Previously...

"How can I believe anything you say? You've run away twice. How can I trust that you will come back?" She said, fully turning around and slinking up the hall towards him. She was right. How could she trust him?

"Now, your father will be expecting you, don't make him wait," she said with a smirk, before turning around again.

He racked his brain for anything. Anything at all. He grit his teeth when the thought came to mind. His fists clenched and his heart ached and his stomach turned.

"I'll leave Roserade here,"

His mother stopped in her tracks.

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May didn't know how long she had been trapped in this room. Based on the number of times someone has come to feed her, she would say a few days at the least. That didn't count however long she had been knocked out before she woke up though.

The room she was stuck in wasn't the type of place she expected a hostage to be kept. By the looks of it, it was someone's office. A black leather couch was set against one of the walls, and a dark stained wooden desk was placed centered towards the back wall, directly opposite to the door. On both sides, floor to ceiling bookshelves formed a frame behind the desk that also housed a computer on top of it. There were no windows in the room, the exact reason that made it so hard for May to figure out how much time had passed.

She wasn't sure why, out of all places, they would keep her in an office, but with her wrists and ankles bound, and a rope tying her arms to her torso, she wasn't getting anywhere anytime soon. Especially because her fanny pack and pokeballs were both gone. The possibility of escaping seemed almost impossible without the help of her trusty pokemon.

Being alone and tied up in a room with hardly any social interaction, aside from a grunt coming in to shove food down her throat, she understood how people went insane like this. All she could do was just sit there and think.

If that alone was enough to make any sane person slowly lose their mind, thinking about Drew on top of it all put her on the edge of a descent into madness.

She was furious with him. He refused to date her, okay, fine, whatever, but that didn't mean he could take advantage of her feelings to scare off another guy. It was selfish for him to try and keep her to himself when he wouldn't commit, even if she had no desire to be anything more than friends with Brendan.

She was so tired of having the same argument with him, over and over again. She put up her boundaries, only for him to cross them, and she let him, like a weak-willed fool. It pained her how strained their friendship had become because of all of this.

His words echoed in her head.

"I wish you had never told me how you felt."

They cut like a dagger. It was a low blow, and he had succeeded in hurting her with his words. The guilt ate at her stomach. If she had never said anything, maybe it really would have been easier. She would wonder if he ever felt the same, but maybe after all this was over, she could move on with her life and only think of him as a fond memory.

But anger aside, she was also so worried about him. What if she never saw him again? Was he looking for her, or were they holding him in a different room? Or the worst yet; did he get caught and sent back home?

May was brought out of her thoughts by the door to the office opening. She was fed not too long ago, so she wasn't expecting anyone to come in for several more hours. Someone coming in now surely wasn't a good thing. A feeling of dread began to dig its way into her stomach, making itself comfortable and lying there.

The woman who stepped into the room was wearing the uniform of a Team Rocket Admin. Despite that, May would recognize her anywhere.

Her chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a sleek high ponytail, not a hair out of place. Her sapphire blue eyes examined her intensely, cold and calculating. Her face suddenly warped into a grin, but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Look at how big you've grown! It's been so long since I last saw you!" She exclaimed. "It is regrettable that it took so long for me to get here. I was away on business, lots to do in the underground, but what a pleasant thing to come back to!" She walked over to the desk and deposited her briefcase and a stack of papers on top of it.

"Aunt Christina?" May said breathlessly, in disbelief, her eyes following her across the room. "You're a member of Team Rocket?"

"No, I just wear the uniform for fun," she deadpanned, crossing her arms and leaning against the desk.

"Why? I don't understand,"

"Understand what?"

"Why are you in Team Rocket?"

"Someone had to be the family disappointment, and your mother, all prim and perfect, was an angel who could never do anything wrong. As such, the role fell on me. Unlike your mother, I didn't have everything handed to me, so I had to get my hands dirty to make ends meet, and well, here I am. Tragic, I know," she explained theatrically.

"Why am I here?" May asked, filing her aunt's answer away to think on another time.

"I wish I could say it was for some much needed bonding and catching up with my favorite niece."

"Why am I here?" May asked firmly.

"One word: Leverage." She grinned.

"Leverage?" May asked, bewildered. "What do you need me as leverage for?"

"That's easy," she said, pulling out her PokeNav and calling someone on it. Whoever it was didn't answer. "Ugh, typical. She ignored me. What a brat."

From her pocket, her aunt pulled out another PokeNav. It took May a second to realize it was her PokeNav.

"Perhaps now she'll be more responsive," she said smugly.

"C-Christina?" A voice distorted from the device said in disbelief. It was her mother. "Where's May."

"Is that how you greet your big sister who you've been ignoring for years? I'm hurt,"

"Cut the crap! What have you done to my daughter?" Caroline demanded.

"Relax. She's fine! Just tied up," Christina said casually. At that, she stood straight and walked towards May, stopping in front of her before crouching down and turning the device toward her. Caroline's face stared back at her, her face knitted in simultaneous horror and concern.

"May, baby, are you alright?" For having stayed as calm as she had been these past few days, seeing her mother's scared face and hearing her voice, May found herself on the verge of tears. She was so scared, more than she had allowed herself to think, and she missed her mom so much.

"I'm okay, Mom," she said in an attempt to reassure her mother, but the words came out strangled from her tightening throat and tears began to prick at her eyes.

"See, she's fine," Christina said, unbothered.

"What do you want?" Caroline asked darkly.

"Why do you assume I want something? Maybe I just wanted to see her and hang out," Christina scoffed.

"This isn't a joke! What do you want?" Caroline demanded. Christina sighed.

"The money," Christina said, her tone serious for once. It was the first time she actually sounded menacing.

"That's what this is all about? You kidnapped my daughter because Mom cut you out of the will?"

"Half of it was supposed to be mine anyways. Transfer it all over and I'll let May go. Then, we can go our separate ways like none of this ever happened."

"And what if I don't?" Caroline challenged. Christina's face distorted into a hardened glare. May shivered at her expression.

"I don't think you're in the position to bargain. I can do way worse things to her than just keeping her tied up. Would you like to take a gander?" The other line of the PokeNav fell silent. May's stomach sank, fear intermingling with the dread from earlier. "That's what I thought."

"What do you need the money for anyways?"

"Well, ever since Giovanni was arrested, we've had issues with funding. We have our ways of making money, but we always need more, especially now that we don't have him backing us," Christina explained.

"You're threatening your family for funding for your criminal organization? Are you even hearing yourself right now?"

"Threatening my family? You all casted me aside and treated me like I was a disappointment. You stopped being my family long before I was cut out of the will, long before I ever joined Team Rocket, so don't tell me how we're a family," Christina spat. The argument between the two sisters was a lot for May to process at once. She never realized how much she didn't truly know about her family, how much had been buried and never mentioned, likely for her protection.

"I want a check, and I want it in person. Once I get it, then I will let your daughter go." As much as May wanted to tell her mom not to do it, she was scared, and she wanted to leave. She wasn't selfless enough to tell her no. She didn't know where Drew was either, so she needed to find him and make sure he was safe.

"Where do I meet you?" Caroline asked defeatedly.

"Mahogany Town."

"I'll take the next flight available."

"Safe travels. Oh, and don't you dare even think about alerting the police," Christina said before ending the call. "Hear all that, May? Sit tight. Mommy dearest is on her way."

"Where's Drew?" May asked.

"Your little boy toy? I don't know, but he's not here," Christina said. May felt a weight lift from her chest. At least he wasn't locked up as well. But then, where was he? Was he looking for her? What if those men got a hold of him? She shuddered at the thought.

"Well, make yourself at home. As much as you can that is. I've got lots to do. Crime is a very busy profession," Christina said before heading to the door. Just as she about shut the door she poked her head back in the room.

"Oh, and by the way, I hope you have no hard feelings about my grunts attacking the contest halls? If it hadn't been for your mom I would have never gone after you in the first place. Whew! I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest. Ta-ta!" Then the door shut behind her and May was left, tied up and alone in the office once more.

Team Rocket truly was attacking the contest halls because of her, all along. This was the reason her mom didn't want her to go to Johto in the first place, but she had thought she was just being overprotective. She never would have guessed that things would turn out this way. But now she had nothing but time to let it sink in as she waited for her mother to arrive.

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A/N

Heyyy, it's been a bit hasn't it? I posted a chapter like I said I would, so hopefully it is up to everyone's expectations and was worth the wait! I hope you all are doing well and are in good health! I've definitely had an eventful past 2 years. There's really too much to say about what I've been up to so I'll just go over a few major events.

I had crazy roommates freshman year and that was very traumatic, my dog passed away at the end of December last year, I finally got my music out on Spotify and other streaming services earlier this year, I went on my first ever date in April, and I went to South Korea for a week in July this year.

Anyways, that's my little life update! I'll see you all next week for another new chapter!

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