Chapter 65:

Hot Water

May is not, in fact, fine. She's in a lot of trouble, and it's all Max's fault. Ok, saying that this was Max's fault is a bit harsh, especially since she did something similar to him a few months ago, but right now, she's too angry and half blind from the pain to worry about that. May stumbles through the forest, clutching her side to stop the flow of blood, cursing her rotten luck, as well as her decision to crop her t-shirt while dressed in her Blaziken Mask attire. She'd rolled it back down after receiving the wound in question to help stem the flow of blood. Behind her, she can hear the sounds of her pursuers. She tries to be as quite as she can as she staggers through the woods. She can't bring out Blaziken to help her escape, not without alerting her pursuers to her whereabouts, and jostling her wound even more. Looking around frantically, she spots some low branches that she could climb up theoretically, but with her wound, it doesn't look likely. She spends the next minute or so silently debating whether or not she should go with that plan. The snap of a stick nearby makes that decision for her.

She runs forwards as silently as she can, then grabs onto the lowest branch. Pulling herself up is pure agony, and she as to bite her lower lip really hard to prevent her from crying out in pain. Eventually, she makes it up the tree, just in time to watch her pursuers run past her. With it being late at night, they need to use torches to help them see there way around the forest. May holds her breath and desperately clutches at her wound, hoping to stop the blood that pours from her side thanks to all the climbing. If only she could take the bullet out, then maybe she'd have a better chance of getting away at least. But, all she can do is watch as her pursuers search around for her. She ducks behind some branches as they shine their lights on the tree she's sitting in. She closes her eyes, silently praying to Arceus himself that she isn't spotted. Thankfully, they don't see her, and continue there search further along the forest. Once their sounds have faded away, May breathes a sigh of relief. She moves to get down from the tree, but then the branch she puts her foot on snaps, sending her tumbling to the ground. She feels the air leaves her lungs and the earth spin. Int he distance, as if from another plain of existence, she hears the sounds of someone approaching. As everything fades to black, she sees someone standing over her. Only one thought crosses her mind. "I'm dead."

May had been spending the past few weeks storming through the Team Terra bases that she found on that map in the first base she raided. So far, she's managed to destroy 2 of them, but hadn't found any information on Team Terra's plans yet. On this particular day, she was camping out near Sootopolis when she received a call from Max. When she answered, she heard Max say, "Hey May." "Hey Max," she replied. "Please tell me you aren't calling because something bad happened to you." "No that's not why," he replied. "Look, I need you to check something for me." "Sure," May replied. "What do you need me to check?" Max didn't say anything for a bit. May was about to ask him if he was still there, when he finally replied. "Sorry, I was making sure I'm out of earshot." "Out of earshot of what?" May asked. "The PRA" said Max casually, as though he wasn't talking about the biggest environmental conservationist group in the world. "Something happened last night with him."

Max proceeded to explain the attack on Ammon to May, as well as what happened the night before. May resisted the urge to tell Max off for doing something so stupid, when she was running around Team Terra bases wearing a crop top, leggings and a cape instead of anything bullet proof. "So, what do you want me to look into?" she asked him when he was finished. "I was just getting to that," Max replied. "You see, the Skuntank in question was under hypnosis, which is why it attacked in the first place. Ammon is convinced that it was an attack from someone who hates him, and he hates." "Who?" May asked. In response, Max asked, "Have you heard of a man named Karl Abaddon?" "I have," May replied. "He's an oil tycoon and factory owner from Unova, and one of the richest men in the world. Ammon thinks he's the one responsible?" "Well, the man's partner pokémon is a Hypno," Max replied. "So I suppose it isn't outside the realm of possibility."

"So, you want me to investigate Abaddon to see how and why he did it?" May asked. "No, I don't," Max replied. "I don't know what it is, but something about this doesn't add up. I know that Abaddon despises Ammon, but I don't think he'd risk jailtime to kill him. Besides that, Abaddon isn't anywhere near us." Max was right, of course. Karl Abaddon was in Lavaridge, donating some of his money to help rebuild the city, and condemning Team Terra's atrocious attack. "What does that have to do with the attack on Ammon?" May asked. "In order for Hypnosis to work, the pokémon casting it needs to be near the pokémon it's trying to affect," Max explained. "The further away, the less control it has. If Abaddon is all the way in Lavaridge, then how could he have controlled a pokémon near Fortree. It's not possible." "So, what do you want me to do?" May asked. "I need you to keep an eye out for something," Max explained. "You're raiding Team Terra bases. I think they might be responsible for it."

Now May was totally confused. "Why would they attack a man like Ammon?" she asked. "They want the same thing, don't they?" "Yes, but they also hate Abaddon," Max replies. "Now, this is just a hypothesis, but I think they might be trying to frame Abaddon for attempting to murder Ammon, in order to get him arrested." "Never thought you'd actually care about someone like Abaddon?" May pointed out. "Oh trust me, I don't," Max replied, with a hint of anger in his voice. "But I can't stand the idea of someone going to prison for a crime they didn't commit, no matter how evil they are. So, if you find anything about that in one of Team Terra's bases, could you let me know please?" "Of course," May replied. "I'll see what I can find." "Thanks sis, you're the best!" Max replied. The two siblings briefly caught each other up on the goings-on since they last saw each other, then, the ended the call.

True to her word, the next base May struck as the Blaziken Mask, she scoured it for any hint of what transpired with Ammon. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything of note. She was also unable to locate anything to do with the Tremors. So, she set Blaziken on the place, and burnt it to the ground. After that, she spent the next few days travelling across the region, keeping an eye on the contests to see how her brother was doing. Finally, after another few days of searching, she was getting near to Fortree. Figuring that she should stop there and wait to see if she could watch Bonnie's gym battle, May prepared to set up camp. At that moment, she received a call from Drew. During this conversation, Drew told her about Team Terra's attempt at kidnapping Max, as well as his suspicions that they aren't after his notebook. He also told her of his suspicions that there was a Team Terra base nearby to Fortree. May thanked him, continued talking for a bit more, before hanging up.

She spent the next 2 days scouring the area around Fortree for this base. She found some tire tracks leaving a small forest, but couldn't find their source. After scouting about for 2 days, she finally found the base in the side of a small cliff, with a holographic fake cliff face in front of the entrance. She was about to head in, when she had a better idea. She pulled out her phone and called Drew. "Hey May, what's up?" he asked. "Hey Drew," May replied. "I found the base near Fortree." There was a sound of a chair scrapping and hurried footsteps over the phone. "Oh, did I interrupt you eating?" she asked him. "No, no, it's ok," Drew replied. "This is more important! Stay where you are, I'm coming." May suddenly felt immense panic course through her at the thought of Drew coming in here.

"No don't!" she said quickly. "Please don't come here!" Drew stopped. "Why not?" he asked. "Because it's too dangerous," she replied. "I don't want you getting hurt during this." Drew chuckled darkly. "And you think I'm alright with you getting hurt?" he asked. "I can't bear the thought of being within your vicinity and not being able to do anything to help you!" May swooned a bit at that, but slapped herself to refocus on the task at hand. "Alright," she said. "I still don't want you to come in, it's too dangerous. But how about this; I'll either call you or meet with you tomorrow morning to let you know what I find. If you don't hear from me after your contest tomorrow, then you can come and find me, ok?" Drew didn't say anything for a bit. May was about to ask again, when he responded. "Ok," he said. "I'll wait. But, you'd better call or meet with me tomorrow morning. Because if I don't hear from you, I will come looking the second the contest is over!"

May acknowledged that, then added, "Please don't tell Max about this until I call you tomorrow. And if I don't call at all, please don't say anything." "Why not?" Drew asked. "Because I know my brother," she responded. "If he finds out that I'm nearby, and about to enter a Team Terra base, he'll race over here as fast as he can. Doing so could play right into their hands. Just, keep him out of trouble for a little while longer, and only tell him of this once you know I'm safe, ok?" Drew sighed, then relented. "Thanks Drew," she told him. "I owe you one." "You owe me more than one," Drew joked. "But you're welcome." Despite the situation, May couldn't help but smile as she ended the call. She slipped her phone into her pocket, then made her way into the cave. As she did, she came up with an idea. As a precaution, she took off her mask and pulled out Beautifly. Then, she ordered her to use String Shot on her mask so that it stays in place in case anyone tried to rip it off. Beautifly covered the inside of the mask with string, then May put it back on. It felt sticky and odd on her face, but she ignored the discomfort and returned Beautifly to her ball, then stepped into the base.

It was dark in there, with hardly any light. As May snuck through, she kept a hand on Blaziken's ball, just in case she needed to flee or fight. She kept to the shadows, making sure to avoid any agents walking passed. There were a few times where she had to clamber onto an overhead light just to avoid being spotted, and silently pray that it wouldn't break. Other times she ended up having to tackle one or two to the ground when she wasn't quick enough to hide, and knock them out, lest they reveal that she's here. Eventually, after over half an hour of sneaking, she arrived at a doorway with voices coming from them. She crept into it, and clambered up some girders keeping the ceiling of the cave from caving in on them all. Once she was safely secure at the top, she listened carefully to the conversation.

It was between Sub-Admin S and three agents. She recognised the admin from Drew's description of her, as well as from the times they fought each other during her and Ash's original journey. She stood over a table, staring at a recording of an old man. May quickly realised it was Karl Abaddon. "Why hasn't he been arrested yet!?" she demanded. "Donovan should've told the world about the attack by now!" May listened intently at this, realising that they were talking about the attack on Ammon Donovan that Max had told her about. S looked at the agents, demanding an answer. "We don't know," said one. "Perhaps he hasn't been able to yet." "I figured that out for myself Sherlock," she snapped. "But I want to know why he hasn't been able to!" May quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the table, which was full of evidence of Team Terra poisoning Ammon. While she did that, S turned to the other two agents. May quickly recognised them as Debbie and Cooper. "You two, figure out why he hasn't said anything about it yet!" she told them. "Then get back to hunting for Maple. We need his knowledge if we are to succeed!" Now, May was listening even closer, if that was at all possible. This could be the moment where S finally revealed to her what they wanted with May's brother.

Speaking of the Giratina, her phone chose that precise moment to ring, loudly. May struggled with it, trying to pull it out of her pocket, but it was stuck fast. Eventually, she managed to wrestle it free and see that Max was the one calling her. She fumbled with her phone trying to end the call. Only for it to start again immediately after. She ended it quickly once more, then listened out for voiced. They'd stopped. May had just enough time to swear, when a bullet narrowly missed her. "Come out Vigilante!" S called. "We know you're there! Come down quietly, or I'll shoot!" May grabbed Blaziken's pokéball and leapt down from the girders. She released Blaziken and Mega Evolved him, then kicked Debbie and Cooper square in their faces with her feel aflame. Then, she turned around and punched the third agent as well. She spun around once more and went to kick S, but she dodged it and swung at May with the backend of a gun. May dodged that too and kicked the gun out of S's hand. She tried to kick her too, but S dodged under her leg and pulled out a second gun, shooting May in the face at point blank range. May felt her body seize up as she hit the ground, stunned. S smirked above her, then stomped on her face, knocking her out.

When May came to, she briefly panicked thinking that Team Terra now know her identity. However, she still felt her mask on her face, with the now hardened string across it. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked around at her surroundings. She was in some sort of prison cell, with other empty cells on either side of her. She was still in that cave, that she was certain of, but she didn't know which part. On a table outside of her cell were her two pokéballs. She'd taken to only bringing two at a time, so that would make it harder to recognise her than if she had her full team. She tried to reach for Blaziken's ball, but it was too far away. The sound of approaching footsteps causes her to leap backwards in her cell, and act like she only just woke up as Sub-Admin S came through the doors. She smirked evilly as she laid eyes on May.

"So, you're finally awake," she said. "I'll admit, you're clever, sticking your mask to your face. No matter what we did, we couldn't remove it." May smirked at this. Channelling her inner Blaziken, she makes her voice gruff, though not as gruff as it was when she had Blaziken with her. "Well, it is String Shot," she replied, praying that S doesn't recognise her voice. "That stuff doesn't come off easily." S laughed, though her eyes said she wanted to kill her. "So, that's how you did it," she commented. Then, she unlocked the cell and stepped inside. Then, she relocked it and pulled out a knife. "I hope that if you have a partner, they love you for who you are, not what you look like," she tells her. "Because I'm going to tear that mask off off your face, and I don't care what else I rip off!"

May began to panic. She tried to back away, but S just grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the wall. As she panicked, Blaziken's pokéball began to shake violently. As May struggled against S's grip, the pokéball shook more and more. Eventually, the ball shook so badly it started rattling the table. As it did, May felt strength surge through her as a voice in her head cried "MAY!" S was thrown backwards into the door of The cell with such force it swung open. May stood there, her fists and legs blazing, a look of hatred on her face. As she stared at her arms, they suddenly went out. She looked around at what had happened, then towards the table where her stuff is. She stepped over S's unconscious body and grabbed everything. As she released Blaziken and Mega Evolved him, she asked. "Was that you? Did you speak to me in your mind?" Blaziken Shrugs, clearly just as baffled as she was.

May decided to save the speculation of what just happened for later, and focus on escaping the base. Checking her phone, she saw that none of them had checked it. The photo of the plan against Ammon was still there. She pocketed it, then ran into the hallways, with Blaziken not far behind her. There were some guards in the halls, and they got the fright of their lives when their prisoner burst through the door, fists blazing. Before they had time to even pull their guns out, she punched them both in the face, knocking them both back and out. Then, she and Blaziken ran through the halls of the base, trying to find their way out. They ran past the room where she was discovered, and May quickly dipped in to check to see if she could find any information on what they want with Max. Unfortunately, the table had been cleared, and no evidence of that conversation remained.

She tried to search around a bit more, but the sound of a gunshot made her run on. She ran through the halls, dodging bullets and punching her way through any agents that got him her way. By the time she reached the exit, it was night-time, but she had no idea if it was still the same day or not, and she felt her heart lurch at the thought of Drew scrambling through these woods looking for her. She took the risk of checking her phone for the date, and felt her heart sink as she saw that a whole day had passed. As she put her phone back in her pocket, she made the mistake of slowing down a little, which proved to be her undoing. A terrible, sharp pain pierced through her exposed belly, causing her to cry out. Looking down, she saw a bullet had struck her side, and she was bleeding heavily. She rolled her t-shirt back down, and used it to stem the flow, then ran on. She ran into the man who shot her, and punched him for getting in the way. Because of the pain, she couldn't ignite her fists. So, she recalled Blaziken to his ball and fled into the woods. This is how she ends up where she is now, having fallen out of a tree, unable to move, with a person she can't make out standing over her, watching as she falls unconscious.

Well, that was a lot longer than the previous few have been. It felt weird writing that in past tense instead of the usual present, but it was refreshing honestly. It's really funny how much longer the chapters with actual plans get compared to the ones I'm more or less making up as I go along. Well anyway, only two more chapters until my daily uploads ends, so hopefully the rest of them go as well as this one did. As for when you'll find out what happened to May, well, I'm not going to give that away. See you tomorrow.