What's good people? Sorry this wasn't here yesterday, I decided to add more than I originally intended, plus my brother fell sick so that took away some of my attention. But here's chapter five, and the last one I'll be able to flush out this soon. I want to try to have an update schedule of one every week, probably Sundays, but we'll see. I know that I don't want to forget about this story, so I won't go months without a single update. But I also know that it takes me a minute to get everything moving in my head, so I'm not making any promises. I'll probably have a schedule decided by the next update, but until then, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN POKEMON

Chapter 5:

Taken

"Fan out," May ordered. "I want every inch of this property looked at before we move on to the next."

May, Gary and Serena were at the house of the first person on the list of targets they'd gotten from Jade, namely Archie, who also happened to be a rival of Maxie. His house was similar to Maxie's, with the only difference being in location. They'd hopped the fence at the northern point, and were crowded together as they planned how to go about the search of the massive property.

"What do we do if we see them?" Gary asked, glancing around.

"Ring us," May said simply, gently touching the silver watch on her left wrist.

Serena and Gary nodded, also unconsciously reaching for the new accessory. Cynthia had provided the whole team with them so that they'd be able to better communicate when carrying out the searches.

"Gary, you'll start with the northeast and east sides," May said. "Serena, take the northwest and western areas. I'll handle the southeast, southwest, and southernmost parts. Got it?"

"Roger," Serena agreed with a salute.

"Yes temporary boss," Gary affirmed jokingly.

"Call me that again and you'll be going home with more black eyes than you started with," May warned.

"But I don't have any black eyes, temporary boss."

"Exactly."

"...You got it ma'am!"

"Good. Now move out."

Fan out," Ash ordered. "Every corner of this property must be searched for them before we can move on."

Ash, Gladion, Misty, Dawn and Drew were at the house of the first person on the list of targets they'd gotten from one of the office workers, namely Archie, who also happened to be a rival of Maxie. His house was similar to Maxie's, with the only difference being in location. They'd hopped the fence at the southern point, and were crowded together as they planned how to go about the search of the massive property.

"If we see them, we just ring you, right?" Gladion asked, holding up his left arm. A shiny black watch was strapped around his wrist, just like the ones on the rest of his teammates.

"Yup," Ash affirmed. "Just don't be stupid with them. Steven gave them to us for this mission, we'll have to return them eventually."

"Aw man," Drew whined, glancing longingly at his watch. "I was starting to get attached."

"Bad move on your end," Dawn grunted.

"The point is, don't fool around," Ash sighed. "You guys got that."

"Roger."

"Yes sir."

"You got it."

"We won't let you down."

"Good," Ash murmured, pulling his mask up. "Now move out."

May sighed and turned to make her way back to the northern tip of the property. So far, the only thing she'd seen were a few guards patrolling the gardens, which meant that she was just as close to getting this mission over with as when she'd started.

"Guess it can't be helped," she sighed. "Couldn't expect us to get lucky on our first try-"

She suddenly froze as something caught her peripheral vision. She didn't turn, just ducked lower and continued on, but there was no mistaking what she'd seen.

Even in the darkness, that messy raven hair was unmistakable.

Ash didn't even bother feeling annoyed that he hadn't found them. He understood that the chances of them getting lucky on the first try were astronomically low, so after doing his sweep of the property, he'd opted to just turn back and head for the meeting spot instead of sticking around.

"Guess it's for the best," he said to himself. "It gives us more time to come up with a plan or something-"

He froze when he suddenly spotted something moving in his peripheral vision. He didn't turn though, just kept moving with his head a bit lower than before, but there was no mistaking what he'd seen.

He couldn't think of anyone else in the world who styled their brown hair in a bandana like that.

"I spotted Ash," May hissed, skidding to a halt by her team. "In the middle of the property between the north and the south. And I'm not ready to assume he came alone."

"Sweet!" Serena exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands excitedly. "So then we'll head over and ambush them, right?"

"No," May snapped. "Give me a second to think of a plan. I don't want us running in there willy-nilly, especially when there's a chance that one of them might have already seen us."

Gary sighed, and Serena glanced around, trying to think of something. Suddenly, her eyes fell onto something long, dark and thin lying in the tall grass. While May and Gary racked their brains for ideas, Serena could feel a plan beginning to formulate in her mind once she realized what it was.

"Not if we make it clear we saw them first," she said, leaning down and picking the thin piece of metal up.

Gary glanced at her, blinking in confusion. But May understood exactly what she meant, and her eyes hardened with annoyance.

"No," she said shortly. "We won't resort to dirty tricks. I won't let us stoop down to their level."

"It's not a dirty trick if we do it," Serena tried to reason.

"That's the literal worst argument I've ever heard in my entire life," May told her flatly. "And Paul once tried to convince me that I should step down from second in command spot because his hair was shorter than mine."

Serena frowned, letting her eyes narrow into a hard glare. "What do you think Jade would say?" she challenged. "You think she'd let pride get in the way of a sneak attack? It'll give us the upper hand, and-"

"No!" May snapped harshly. "As the acting leader, when I say no, I mean no, and you should be listening to the no! What part about that do you not understand?"

"It's not that I don't understand," Serena said calmly. "It's just that your not Jade. I don't feel as obliged to listen to you, especially when your wrong."

May froze. Never before had anyone so openly challenged her position as a higher up. She tried to glance at Gary for help, but he looked just as shocked as her, and it was clear that he would be just as useless as Serena was difficult.

"Anyways," the honey blond said, snapping May out of her thoughts. "You said the middle between the north and south points, right? I'm off!"

"Serena!" May hissed, trying to keep her tone in check so as not to provoke her further. "Do you have any idea what your doing, disobeying me like this?"

"I have a vague idea," she replied, readying her weapon and turning to face the southern side. "I just don't care right now."

"You don't have a problem that your stooping down to their level?!" May asked, hardly believing her ears.

"Why should I?" Serena asked, not even turning back to face her. "It's not like we're all that different."

"Sameness isn't what I care about right now," May hissed, feeling her worry spread as the situation began to spiral. "We're not here for cheap tactics!"

"You're not, but I am," Serena growled, before ducking down and tearing across the grass.

"Shit," May groaned, dropping her head and racing after her with Gary at her heels. "Guess we're doing this."

The two followed Serena as she silently ran through the plants, making sure to keep low and out of sight. After a long while of running and May still trying to talk sense into her teammate, they finally sidled up to a particular clearing, where out in the open, the their rivals stood with their heads together as they talked in quiet voices that were lost in the light wind.

"Peace," Serena whispered before ducking past the bushes and tearing out into the open, straight for their opponents.

"Wait!" May cried, no longer bothering to keep her voice down.

The five targets immediately snapped their heads up, but before they could register what was happening, Serena swung her weapon and cracked it into the side of Dawn's head. The girl didn't even have time to be surprised, because the second it made contact, she was knocked to the ground, unmoving.

"Dawn!" Misty cried, dropping down to her knees and gently touching the side of her head. "What-"

"Watch out!" Gladion yelled.

Misty couldn't even look up before Serena kicked her square in the face, throwing her back several meters. Misty gasped and coughed up a mouthful of blood, spitting it onto the grass before leaping back to her feet.

"Them again!" Drew spat, snatching his knife out of his pocket.

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't miss me," Serena teased as May and Gary finally joined her.

"Serena, what the fuck was that?!" May hissed, her anger undisguised from everyone watching. "I told you to wait until I had a plan!"

"Yeah, don't worry I'll listen in the future, I just wanted to even the score of dirty tricks," Serena assured her, seeming to have lost the earlier attitude.

"You guys seem pretty messy," Ash commented, narrowing his eyes as he flexed his hands. "And low on numbers. What happened to the other two?"

"Our leader has more important things to attend to," Gary piped up.

"And Paul is handling the paperwork from last night!" Serena added brightly. "You guys should actually count yourselves lucky that it's not me, cuz I would've gone into extensive detail about how we kicked your asses."

Ash narrowed his eyes, but didn't question anything any further. With a flick of his wrist, the team lunged forward, Gladion, Drew and Ash clashing with the others while Misty quickly grabbed Dawn and dragged her out of the way before jumping into the fray.

"Almost got me!" Serena teased as she jumped back from Drew's blade. They'd met in the middle, and were pulling away from the others to have their own fight. "You've gotten better since last time!"

"Shut up!" he hissed angrily, throwing himself into an aggressive reverse roundhouse. He almost caught her on the shoulder, but at the last second, she fell into a back handspring, leaping daintily out of the way.

"Sorry, talking is what I do best," Serena chirped, before lunging forward and twirling around to swing her leg at him.

"I still don't see why you'd think this was a good idea," Drew snapped, dropping away from Serena's impressive hook kick before slashing at her shoulder with his blade. "Three against five-"

"Four," Serena corrected as she dodged with ease, jerking her head at Dawn's unconscious form. "And believe it or not, I think we'll be fine."

Drew gritted his teeth. Gary was handling Misty and Gladion simultaneously while May fought Ash, and as much as he hated to admit it, it didn't seem like either side was winning or losing.

As Drew and Serena continued to spar, Gary slid past with Misty and Gladion hot on his tail. While Misty attempted to jab at his face while Gladion dropped down and swung his leg at his feet, Gary jumped up and ducked his head at the same time, dodging between both attacks before landing back on the ground and leaping away again.

Farther away, May was spinning into a hook kick that Ash easily dodged before countering with a roundhouse of his own that caught her under her arm, throwing her off to the side.

"You know, I can't help but feel like you're starting to think it was a bad idea to attack us like this," Ash commented, smirking down at her.

"You should get your senses checked," May fired back, throwing herself at him once again and socking him across the jaw.

"Serena didn't come after us on your order though," Ash pointed out, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth. "I could tell how pissed you were. She wasn't listening to you. Which means that you were thrown into this fight a little unprepared."

"Only to be expected when you're as headstrong as she is and I'm only a second in command," May spat, feeling her anger beginning to boil.

"My team listens when Gladion gives orders though," Ash told her matter-of-factly as he ducked behind her and yanked her into a chokehold. "And I'm sure you've seen how bold Misty is. Whaddya think that says about you guys?"

"Stay out of it!" May snarled, leaning forward and flipping Ash over her head and onto the ground. "It's none of your damn business!"

"You tell him May!" Serena cheered as she backflipped past, Drew hot on her heels.

"Means a lot coming from you, thanks!" May snapped, her foot slamming into the ground as Ash rolled out of the way of her axe kick.

"Is this about me running off on you?" Serena huffed with a roll of her eyes as she slipped further away from Drew. "I said I was sorry!"

"Hey, if the blue-eyed blond could pay attention to our fight, it would mean the world," Drew interrupted, running at her again.

"Oh don't worry," Serena groaned, though she didn't make a move to turn back and face him. "I'm just exchanging a word with my-"

Her sentence was cut short when Drew kicked her across the face, throwing her to the ground. She sprawled out for a moment before slowly pushing herself to her hands and knees, gently touching the cheek Drew had kicked.

"Ow," she said, frowning. Her tone didn't convey the pain though, more like it was said as a reflex.

"Sayonara crazy lady!" Drew suddenly yelled. Serena snapped her head up, and her eyes widened as she saw his leg stretched up above her, ready to come down on her skull. And to her horror, she felt her body freeze up on her. The only thing she was able to do was stare up at her inevitable fate, waiting for it to come down.

Fuck-

"Serena, move it!" May suddenly yelled as she blocked a cross punch from Ash before delivering a harsh uppercut. "We can't afford one of us getting hurt!"

Serena blinked, her eyes clearing, and she lunged to the side just as Drew brought his leg down. His foot slammed into the grass, and Serena winced when she saw the deep divot in the ground as he lifted it away.

That was close, she thought with a small shudder.

"Slippery," Drew commented, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I really thought I'd be faster than you."

"Sucks to think like you," Serena snipped back, holding her knife tighter so that the trembling in her arm wouldn't be so apparent.

"Well?" he asked. When Serena blinked in confusion, he continued. "Aren't you gonna smile like the crazy bitch you are and try to run at me again?"

Serena stiffened, clenching her knife and gritting her teeth as she fought back her temper. He noticed though, and smirked once he understood her dilemma.

"I scared you, didn't I?" he asked cockily. "Guess even someone like you can be put in your place when you use the right amount of force. And," he added when she opened her mouth to argue. "I can tell you don't like admitting that kind of thing. Which makes it all the more satisfying for me.

Serena glared at him, tensing her shoulders. "Shut up," she growled, flipping her knife between her fingers.

Drew smirked. "Make me."

Serena glared at him before lunging forward, aiming for his eyes as she swung her blade. Drew barely managed to dodge to the side, but when he tried to kick her midsection as she flew past, she whirled around and slashed at his shin, drawing a long, red line along his leg.

"Get back here!" he yelled as she slid past him before lunging at her.

"Nothing gets my mood back up like watching you start to struggle again," Serena said with a sigh, smiling as she jumped back at the last moment so that Drew crashed face-first into the pavement. She watched as he groaned and pushed himself to his hands and knees, coughing up blood that was dripping onto the grass.

"Attagirl," May called with a grin as she kicked Ash in the face and dodged a counter punch.

Serena shot her a small smirk, before turning her attention back to her opponent. "What were your words again?" she wondered, tapping her chin playfully before smiling and giggling like a little girl. "Oh yeah! SAYONARA, CRAZY LADY!"

Drew flipped around just in time to see her raise her leg up and bring it down, slamming it over the top of her head. He swayed for a moment, eyes wide and uncoordinated, before he fell back to the ground in a heap.

"Good work Serena!" Gary yelled as he ran past. "Take one of these guys off my hands, will you?"

"Will do," Serena called back. Before she moved though, she glanced back down at the now unconscious grass head. Despite how limp and pathetic he looked now, remembering that terrifying look in his eye, and the pure fear she'd felt when she thought he would win, made her take in a shaky breath before turning and tearing towards Gary's opponents. She barreled straight into Gladion with an overhand punch to the nose, and the two broke off while Gary continued to trade blows with Misty.

Pulling away from where Serena was previously facing off against Drew, May and Ash were still fighting tooth and nail, each one of their strikes getting harder and faster and more aggressive than the last.

"I've gotta say, for just the three of you, you're doing well," Ash commented as he ducked under a sideswipe. "Makes me wonder why your not all here though. It's not like this isn't something you volunteered for, right?"

May stiffened slightly, but shook it off and tried for a hook kick. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing," Ash replied innocently. "Just wondering."

"Even if we didn't want to do this, it's not like we could refuse," May snapped. "Cynthia's word is final."

"So you're here on punishment," Ash deduced. "For the other night I mean."

May flinched, freezing for a moment, but recovered quickly and glared at him. "None of your business," she spat, swinging at him again.

"It is," he replied, dodging easily and throwing a jab at her nose. "You made it my business by doing this."

"I didn't have a choice!" May snapped back, dodging just as easily as he had before throwing an elbow at his face. She couldn't believe she was actually letting this conversation live despite them being in the middle of a fight, but she brushed it off and continued to swing through.

"So it is a punishment," Ash reiterated, ducking and retaliating with a swing of his own elbow. "Can't say I'm surprised. It's why we're here too."

"I said it's none of your fucking business, and for your information, I could give less shits about why your here!" May snarled angrily. Ash blinked, looking momentarily startled by her tone, and May took the opportunity to grab his elbow and yank hard, flipping him around and onto his back in one swift motion.

"Ugh," Ash groaned, blinking dazedly as May stood over him.

"This is how you people get killed," May growled, pulling her knife out of her pocket and twirling it around her fingers. "You drop your guard at the smallest things."

"Not quite," Ash grunted, smirking at her.

May blinked. "Not quite?"

Before she could even think into what he'd said, Ash suddenly snatched her ankle and yanked hard, pulling her to the ground. He rolled to the side and out of her way, and May hit the ground with a thump.

"Cheap!" May hissed, scrambling to sit up.

"But effective," Ash added cheekily, already back on his feet.

"What is it with Stone and teaching his men to use dirty tricks?" May growled, jumping back to her feet and raising her fists up to her chin.

"Not something he taught me," Ash replied with a shrug. "I just figured it'd work."

May was practically fuming. This so-called leader wasn't even taking this fight seriously anymore. It was like he was enjoying it!

I'll show him, she thought, ducking down and beginning to sidle around him.

"What's your plan now?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes as she swiveled around him.

"That's for you to find out after it's done," May replied, clenching her fists a little tighter.

His shoulders are loose, and he's shifting his weight, she noticed. He's waiting for me to move first so he can dodge-

"Quoting me?"

May blinked and paused, momentarily confused. "Huh?"

"That's what I said when we first met," he reminded her. "Remember? Your leader asked what we wanted, and I said 'what we want is for you to find out once we get it'. Don't tell me you forgot."

May couldn't believe what she was hearing. He thought she was stealing his phrase? And what was that hurt tone? She couldn't stand this anymore.

"Sayonara, bitch," she snarled.

In one swift motion, May ducked around him and let her fist fly, sucker punching him across the jaw. Ash's head twisted sharply from the force of the impact, and May took the opportunity to drop down and sweep his legs out from under him. The boy barely had time to acknowledge her second movement before he cracked his head on the pavement, and this time he didn't get back up.

"Ash!" Misty yelled, blocking a powerful straight from Gary as she stared at her leader in horror.

May sucked in a breath of cold air and glanced around, surveying the field. Serena had drawn Gladion away from Gary while he beat on Misty, Dawn lying a small ways away. For a moment, she contemplated ordering her to grab the blunette before they retreated, but she bit her tongue.

We came for Drew, and I don't want to go overboard, she decided. But...

She glanced down at Ash's body at her feet, carefully thinking it over. After a few seconds, she gave herself a sure nod as she finally came to a decision.

"Gary, grab Drew and head back," May yelled across the field. "I'll take Ash after handling that one."

Gary nodded and kicked Misty away before running over, scooping up Drew and continuing on without missing a beat. May watched him leave, then turned to face the opponent he'd abandoned.

Misty had looked startled after her opponent pushed her back and ran off, but when she chased after him, she was stopped as May stepped away from Ash and into her path.

"Stand down," May said calmly. "We already knocked out three of your guys with just three people. You'd be stupid to continue on."

"You won't take Ash," she told her forcefully. "I won't let you."

"I dare you to try," May replied. She gestured towards Gladion, who was slowly being pushed away from Dawn's unconscious body by Serena. "We're far better at fighting. Serena knocked Dawn out with one hit, and took out Drew without even breaking a sweat. Gary was able to handle you and your second-in-command simultaneously, and for a leader, Ash went down pretty easily, especially considering that I'm only a lieutenant. Just look at us. I'd say we're barely even tired. Face it, you're better off surrendering and running off. Who knows, maybe your organization will crumble. And if that happens, you might have a chance at joining up with us."

May tried to keep her tone calm and collected. The truth was, she'd seen the fear in Serena's eyes when Drew was about to end her. If she hadn't snapped her out of it, who knew where they'd be now. And if she was being honest, she was beginning to tire. Even though the adrenaline had taken away some of the fatigue during the fight, her bout with Ash had left her more drained than she though. She only hoped this orange-haired girl wouldn't notice the exhaustion in her eyes before they made their escape.

"Your methods are cruel," Misty spat back angrily, her rage dulling her observational skills. "We simply unarm them. You go a step further and kill them. We would never partner with an inhumane organization like yours."

"Your funeral," May said calmly, flexing her hands.

Suddenly, a sharp, quick pain hit her in the back of her neck. Startled, she stumbled forward, and was promptly kicked in the back. But before she hit the ground, she quickly put her hands out in front of her, landing on her palms and twisting herself in a half-circle so that she was now facing her new attacker.

"Who-" she hissed angrily, but her eyes widened when she realized.

Ash was standing before her, panting. His body language showed how exhausted he was, with his back arched down as he slouched and his arms hanging weakly at his sides. But his eyes glinted with menace. Blood matted his dark hair and was dripping down the sides of his face, making him look extra terrifying in the dim light.

May gritted her teeth and glanced around, taking a quick survey of their surroundings. Serena and Gladion were still sparring, but now they looked to be evenly matched rather than Serena pushing him back. And as she watched, she noticed Dawn beginning to stir a bit. With a groan, she lifted her head and raised her voice.

"Serena, fall back for now!" she yelled. "We took Drew, that's more than enough!"

"Got it!" she called back. She quickly backflipped away from a vicious axe kick from Gladion, before spinning around and running to join May as soon as her feet touched the ground.

"We won't… let you take Drew," Ash muttered, swaying slightly as he tried to start after them.

"Ash!" Misty cried, rushing over to him and steadying him. She glared at May and Serena as they ran off, and yelled, "We won't let you get away with this! We'll get him back!"

"For sure guys!" Serena called back as she ducked behind a tall tree before disappearing into the shadows with May at her side.

"Damn them," Gladion muttered, tightening his fists as he ran over to Misty and Ash. Dawn, who was still lying a ways away, was coming to and slowly sitting up. "I can't believe we let them get away with Drew. Maybe we can still chase them if we hurry-"

"No," Misty said sharply, glancing at Dawn as she stumbled over to them. "For now, let's go back and report to Steven. Those rats will pay later."