I managed to hole up in Starbucks today between classes (College started back yesterday for me) and get this edited and posted:) Thanks for all the kind words last chapter, both anon and user!

Chapter 23: Earthshattering

"Wanda!" Wally cried, reaching in vain after his cousin.

May looked around frantically, half-expecting someone else to step up and take charge of the situation. However, the more she looked, the more she realized that no one was going to do anything. The volbeat and illumise had long since fled back to the safety of the forest, and the few people remaining were tearing in the opposite direction of the tunnel. She realized with dread that Verdanturf didn't have any serious trainers to take action in a crisis.

No one except for she and Brendan.

Wally was getting clumsily to his feet, and she could hear his ragged breathing in her ear. She scrambled off the ground, grabbing his shoulders.

"Don't run," May said, somehow managing to mask the panic his hurried breaths were causing her. If he ran after Wanda, he'd have a full on asthma attack. For Latias's sake, he sounded like he was already starting to have one!

"But Wanda-"

"I'll go," she said, because what other option did she have? Someone had to make sure Wanda was okay. She turned to her pokemon, who were all in varying degrees of shock even now that the tremors seemed to have stilled. "C'mon!"

Rashly, May took off through the trees, only hearing the muted sound of Brendan crying after her. She knew he'd chew her out later, but she also knew he wouldn't leave Wally in the state he was in. With Demi still clutched in her grip and her other three pokemon's footfalls around her, she was confident that they'd be able to take care of themselves.

At least, she really hoped so.

They burst through the tree line, and the entrance to Rusturf Tunnel became visible from the lighting of the houses in Verdanturf that were still occupied. May hesitated when she reached the dark cave opening.

Ezra tensed in front of her, eyes glowing. She could tell he sensed something going on in the tunnel, but what?

A loud, piercing scream, Wanda's scream, echoed from the darkness, followed by a bellow from something huge and inhuman.

Fears aside, May stepped into the cave. "Wanda?!" she called, but she received no answer. A crashing sound, like heavy rocks falling, came from up ahead.

"Wanda, where are you?" She squinted her eyes desperately, but she couldn't make out anything in the black void. Something furry brushed her ankle, and she got an idea. "Gunner, could you light up this cave?"

"Trike," he muttered, and in the next second, sparks were streaking across his fur. It didn't provide the complete visibility she was hoping for, but she could now see clearly for several feet in either direction.

More screams carried from deeper in the cave, so she continued shakily forwards. Around the next bend, she spotted something that made her heart stop.

An enormous, purple pokemon towered over a much smaller pair of people. One of them was Wanda, who was cowering, holding the head of an unconscious young man in her lap. Long yellow crests extended out of the pokemon's head and back, and May could see that its huge mouth was open for attack. A pile of rocks lay beside them, reduced to nothing more than rubble.

The pokemon, an exploud, she realized, stepped towards the couple, and May did the only thing she could. "No! Attack it!"

Demi wiggled out of her arms, and a mixture of seeds, lightening, water, and pure psychic energy erupted throughout the cave. Some of the attacks smacked Exploud precisely in the back, but others ricocheted off the walls. May didn't care so long as the beast's attention was taken away from Riley and Wanda.

A guttural roar sounded from Exploud's throat, and May felt like her ear drums were bursting. The noise faded away to a dull ringing, and she vaguely wondered if she'd gone deaf as rocks rained down from the cave walls around her.

Red eyes full of nothing but primal rage landed on her, and she couldn't hear her own voice when she yelled, "Ezra, hold him with confusion! And bullet seed, spark, and bubble beam!"

Exploud charged forwards, completely unaffected by Ezra's weak confusion. The other attacks, though powerful, rebounded off of him, harmless against his mighty rage, and May wondered if this was the end.

After all she'd been through, a wild exploud was what was going to finish her off once and for all.

Her pokemon, however, had other ideas. Soren sprang up from the ground with his strong hindquarters to swipe a leaf blade clean across Exploud's face. He clung to the giant pokemon, still slinging his deadly leaves so quickly that sometimes it was a leaf blade and others it was nothing more than a pound attack.

On his other side, Gunner lurched forwards and sunk his tiny fangs into Exploud's hindquarters. Electricity rolled off of his body and through the other pokemon's tough hide, and the normal type roared in either agony or rage, maybe both.

With one mighty motion, Exploud jerked his body around, sending Soren flying off of his head and into the wall. Gunner, meanwhile, was tossed somewhere behind him and out of May's view. Blood poured down the monster's face from where Soren had been at him, but when he restarted his charge, it was with renewed vigor.

"Water gun at his feet," May said, her instincts taking over. Her conscious mind was overly preoccupied with the fact that there was nothing she could do to escape the rampaging pokemon unless her own stopped it. The side of the cave blocked her only escape.

Like the other two, Demi was kicked out of the way easily by the much larger pokemon, her water attack barely taking form before he reached her.

Ezra gulped. Bravely, he moved in front of May, and his hand glowed in preparation for a desperate force palm. She tried to step backwards and out of his way, knowing in her heart that the effort to escape was futile, but when she moved, her foot landed unnaturally against the uneven ground.

A sickening something popped in her right ankle and she could only throw her hands out to catch herself as her legs gave out beneath her.

Sharp rocks cut into her palms and agony exploded in her ankle. Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain, and May looked on helplessly as Exploud reared back to knock Ezra away with his mighty fist—

But suddenly, vast, leafy wings were flapping in front of him, and Exploud came to a dead halt. Acumi was reared up protectively between him and May and Ezra, and he could do nothing when faced with a pokemon even larger than him. The tropius leaned her long, muscular neck forwards and released a thundering cry straight in his face.

Exploud recoiled, shocked. Acumi reared her head threateningly one last time before he bounded back off into the invisible depths of the cave.

Acumi turned and appeared to chirp something at May, and the scared haze blanketing her mind remained when she realized she still couldn't hear properly. Obviously concerned, the tropius leaned forward and brushed her moist nose against May's cheek. Ezra approached her as well, his black eyes watery with worry.

"I'm okay," she said, as much to reassure herself as the pokemon. Slowly, she tried to crawl back to her feet, but the pain in her ankle flared up again and she cringed. In the end, the most she could do was stretch her legs out straight in front of her.

May couldn't bring herself to inspect the damage to her foot. If something was broken, she didn't know what she'd do.

Her other pokemon were returning to her now, equally scared and thankfully unharmed, but Acumi muttered something to them. They all paused, giving May her space, but Soren crossed his arms. He clearly did not appreciate being told to stay away from his trainer, especially when she was injured.

"May, are you alright?" Wanda had finally regained her ability to speak. She sounded like she was crying. "Riley got hit with a rock. I don't know if he's okay or not!"

"I-I think so," May lied. The other girl seemed on the verge of a panic attack already, and she really didn't want to set her off further.

"Wanda!" Wally's voice cried, and May could just make him out as he worriedly hobbled across the cave towards her. One of his shaking hands was reached towards his cousin while the other discretely folded an inhaler away into his pocket.

Absently, she realized he'd ignored her request about not exerting himself, and she was watching him so closely that she didn't notice Brendan until he'd already kneeled down in front of her.

"What's hurt?" he asked, and she could tell he was working to keep his voice calm. She took a shaky breath, trying to comfort herself in the fact that at least her hearing seemed to be returning.

"I can't move my ankle," May said. She blinked back the few tears that had escaped, still looking at anything but the site of her pain—at Brendan's pale face, at Ezra's tiny hand clasped in her own, even to Acumi, who was breathing soothingly against her cheek—anything was better than her ankle.

Brendan's cool fingers wrapped carefully around her lower calf, and May fought back a shiver at his touch. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

"It's swelling," he said thickly, after a moment. "I think it's sprained."

"Oh Suicune." It sounded foolish, but May couldn't help but think about how this might hold up her journey. Would she be able to travel with a sprained ankle, or even train? She was on a time limit if she wanted to qualify for this year's League tournament!

Then the light from Gunner reflected off of her charm bracelet, catching her eye, and another problem occurred to her. "We aren't telling my dad."

Brendan's eyes shot up to meet hers. "Really, May? What if you're seriously injured-"

"Stop fighting, guys," Wally said suddenly, and May was caught off guard when his voice actually had a bit of bite to it. He motioned to Wanda, who was still clutching Riley pitifully.

"He's not moving," she whimpered.

"Yeah he is," Wally assured her, pointing at something that May couldn't see from her position. Alastair nodded in agreement with his trainer.

"I wanna know why that exploud attacked him," Brendan muttered, eyes flashing across the cavern. They darkened when they landed on something shiny in the distance. "That's a drill. He was making a lot of noise."

Wanda sobbed, confirming what everyone else expected. Riley had known she was upset that he wouldn't be there and was trying to make it up to her, which was what probably led him to disobey the restrictions. Judging by the rubble, the wall had certainly come down, but not in the way he'd been counting on.

As if on cue, Riley let out a low groan. "Wanda? Is that you?"

"Oh, Riley!"

May averted her gaze, and Brendan scowled, saying, "We need to leave before that exploud decides to come back."

Wally shuffled, looking around the cave nervously, like he expected the pokemon to come barreling out of the darkness at any second. He said, "I don't know if Riley should be walking-"

"Orion can carry him," Brendan said, and then he frowned down at May. "I was hoping he could carry you. I guess Acumi'll have to."

May winced. Her ankle seemed to throb even worse at the prospect of climbing onto the tall pokemon. Even if Acumi was lying down, it would extremely difficult (And painful) for her with one foot.

Bracing herself, May placed her scratched hands against the ground in preparation to stand, but Brendan was scolding her immediately.

"Crazy!" he cried, kneeling down next to her again. "I'm gonna help you, moron."

After a long series of protests featuring various input from May's pokemon (Gunner nearly shocked Brendan, but she called him off before he could), he finally managed to convince her that she needed his assistance.

Brendan swallowed, trying to figure out how to go about getting her off the ground. Hesitantly, he leaned forwards and helped her throw her arm over his shoulder before wrapping his own around her waist. She bit her lip, as nervous about the feeling of his hand on her hip as she was about the prospect of standing up.

"Ready?" he asked, and his breath tickled her ear. She nodded.

With difficulty, she half stood, half got lifted off the ground. Her ankle tingled painfully at the motion even though she kept her weight off of it. Slowly, she was able to climb up onto Acumi's back with one last push from Brendan. She grasped the tropius's neck to steady herself.

Orion neared them from across the cavern, effortlessly carrying Riley despite the fact that he was a grown, muscular man. Wally and Wanda tittered along behind him, both occasionally sending worried looks towards Riley and May.

Even as they emerged into the moonlight, leaving the smothering darkness of the tunnel behind, May's mind was astir with a million worries. She'd managed to prevent a rampaging exploud from maiming Wanda and Riley (Not to mention causing more earthquakes), and now that the wall had collapsed, the young couple would be free to visit one another whenever they pleased.

But May's ankle throbbed again, reminding her that she hadn't helped them without a price.

"It's only a mild sprain. You got off lucky." The nurse shook her head at May, muttering under her breath as she carefully adjusted the stack of pillows underneath her injured ankle. "Keep the ice on it, and stay off of it for a few days."

May stared down at her hands, which were folded over the crisp white sheets of a bed in the pokemon center. The closest human hospital was in Mauville, so Brendan had brought her to Verdanturf's pokemon center in order to get her ankle checked out. The scratches on her hands, though small, had also been thoroughly cleaned to prevent infection.

Brendan was sitting on the bed opposite her, staring at her accusingly with his penetrating russet eyes. She avoided his gaze, instead watching the nurse as she laid out her pokeballs on her nightstand.

"None of your pokemon sustained more than minor injuries," the woman informed her. Her lips were pursed, like she wanted to lecture May on her actions but was refraining.

She headed towards the door, but just before she closed it behind her, May blurted, "When will I be able to walk?"

"You'll be able to walk in a couple of days," the nurse said. She looked at May over the medical supplies clutched in her hand like a taillow eyeing a juicy wurmple. "No extended hiking for a few weeks."

"Weeks?" May cried, clutching at her hair, but the nurse had already gone. She hadn't planned to stay that long. She still needed to get some more training in before facing Wattson, and there was a huge stretch of wilderness between Mauville and the next gym!

Alone in the room with Brendan, May felt his eyes digging into her even more intensely than before.

"So…" she began, forcing an uncomfortable laugh. "How's Riley?"

Unsmiling, Brendan crossed his arms. One of his brows lifted fractionally, like he couldn't believe she was trying to make conversation with him. "Fine."

She looked (And felt, to be honest) rather pathetic with her ankle wrapped and propped up onto a huge pile of pillows, while the rest of her was settled in a huge nest of blankets. Considering this, May wasn't in the mood for his mood.

"Fine?"

Brendan let out an annoyed breath of air. "He's staying at Wanda's for a while."

His tone was still abrupt, practically screaming that he didn't want to talk to her. She knew he was mad that she'd run off and gotten herself into a stupid situation again, but what was she supposed to do? Wanda didn't have any pokemon, so May had known she couldn't protect herself from whatever was causing the earthquake!

Thinking of the earthquake made her want to ask Brendan more about exploud, like how she might be able to deal with something like them in the future if she needed to. She suspected her own pokemon had only seemed so useless against him since his rage had overpowered his pain senses, but she needed to be sure.

However, figuring now wasn't really the time to push her luck, she chose a safer topic. "What about Wally?"

Brendan crinkled his brows. "He's fine. Cause, you know, he didn't run into the cave and get attacked."

May's former tinge of annoyance at his behavior abruptly flared into all out irritation. Her normally serene blue eyes swirled dangerously, like crashing waves during a hurricane. "Brendan, sorry, but what did you want me to do? They could've gotten killed if I didn't go!"

"You almost got killed."

"But I didn't!" May snapped, and she could practically feel the frustration rolling off of him. He ran a hand over his head, ripping his hat off of his hair so that he could crumple it into a little ball.

"Out of luck," Brendan said. "You should've waited for me and Wally."

"Oh, so you'd rather Wally have an asthma attack instead?"

"I didn't say that—whatever." He tossed his hat onto his bed and stood, leaving his black hair to stand on end the way it always did when freed. His face morphed into a slight scowl. "I'm going to eat."

Brendan closed the door behind him, not quite slamming it but not easing it shut either. Perpetual silence hung in the room as he left, leaving May alone with nothing but his words replaying in her mind.

A small feeling of guilt welled inside her, but only a small one. She could understand why Brendan was frustrated. It seemed like every time he turned his back, she was causing some accident or encountering something dangerous, but it wasn't like she planned it! Now that she knew him better, she also suspected he was masking his worry with annoyance, making him seem even more angry about it than he really was.

At the same time, May couldn't say she regretted running after Wanda. No matter what Brendan said, they couldn't have arrived as quickly with Wally in tow, and by then, it might've been too late.

May sighed, wishing there was something to do. It wasn't like she could move, so she'd have to find something in the room. She glanced around, encountering nothing but the typical plain, beige walls of the pokemon center until she noticed her bag. Her Pokedex was in there! She could look up exploud to occupy herself!

May shifted as if to get it, but then it dawned on her that it was leaning against the wall, completely out of her reach.

Stupid Brendan could've at least asked if I needed anything before he stormed out, she thought, huffing.

The bag really wasn't that far, and she could probably balance on one foot if she used the bed to steady herself… But no, it wasn't worth the risk of damaging her ankle even more. Plus, she could just picture Brendan's face if he returned only to find her sprawled out across the floor.

"Ugh." May couldn't help but let out a cry of frustration. She'd only been injured for a couple of hours and it was already making her miserable! "This sucks."

Out of her peripheral, the four pokeballs laying on her nightstand caught her attention. The nurse said they were fine… Eagerly, May lunged for Soren's, which was one of the closest to her. She tapped the release button, pointing it so that his lithe body materialized just beside her bed.

Immediately, Soren's gaze traveled over her, coming to an obvious halt at her ankle. His eyes narrowed, and he rested his chin on the edge of her quilt.

"Grovyle, vyle, gro" he said, his voice oozing contempt.

"It's fine," May said hurriedly. She knew he would only sulk about not being able to stop the exploud if he thought about it very much, and she didn't want him dwelling on it. "Can you grab my Pokedex out of my bag?"

He lifted his head off of the mattress, the leaf on its crest twitching in disbelief. "Gro."

"Please," May said, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. "Brendan isn't here to be my slave, and I'm bored."

Soren rolled his eyes, but he slunk over to her bag nonetheless. She grinned. "It's in the front pouch!"

Thankfully, the pouch was partially unzipped already, so he was able to get a grip on the zipper with his beak and slide it the rest of the way open. After several moments of nosing clumsily around in the contents, a satisfied hum rattled in his throat. He dug his hand into the bag and wrapped his two fingers over the familiar form of her Pokedex.

Soren dropped the device in her lap before hopping up onto the bed next to her. The aged mattress creaked horribly at the motion, but silence returned when he settled into a ball right up against her side. She absentmindedly stroked his scales as she thumbed through her Pokedex.

"Exploud is the fully evolved form of whismur. It has been known to incite earthquakes with its loud voice, although it can produce a wide variety of sounds. It can be heard up to six miles away, and…."

After reassuring herself that exploud was a very advanced pokemon and that they weren't found often in the wild apart from in the deepest mountain caves, May passed over some electric types to see what Wattson might have waiting for her. The electrike line, the pikachu line, plusle or minun… The list was long, but she knew one of the pokemon he was most famous for was his magneton. She'd have to be ready for that one for sure.

Soren had dozed off out of boredom when the door creaked open a good while later. May glanced up from her Pokedex, expecting to see a grouchy Brendan returning. Instead, she was met with a pair of anxious green eyes.

"Oh, hey Wally," she said, slightly surprised to see him.

Wally crept into the room to hover an awkward distance from her bed, like he was afraid to get too close. His lip quivered, and staring at the ground, he said, "May, I'm so sorry…"

May blinked, and Soren raised his head to watch the boy through half-lidded eyes. "Um. For what?"

"It's my fault you got hurt," Wally said mournfully, covering his face with his pale hands. "I should've come to h-help you… I'm sorry."

His shoulders trembled, and for a scary moment, May worried that he was crying. She cursed her ankle, wishing she could stand up and comfort him or something.

"Hey, it's okay! It's not that bad!" May tried, her tone coming out so forced positive that it almost made her cringe. She leaned her face around, hoping Wally would meet her gaze, but his fingers remained stubbornly over his eyes. "And you did come to help me."

He mumbled something along the lines of "Just Brendan" and "I didn't do anything" before slowly allowing his hands to slide away from his face. May was immensely happy to see that his eyes weren't watery, although they were filled with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, May," Wally said. It was clear her words had done little to reassure him. "If something happens again, I'll try to… to help you."

Strangely, May felt like he was actually saying, "I'll be able to help you."

"I know," she said, for lack of anything else to say. She offered him a small smile, and he shakily returned it. "And I'll be walking again soon!"

I hope, she added privately.

His smile widened. "Oh, good."

The door swung open again for a second time, this time revealing Brendan. His expression seemed more relaxed than it had before, yet he did a double take at Wally. A tray of with a slice of greasy pokemon center pizza was balanced in his hands along with a bottle of water.

"Hey…" He nodded at Wally before slowly approaching May. The side of his mouth twitched, and hesitantly, he held the pizza out towards her. It was peperoni, her favorite. "Uh. Hungry?"

"Mhmm," May said, accepting both the food and the unspoken peace offering.

Brendan's shoulders slumped in what she suspected to be relief, but he quickly covered it with a smirk. "I figured."

She shot him a halfhearted glare through a mouthful of the cheap pizza.

"Um, well… I guess I'll go," Wally said. He took a deep, strange breath, like he was preparing for something big. "I… Um. I'll see you guys later."

As May watched him leave, an odd feeling nagged at her gut.

Something was stirring.

She could feel it in the subtle shifts of the night wind, could smell it through the gases she thrived in.

Troubled, she flew on.

"May," a voice whispered urgently in her ear, and through her grogginess, she could feel a hand shaking her shoulder. "May, wake up."

"What?" she grumbled, glaring sleepily at Brendan through narrowed sapphire eyes. His expression held a seriousness that sent an instinctual pang of worry flashing through her brain, and she sat up almost immediately. "Is something wrong?"

Soren, who had fallen asleep next to her, let out a low hiss of irritation, but May had far bigger problems. Brendan's normally tan face was whiter than a sheet, and she noticed with shock that there was a small group of people gathered behind him.

Wally's aunt and uncle, Wanda, and a still-bruised Riley were all there. His aunt appeared to be restraining sobs, and Riley had a comforting arm around Wanda. Brendan swallowed.

"May… Wally didn't make it home last night."

May felt like her heart had dropped out of her chest. "… What?"

"We haven't seen him since he came here yesterday," his uncle said. His wife sniffled loudly, and although his own eyes were also vaguely wet, he muttered something soothing in her ear before continuing. "We… We were so happy and thought he was just having a good time, staying out late, but…"

May's mouth drifted open, and she instinctively grabbed onto Soren as a source of comfort. Then her eyes met Brendan's, and when she saw that they were equally confused, something clicked in her mind.

"Mr. Luz, he… He didn't come here yesterday," May said slowly. She must have been cutting off Soren's blood circulation by this point, but he remained still, sensing her distress. "I haven't see him since the day before."

It was true. The last time she'd seen him had been two days ago, when he'd come to her distraught about his inability to help out against the exploud.

"Oh," Wally's aunt cried. "How could we have let this happen? His parents trusted us!"

"Dear, I'm sure we'll find him-"

As Wally's uncle tried in vain to comfort his wife, Wanda took a shaky breath. "Mom, I told you he's run away to be a trainer. Alastair's with him, and you know he's always wanted to battle."

"Ridiculous," the woman said, through her tears. "Little Wally's not suited for the wild. He knows that."

At once, May found herself very, very annoyed with Wally's aunt. Didn't these people see what they were doing to Wally? If he really had run away, she was proud of him!

"Wanda's right," she said, trying to keep the edge of irritation out of her voice. A bit still seeped through, but even though she was angry, she couldn't snap at someone while they were so upset.

Wally's aunt began shaking her head, but his uncle interrupted. "Dear… I think the girls may be right. Wally's talked about challenging gyms, but I never…" He faltered, looking lost.

Arm still around Wanda, Riley cleared his throat. He looked vaguely uncomfortable with the attention of both his girlfriend's parents focused all on him, but he said, "That's probably why he left his Pokenav, so he couldn't be tracked. Sir."

"I don't believe this. How are we ever going to tell his parents?"

Wally's uncle's frown, if possible, deepened at his wife's words. "I don't know… I just don't know." He glanced up at May, desperation in his eyes. "Please. If you see Wally, convince him to come home. He looks up to you. But if he won't come, contact us."

"Uh." May fidgeted with her sheets, avoiding eye contact. She supported Wally, and she had no intention of changing his mind after she'd finally helped convince him to go on a journey. Sure, running away wasn't the ideal way to go about it, but she couldn't sell him out.

"May, please?" the man begged. "I'm sure he'll come home in a day or two anyway."

I doubt that, she thought. Lying through her teeth, she said, "Fine."

"Thank you," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Wanda, dear, could you give her our number? We should go ask around, see if anyone's seen anything…"

As they cleared the room, Wanda and Riley lagged behind. Briefly, May wondered why they hadn't already asked around town, but a glance at the time on her bedside alarm quickly revealed the answer. It was five in the morning!

Wanda exchanged a long, lingering look with Riley, giving May the uncomfortable feeling that they were having a silent conversation.

"Wanda, are you two coming?"

Wanda cleared her throat. "Just a second, Mom!" Loudly, she said, "Here's our number! Please call us if you see him."

She pulled a wad of paper seemingly out of nowhere and stuffed it into May's hand. For one crazy moment, May was bewildered as to why Wanda carried the family phone number around, but then she met the girl's wide, green eyes that so reminded her of her missing friend. Something secretive sparkled in their emerald depths.

Slowly, understanding hit May, and she nodded. Wanda sighed so lightly that she almost didn't hear her. "Thank you. Hope we can hang out again sometime."

Riley winked at her from the doorway before slinking his arm around his girlfriend. Soon, they'd disappeared around the corner to catch up with her parents.

"I hate couples," Brendan grumbled, as soon as they'd left. May shushed him, and he scowled. "Well-"

"Shut up and come here," she said, unfolding the piece of paper.

The writing on it was small, neat, and slightly slanted. It was in pencil, and it was smudged in several places, as if the writer had erased and started over multiple times. It was all unfamiliar to May at first, but an irrepressible grin grew on her face as she read.

May (And Brendan, since I know you'll show him),

I'm so sorry I won't get to watch your gym battle like I promised. I know you'll win even without me there, because you're an amazing trainer. I just wanted to say I'm okay and that I'm being what I want to be, like you said I should. I only hope Alastair and I can be as good as you someday. Thank you so much and I hope I can see you again soon.

-Wally

AN: Relatively short but also relatively eventful chapter. I like the idea of Wally being sort of close to Wanda. He needs someone besides May rooting for him!

I've been playing around with whom exactly I want on Wally's team, and I've sort of decided on a mixture between his Victory Road and final battle party. I've also had a heavy debate with myself on just how much of Wally I want to show on his own. Above all, I didn't want to take the focus off of May, but I'm probably gonna have little insights on him every now and again. He and Brendan will both actually have occasional POVs when necessary down the road.

Which other fandoms do you guys follow? For me HP is a no brainer, but lately I've gotten super obsessed with (Don't laugh) Teen Wolf. I promise it's better than you'd think! xD

Next time….

May thought her heart might burst out of her chest.

"You can do it! Please!"

See you guys next time! I'm not sure when that'll be, but maybe not too long.