(Author's Notes)

Welcome to chapter twelve! I do apologize that this chapter took so long to get out, but unfortunately school has started up again, so writing time is scarce. :( Anyways, this chapter starts off pretty dark, but it gets really fluffy towards the end! Enjoy~

Reviews!

lightxhope2124: I feel kinda bad, but as soon as I created Brendan's character, I knew I'd end up picking on him a lot. xD Poor guy! And yaaay, thank you!

organizationkhII: Haha! And the update is finally here! Sorry it took so long. ;_;

Shelly grit her teeth, as she glared at the man that opposed her and her grunts. Things had gone smoothly at the start; a small team of grunts had broken into Cozmo's home earlier that evening, and no one had been able to prevent them from retrieving the professor and his prized meteorite. Afterwards, they had met up with herself and the rest of the group, here in Meteor Falls. However, this man had shown up not too long after their reunion. The Hoenn region champion had been a thorn in Team Aqua's side since day one, but, that was to be expected, Shelly, the Team Aqua admin, supposed. A shiver ran down her spine as the cave's chilly air seeped into her clothes. She smirked and placed a hand on her hip, her free hand toying with a few strands of her dark hair. She couldn't back down now. If they could combine the massive energy of the meteorite with the energy at Mt. Chimney, Team Aqua would be one step closer to achieving Archie's ideal world!

"You really think you can take on all of us, Steven?" Shelly mused menacingly. The cave was dark and damp, but even Steven could see the glittering eyes of the horde of grunts stationed around the cave. They glowered at him from every nook and cranny of the large area, clearly antsy for a fight as they watched his every move, like starving animals. He spotted the Professor in their midst, looking absolutely terrified. Steven was unamused, but certainly not worried in the slightest. He'd been trying to find information on these guys for weeks now, and the first tip he got had led him here. As champion, he felt it his duty to deal with the threats facing the Hoenn region, and Team Aqua had just become number one on his list. He reached for his pokeball, but both parties paused when a sound interrupted them.

"Where the hell are you, Team Aqua bastards?!" Someone was yelling near the entrance to the dimly lit cavern. Steven's blood immediately ran cold — he knew that voice! How did she even know about this? He knew immediately that the situation had just become troublesome, and he didn't want May to get hurt. Soon enough, though, the familiar pink-clad girl came rushing into their midst, ready to kick butt and take names. May squinted through the darkness as she peered around the cavern, her eyes taking in the large volume of grunts, and her face looking highly unimpressed.

"May? What are you doing here?" Steven called from across the way. May's attention settled on him then, and she recognized that Steven was standing on a platform a little ways away from her, a short set of crude, stone steps separating them. She could see that this area was pretty high up; it rose out of the surrounding area by several feet, and the sides were flanked by shallow areas of clear, glistening water and bright rocks that glowed in the darkness. May shrugged.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." She grumbled. The momentary look of panic that crossed Steven's face, though, told Shelly everything she needed to know. She whispered in a nearby grunt's ear, and the female grunt quickly took to the shadows and approached May from behind. As May placed a foot on the bottom step, she felt something cold against her throat, and a presence grabbed onto her. May realized with a start that she was being held at knife-point, and her eyes narrowed. She inwardly cursed herself for being so careless; May hadn't even noticed the grunt approach her. She clenched her fists.

"I don't know what this toy is to you, Steven, but if you don't want her to die, I suggest you leave here peaceably." Shelly called with a devious grin. She knew this must have been the girl that had meddled with their plans before. Two birds with one stone! Steven glared at her. This wasn't good, he had to get May out of here safely! It was a strange feeling for him to be so worried over someone, but ever since he'd met her, he had been unable to get May out of his head.

May, on the other hand, was completely fed up and determined to get some revenge on these guys. She began struggling against her captor; biting, kicking, clawing and twisting in an attempt to get out of the woman's grasp. She knew they needed her alive to threaten Steven, though she hardly expected the silver haired man to heed these villains for her sake.

"Are you crazy?! Quit squirming or I'll carve off a piece of that pretty face!" The grunt growled into her ear. May tried to reach her bag in order to get her Pokemon, but found the bag missing. She would have to deal with this herself.

May let out a fierce growl and used all her weight to tip the woman off balance, then, she elbowed the grunt so hard that the two of them were sent tumbling down over the edge of the platform and down onto the rocks below.

The sudden sensation of falling startled May, as she and the grunt tumbled heavily over the ledge. Had she pushed too hard? She could hear Steven calling her name in the background. It was a sheer drop to the shallow water below, and as soon as her body hit the rocky floor beneath the water, she knew she was in a bad situation. Upon impact, she felt something bad in her ankle twist, and her face was momentarily submerged beneath the clear water. She gasped for air as she hurriedly sat up, her whole body aching, and the chilly air seeping into her wet clothes. Looking down, she could see her body was covered in cuts from the rocky tumble; but the worst was just below her knee, and the painful gash was bleeding pretty badly.

Her senses quickly returning, May glanced around wildly to locate her adversary. The grunt was on her hands and knees, crawling over to where the knife had fallen. May knew she had to act quickly. She reached for her bag, where her pokemon lay, but realized quickly that she must have dropped it when the grunt pulled the knife on her. She was on her own.

May hurriedly got to her feet, but it was made clear to her that her ankle was injured, as her whole body ached and shook with adrenaline. Pain shot out from her ankle and up her leg, but May ignored the feeling and charged the also injured grunt. She threw all her weight into the woman, practically body slamming her, and the two tumbled and splashed through the water, each struggling for dominance over the other.

May was no match for the trained grunt in physical strength, though, and she soon found the grunt on top of her, strong hands holding her head under the water. May couldn't breathe, and her whole body was desperate for oxygen, as she clawed at the woman's hands. As her vision began to blacken, May's hands searched the rocky surface around her for anything she could use as leverage to get this grunt off of her. A fuse blew in her mind when her right hand clasped around a large, loose rock. She used every last bit of her strength to lift the rock and plunge it into the grunt's skull. The woman screamed in pain and slumped over, clearly unconscious.

May gulped in air, her breaths heavy as she stumbled to her feet. Her whole body coursed with pain, and she felt dizzy, but she knew she needed to get back up there as soon as possible. From her vantage point, she could see Steven and some sort of large, white Pokemon facing down a horde of Mightyena. She needed to get to her Pokemon and help beat those idiots!

May hobbled over to the daunting cliff that rose up above, and she began to climb. Her ankle pulsed with pain, but it's protest didn't shake her, even though she knew she was probably injuring it further. When she finally clambered over the edge and onto the platform, her body collapsed from exhaustion. She took a deep breath, and pushed it just a little further. She crawled over to where her bag lay, glad that the grunts were currently occupied by Steven a ways away. She quickly rummaged through her bag and located her three pokeballs. A moment later, Yui, Tsubaki, and Kanato stared up at their trainer with worried expressions. May could feel her consciousness fading as she looked at them with a wry smile.

"Go… kick their butts! Don't let Steven… get all the glory…" She mumbled before collapsing to the ground. Yui worriedly shook her trainer with a tiny paw, but received no response. The three seemed to have a quick conversation before they nodded in agreement. Tsubaki and Kanato hurried off to the battlefield, while Yui remained behind to guard their trainer.

May slowly became aware of a gentle pressure on her cheek, and as her senses began to return to her, she could hear someone speaking to her soothingly.

"… May, can you here me?" Steven's concerned voice finally reached her ears. Her eyes fluttered open, and she could see his face hovering above hers, a hand on her cheek and his silver hair brushing against her forehead. May shook her head, trying to remember what had happened. Oh… right. She fell, and then…

"Good, you're awake." Steven commented with a sigh of relief. He withdrew from her vicinity and began searching through a nearby bag that appeared to be his. May could see now that she appeared to be propped against a rough, rocky wall, that stood in a small chamber. She concluded that they must have still been in Meteor falls, judging by the glowing stones and crystal clear pools of water that abounded.

"We need to get your injuries treated." Steven stated, withdrawing a first aid kit from his bag. Now that she thought about it, her ankle was hurting pretty badly, and looking down at herself, she could see a large gash in her leg, not to mentionn numerous small cuts and bruises all over her body. As Steven began to treat her wounds, May began questioning him.

"What happened? Is Team Aqua gone? My Pokemon…"

"Are fine. Need to visit a Pokemon center soon, but they're okay. And Team Aqua is gone, yes." Steven explained. He specifically left out the part where he had left the task of pummeling Team Aqua up to his back-up, Team Magma, who had arrived rather late, whilst he got her to safety. Maxie had just notified him that a few key members of their adversary had escaped their siege and headed for Mt. Chimney with both the Professor and his meteorite. Steven sighed as he wrapped up May's ankle to prevent further injury. Her skin was cold to the touch, and he could feel her body trembling from the chill of the cave. It was no wonder, she was soaking wet, after all.

"I hope you have a change of clothes… we'll have to spend the rest of the night here." He commented. May immediately shot him a dirty look.

"Excuse me? I am not staying the night in this dump! And besides that, it's obvious neither of us brought anything to stay the night. We don't even have blankets or make-up remover! I'll just head back now." May shouted with a huff. Steven gave her a bemused smile.

"Oh? Are you able to walk now?"

"…"

"Not to mention, a heavy storm has brewed up on route 114. There's no way we could make it back with you this injured and wet, until morning at least." Steven explained, watching her carefully.

"…"

"GREAT!" May shouted, burying her face into her knees. She felt terrible, not to mention her wet clothes stuck to her body oddly, and she couldn't stop shivering. Suddenly, she became aware of something falling over her and blocking her vision. Peeking out from under it, she realized Steven had tossed his white dress shirt and suit jacket over her, and he was now sitting across from her, completely shirtless. May could feel her cheeks burning as she stared at his bare skin. For a skinny rich guy, she begrudgingly had to admit that he was in pretty good shape.

"Change into that." He said, smiling at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Don't strip in front of me! And besides that… aren't you going to be cold now?!" May complained irately. She was beginning to think this guy was some kind of masochist. Steven gave her a smirk, but it quickly faded.

"I'm more concerned about you. You're really injured, after all…" He mumbled, he couldn't help feeling guilty — he should have been able to protect her.

"Hmph, fine! Suit yourself. But don't think I'll give it back to you even if you freeze to death."

"…"

"TURN AROUND, PERVERT!" May shouted yet again, and Steven immediately obeyed the yelling girl and faced his back towards her, instead turning his attention to a nearby cluster of glittering rocks that particularly caught his interest. May quickly removed her wet clothes, careful to keep an eye on Steven, in order to make sure he didn't try to sneak a peek. Not that she really thought he would, though; she figured he was all talk. May felt a little strange as she buttoned up his white shirt and slipped the jacket over her shoulders; she had never worn men's clothes before, after all. She was relieved to see that the shirt and jacket combo were long enough on her to cover everything nicely, not to mention the sleeves slipped over her hands completely. She sighed, but as she inhaled, she noticed an interesting scent. Pulling the jacket a little closer to her face, she gave it a good sniff. It smelled like… old books and antiques, or something. He had mentioned he liked rocks, hadn't he? Maybe he did a lot research or something.

Suddenly, May felt the weight of someone's gaze, and looking up, she saw Steven staring at her intently, an enchanted look in his eyes. Caught red-handed, her face flushed.

"I-I wasn't doing anything weird! Shut up!" May shouted at the top of her lungs. Steven chuckled lightly and muttered something about "cute" and "irresistible" under his breath. May didn't catch it, however, and she sat down quickly, glad to be out of her wet clothes at least. Steven sat down beside her, and though he tried to hide it, May could see the cold was getting to him. She fervently reminded herself, however, that that was not her problem.

"So… you fended those Aqua guys off by yourself? You only seemed to have one Pokemon with you. Though I guess mine helped, too…" May wondered aloud. Steven looked thoughtful.

"I was at a disadvantage, certainly, as the remainder of my team is resting back at Ever Grande after a recent rough challenge. But, even so, my Metagross is stronger than you might think. And your Pokemon fought very valiantly to protect their trainer, though they were a little lost without you." He told her with a smirk.

"Ever Grande, huh? That place sounds familiar…" May muttered.

"Ah, are you finally figuring it out?" He questioned curiously, and May responded with a dubious look.

"Figuring what out?" She asked quizzically. Steven laughed. A silence fell over them, but May was the first to break it.

"So… the meteorite, and Cozmo?"

"Team Aqua managed to escape with both of them. I'm sure they needed the Professor to explain the details of his research on the meteorite. My back-up forced them to surrender, but a few escaped."

"Back-up?"

"Team Magma." Steven said, and May looked rather confused. Who was that? Were they associated with Team Aqua? At May's confused look, Steven explained further.

"Team Magma is a group that cropped up a few years ago, and much like their Aqua counterparts, they started some trouble back then. But that was then, now they've offered their help in bringing down this new nuisance. So far, they've been pretty helpful, although Team Aqua is on a much larger scale as far as members than they ever were." He explained quietly. May could see there was certainly a story in here somewhere, but she decided not to press it further. She began feeling very frustrated. Wasn't there something she could be doing?! She needed to get to Mt. Chimney immediately! Steven sighed as she clenched her fists around her knees.

"There's nothing that can be done for now. You should get some sleep." He commented, leaning against the cold stone wall. May pouted, but eventually relented and laid herself down on the floor. It was not going to be a comfortable night, she knew, and it didn't help that Steven kept staring at her while she tried to sleep. She thought he was regretting giving her his clothes, but looking over at him, he just looked really worried. Eventually, after he thought her asleep, May heard Steven lay down on the floor, and carefully cracking one eye open, she saw that he had closed his eyes. She could see he was shivering uncontrollably… it was pretty cold, after all. She pulled his jacket closer to her, and tried to forget that he was even there. However, his smell lingered in her nostrils, and she began to feel an uneasy sensation in her stomach. Another half hour passed before she finally gave in.

May got up on all fours with a frustrated breath, and she crawled along the rocky floor and over to Steven, careful not to bump her ankle or put any weight on it. He gave her an odd look, but May swallowed her pride and curled up next to him, burying her face into his chest so he wouldn't see her blushing. This was so embarrassing!

"You…" Steven looked shocked as he spoke, he was caught completely off guard by her gesture.

"Just shut up and go to sleep. We're both cold, so…" May grumbled aggressively. She couldn't see it, but Steven smiled. He wrapped his arms around her small figure and pulled her closer, breathing in her sweet scent. May flinched a bit at his touch, but didn't voice her protests. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was entirely exhausted, so she just closed her eyes. May found it strange how easily she was able to fall asleep in this man's arms.

The girl may have found sleep quickly, but Steven, on the other hand, was completely unable to sleep a wink. This girl was absolutely intoxicating, he decided.