in unison and the two boys ran off to their depicted locations while Ash burst through the doors and started another circle around the Center.
"And that's twenty minutes until the start of this Contest, folks! We've had the chance to talk to several of the big names in this competition already, and it seems like it's going to be a heck of a day. The one and only Drew Hayden still has yet to comment, only making him even more of a heart throb for his fans, I'm sure…"
Drew hm'd at Vivian on the TV. They had approached him to talk a while ago but he refused. He winced a little at the group of screaming girls the TV showed next, in the stands with giant photos of him. He'd never understand.
He slipped his hands into his pockets. He would never admit it aloud, but he was just a little nervous about this Contest. He'd definitely cut it close this year, waiting until the last second to get his ribbon. And not that he'd ever admit it to her, but May was actually starting to show some promise as a coordinator. But he was still him; he'd get this ribbon for sure.
"Anything?!"
Drew's eyes opened. Across the room were May's friends, Ash, Brock and her brother Max. They were all panting, even Ash's Pikachu from his shoulder.
"No," Brock was saying. "Nowhere in the locker rooms."
"And Pikachu and I searched everywhere outside," groaned Ash.
Max looked on the verge of tears. "She's not anywhere in here, either! I even asked a girl to look in the bathrooms."
Drew cocked his head.
"Look, May wouldn't miss this," said Brock heavily, and though Drew had a feeling he knew they were talking about her, he was surprised to feel something shift in his chest at her name. "If she hasn't shown up yet, something must have happened."
"Something happened to May?"
All three boys and Pikachu looked up at the sound of Drew's voice. He hadn't even meant to say anything but before he knew it he was approaching them and looking across their faces.
"Drew?" asked Ash blankly, seeming caught off guard. He shook himself a little, that determination from earlier coming back. "Uh, yeah," said Ash. "Well, we don't know. We haven't seen her since last night."
"She and one of her pokémon were missing from our room this morning," said Max. "We just thought she got up early to train!"
"Only fifteen minutes now, coordinators, I hope you're ready! Today will…"
Drew and the others looked up at the TV.
"I'll help you look," offered Drew.
The three of them nodded. "Thanks," said Ash.
"I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier," muttered Brock suddenly. He pulled a poké ball from his backpack. "Mudkip, go!"
A flash of white light illuminated the water-type. "Mud!" cried Mudkip.
"Let's look outside," said Brock. "Mudkip, find May!"
Mudkip nodded determinately. "Kip!"
They all rushed outside. Mudkip ran forward and then stopped suddenly, concentrating. They all waited anxiously until its fin pointed left. "Mud!"
Brock smiled. "Great, Mudkip! Let's go!"
They ran after Mudkip as it led them for a good while away from the center, until Mudkip finally stopped. "Mudkip, mud!"
Drew raised an eyebrow. Mudkip just looked as if it stopped in front of a wide expanse of grass. May wasn't anywhere in sight.
They finally caught up with Mudkip, all panting. But Drew had been right; just grass.
"She's not here, Brock," said Ash quietly, looking around. But other than a line of trees and bushes in the distance, the area was clear.
Brock looked around too. "I don't understand why Mudkip brought us here-"
"I do," said Max in a tiny voice. He bent down and picked something up from the ground, and when Drew saw it something again shifted in his chest.
May's bandana.
The red and white cloth blew gently in the slight wind on Max's hand. They all stared at it for a long moment, all stunned.
"But…" started Ash.
"Where is she?" asked Max again, tears in his eyes as he looked around.
"Mudkip," said Brock. "Do you sense her anywhere?"
Mudkip looked around, but its fin just deflated. "Mud," it said sadly, shaking its head.
"Pikachu!"
Ash jumped, startled as Pikachu exclaimed from his shoulder, then jumped down and darted a few feet away. He picked up something with his teeth and brought it to Ash, crying, "Pika!" through the material.
Ash bent down and took it-what looked like black cloth- from Pikachu. It was—
"A glove?" asked Brock.
Indeed it was. A long, black glove, probably worn by a woman.
"Why does this look familiar?" asked Ash quietly, seemingly to himself, turning it over in his hands.
Brock seemed to be thinking about that to himself as well. He snapped his fingers. "Ash, who do we know wears long gloves like that?"
Ash kneaded his brows. "Uh…"
Brock rubbed a hand over his face. "We don't have time for this-it's gotta be Jessie's!"
Ash's eyes widened and he shot to his feet. His face twisted in anger. "Of course it is!" he yelled angrily, closing his fist around the glove until his knuckles were white. "I should have known Team Rocket was behind this!"
Drew's eyes widened, not having understood who they meant by Jessie. He'd dealt with that Team Rocket on one occasion or another thanks to May and her friends.
His own fist curled at his side.
Brock took the glove from Ash and held it out for Mudkip. "Can you find Jessie, Mudkip?"
Mudkip sniffed, then stood still. After a few moments, Mudkip said, "Mudkip, mud!" excitedly and started off the other way.
"Great!" exclaimed Ash. "Let's go!"
They all started after Mudkip when Vivian, the MC's voice, amplified by the speakers on the outside of the building spoke up. "...this is a beautiful display by Maggie, our first coordinator of the afternoon! Up next we have the well-known Drew to give us a wonderful show with his…"
Drew and the others froze. Drew snapped his head toward the building. That was right; he'd forgotten he was second to go on.
He turned back to the others, words caught on his tongue, indecision caught in his chest.
"Drew," said Brock hastily, "don't worry about May. We'll find her! Go!"
Drew didn't move.
"Drew!" Ash's voice, stronger, firmer. "If you don't go now you're gonna miss it! We can handle this! We've dealt with Team Rocket a million times, May's gonna be fine!"
Knowing they wanted to leave, Drew just nodded stiffly. "Yeah, okay."
They ran off after Mudkip and Drew bit his lip. He started to turn toward the building when something fluttered at his feet.
May's bandana.
Drew stopped. Max must have dropped it when they ran off. He bent and picked it up. He stared at it.
"Na!"
Drew's head snapped up. He whipped around. Everything in the clearing aside from the announcer in the speakers was calm and quiet. But he could have sworn he heard something in the distance. Something high pitched and distressed.
"Thank you, Maggie! What a wonderful display and great score of a twenty-four! Now we have Drew up next! Let's give Drew a hand!"
Drew walked away from the building toward where he heard the sound.
"Na!"
There it was again, louder. Drew ran toward it, approaching a line of brush.
He pressed through the bushes.
"...seems we're having trouble locating Drew Hayden… this is a first, folks. If he doesn't show in the next few minutes, we're going to have to consider this a disqualification..."
Drew ignored the MC. Because he knew why that cry was familiar. He's heard it before.
It was the cry of a Skitty.
Drew crawled through the bushes and froze; the ground dropped off not two feet in front of him. He swallowed hard, glad he hadn't burst through them.
He carefully crawled onto the ledge. Little rocks crumbled beneath his fingers and he made sure he was staying clear away from the weak ground.
He looked over the ledge.
Down about fifty feet, through some thick branches was something bright pink. He blinked, realizing quickly it was a Skitty. But below the Skitty lay-
"May!" cried Drew, realizing just what he was looking at. May was lying on the ground at the bottom of the cliff. Skitty was sitting on her chest and crying. His heart pumped into overdrive and he leaned closer over the ledge, trying to see her clearer. She was so still. "Arceus," he breathed. "M-"
But he leaned too far. The ground beneath his fingers broke and he started to fall. His heart jumping into his throat, Drew's hand reflexively shot to his jacket and pulled out a poké ball. "Masquerain!"
It fluttered into the air just as Drew began to plummet. Drew shut his eyes as he fell, but felt himself land abruptly on something soft and light. Masquerain had caught him. He grabbed hold of her as she flapped her wings hard and tried to slow him down, bringing him closer to the ground. He knew she wasn't used to flying with anything on her back, least of all a person. "Almost there," he gasped, seeing the ground coming up closer to meet them.
His weight proved too much for her in the end and she fell the last ten feet, tumbling with him through the thick branches to the ground.
Drew grunted as they hit the ground, and he shoved himself off Masquerain as quickly as he could to avoid crushing her. Scrapes burned his face and his back throbbed with what would become brilliantly colored bruises.
Without wasting a second he pushed himself painfully to his feet, staggering a little and trying to catch his breath. Masquerain was lying on the ground and looked fainted and weak. He swallowed hard, berating himself for letting it get hurt. "Thank you," he whispered, recalling it into its poké ball so it could rest. "I'll get you help as soon as I can, I promise."
He whipped around, seeing May and her Skitty a few yards away. "May!" he called breathlessly, running toward them.
Skitty was batting May's face with its tail, and crying, seeming to try to wake her. She was clearly unconscious, but that's all Drew hoped she was.
Only inches away from May, Skitty sensed his approach. It turned around, staying put on May's chest, and caught sight of him. The moment it did, Skitty hissed and its fur bristled. It clung protectively to May's shirt and raised its tail threateningly.
Drew held his hands up in surrender. "Woah, easy, there," he said slowly. He sank to his knees, leaving his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt her. I want to help," he said carefully.
Skitty slowly lowered its tail. Its face morphed from anger to fear. Drew took it as an invitation to approach. He crawled closer to May. "May?" he asked shakily, terrified at her stillness. With Skitty lying on her chest, he couldn't even tell if she was breathing. Scratches and cuts, probably from the twigs as she fell, littered her face and arms.
With a shaking hand, Drew grabbed hers, pressing his fingers over the artery beneath her glove. A pulse beat steadily back at him, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus," he whispered. "Skitty, are you alright?" asked Drew, turning to the normal-type.
"Na," said Skitty quietly, evidently a confirmation, but not once taking its eyes off May's face. The little pokémon was shaking with fear.
"May," he said again, turning back toward her. He put a hand on her shoulder, shaking a little. She didn't move. What was he supposed to do now?
Drew looked back up. There was no reason for May to even be on that ledge. There was plenty of space to practice that was much closer to the Contest building. So what was she doing here?
He sat back on his heels, and looked back up at the ledge. There was no way he could climb up the side of it and it would take forever to walk back to the center from here.
Drew pulled a pokéball from his jacket. "Mas—" He stopped himself, wincing at the reflex. Masquerain was hurt. He'd have to get her to a pokémon center just as soon as he got May to a hospital. That is, if she needed one. His eyes fell back down to her. The majority of him was still hoping she'd just wake up so he could chastise her for being so careless and walk back to the Center with him. But without Masquerain, there was no calling for help. At this point, they'd have to walk out of here themselves.
He tried again, anyway, to shake her awake. "May!" he called firmly, but she was still. Drew's brows creased. "Come on, M—"
Something strong and fast struck him hard in the side and sent him painfully into the nearest tree trunk. Drew's back collided painfully with it and he groaned, falling to the ground. He cracked open an eye and clenched his teeth, only to see an angry mightyena standing a few feet away from him, pawing its claws in the dirt threateningly and growling, its fur bristled and looking just a little crazed.
Drew's anger dissipated and instantly turned to fear. The mightyena shifted its attention away from him…
…to May.
Before it could lunge at May, Drew threw himself in front of her. The mightyena's Tackle caught him instead and sent him sprawling to the ground. Before he could get up, sharp claws dug into his chest and pinned him forcefully to the ground, hard enough he felt something break in his torso and he cried a strangled yell.
His hands scrambled for his jacket, shaking fingers latching onto a poké ball.
"Ro—" he couldn't finish her name as the air was squeezed out of his lungs. But it wasn't necessary; Roselia emerged in a flash of white light. For the second time that day, Drew needn't utter a word for his pokémon to act. Not that he could have if he tried. Roselia's eyes widened at the sight of him pinned underneath the large pokémon, struggling to throw it off. Drew blinked rapidly as black spots danced in his vision from the lack of air.
Not seconds later, a bright flash of light and powerful force struck the mightyena and it was thrown dozens of yards away, freeing Drew.
Drew coughed hard, his chest and abdomen burning with pain. He didn't try to sit up, just focused on catching his breath.
"Ro!" cried Roselia, and Drew felt soft petals on his head, his pokémon's question that he was alright.
"I'm okay," he said hollowly, still trying to catch his breath. He slowly pulled himself up, pressing a hand to his chest where it stung. He hissed as he did. "Thank you," he told Roselia, turning to her. He smiled wanly. "That was quite a Solarbeam, too," he complimented it hoarsely.
Roselia smiled, but still looked worried. It turned and froze suddenly, catching sight of May. It looked back at Drew questioningly.
"I don't know," said Drew, looking back at May. "I think she's going to be okay, we just have to get out of here." He glanced briefly back toward where Roselia's Solarbeam left the mightyena. The area was empty. "Let's hope that mightyena doesn't come back." Or anything else that lives here.
"Ro."
Drew started to stand when pain stabbed him from his abdomen. He grimaced and faltered, falling to one knee.
"Rose!" cried Roselia worriedly.
"I'm fine," said Drew through clenched teeth.
Even so, he's dealt with pain before. Traveling on his own for almost his whole life, he's learned to deal with it. Both physically and emotionally.
Drew pushed past it, albeit slowly and cautiously, pressing a hand over what must have been at least one broken rib.
Drew knelt back down next to May. Skitty was shaking even harder now, probably frightened by the mightyena. When Drew reached his hand for May, it hissed. Drew retreated it, sighing shortly with impatience. "Skitty," he said with forced calm. "I'm…" He swallowed. May was unconscious. She wouldn't hear what he said to Skitty. "I'm a... friend of hers, okay?"
Drew reached again, and though Skitty watched him carefully, it didn't try to stop him. Drew pulled May up by the shoulders until she was sitting up, which forced Skitty to jump down. He was about to shift so he could pull her onto his back but his ribs twinged painfully and he lost his hold on her. She fell backward and he caught her, her back to his chest and his arms tightly holding her around her waist.
There was something about the way she fit inside his arms. Her head right below his chin, her body against his in the embrace just like it fit. Drew froze, stunned into silence. For a moment he didn't want to move.
A rustle in the far distance whipped his head up. Afraid it was the mightyena, or one or several of its friends, he shifted May's position again, and turned so she fell gently against his back. He grabbed her under her knees and tried his best to lock her arms around his neck. He took a breath, bracing himself, then stood.
He gasped as the pain spread in his ribs and he staggered a little under May's weight and the injury. He managed to keep upright anyway, and opened his eyes as he righted his balance. He looked down at Skitty and Roselia. "Follow me, you two." And looking at Roselia more than Skitty, he said, "Be alert."
Roselia nodded and Skitty's tail lowered.
They followed him as he made his way through the forest, each step more painful than the last. His teeth were clenched hard enough he might have broken them. He figured it would have been a doable journey with his ribs if he didn't have the weight on his back. But there was something about that weight on his back that made him feel… something. It made him feel enough that he'd rather have the weight and the pain than nothing at all.
She didn't wake even after he'd been walking a good while. He stopped to ask her name every now and again, but she was still out cold. His worry was beginning to deepen.
It was an unfamiliar feeling, that worry. He hadn't had to worry about anyone besides himself and his pokémon since he could remember. It was easier then.
The more he walked, the more he remembered that day, months ago, when he was stranded with May. After Team Rocket had blown them to Mirage Island, they were separated from her other friends. Drew hardly remembered a big chunk of that time, having been unconscious. He remembered falling, and then waking up to May in a cave, at nearly midnight. His head had hurt like hell.
Drew slightly glanced back at May, whose head was resting on his shoulder. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. Back then, May had saved him. Sure, she'd claimed the wynaut had, but the wynaut fished them out of the current. According to her story, she'd held onto him until they did. She could have just as easily left him and saved herself.
Drew tightened his grip around her knees. He grimaced as more footsteps jabbed pain into his ribs. Well, this was his chance to pay her back. He didn't like owing debts to people. And that's all this was, right? He was just repaying her for what she did. There was no other reason he felt such a desire to make sure she got out of here safely. He'd have done this for anyone else.
Anyone.
Something in the back of his mind nagged him that he wouldn't have been quite this terrified if it were anyone else.
But he ignored it and kept walking.
a/n: I'll post the next chapter soon! Thanks for reading :)