Previously...

When he finally landed, he tracked down the police station. He threw open the door, breathing heavily from practically running there.

"Team Rocket kidnapped my friend! But I saw the building they went into. That shady souvenir shop in town is their base of operations, I'm sure of it! Please help me rescue her!" Drew said desperately, mentally and physically exhausted from his travels. Officer Jenny quirked her eyebrow in response.

"I knew I thought I was seeing an unusual amount of those hooligans around. We'll get a team together right away to investigate. Please, lead the way," she said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was only yesterday that May found out her aunt, Christina, who she hadn't seen since she was young, was a member of Team Rocket. And not just some lowly grunt, but an admin. Now she had to wait until her mother arrived and gave the money for her to be released. Her limbs ached from where she was bound. The ropes restraining her for several days did a number on her.

She felt helpless. She had tried to find something, anything, in the room that she could use to wear down her restraints, but the office had been prepared for her arrival. Nothing was left in there that she could use. She hated her helplessness, hated the fact that her freedom was riding on another person.

A muffled commotion coming from the other side of the door caught her attention. Perking up, she turned her head toward the door, as if facing it would somehow make it easier for her to make out what was happening. The office door burst open with a resounding crash, and May couldn't help the surprised scream of fear that slipped out at the sound. The last thing she had expected was for the police to come through the door.

"We found the hostage," one of the officers said into his walkie. He had a rather impressive mustache. The other officer, a woman, pulled out a pocket knife and began to saw at the ropes May was tied in.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine, just sore and shaken up," May replied, sighing in relief with the rope that pinned her arms to her torso finally came loose. The officer cut her ankle and wrist restraints and attempted to help her up. May stumbled unsteadily to her feet, the officer quickly offering herself as a crutch.

"Do you need help?"

"Yes, please," May said reluctantly, putting most of her weight on the other woman.

"Let's get you out of here." May nodded in agreement, but as the officer helped her out of the room, leaving the other officer to investigate, May gasped.

"My pokeballs, and my stuff! I don't know where she put them!" she said frantically.

"Calm down, Miss," The most important part is getting you to safety. We'll track down your stuff and your pokemon for you," the officer said reassuringly. May didn't have enough left in her to fight her. Reluctantly she hobbled along.

How did the police get here? Did they find out about the base on their own, or did her mother alert them? She said that she wasn't going to, for fear something might happen, but then if not her, how else would they know?

The hallways were a disaster. Grunts and officers engaged in battles, while some were chased down and handcuffed. It was utter chaos. May searched for her aunt among the unfamiliar faces, but she wasn't there. Maybe she was hiding, or had already been arrested?

The statues of Pursians which served as their security system, were going haywire, their eyes flashing erratically to indicate intruders. The alarms were blaring. All of it together was somewhat overstimulating.

The officer guided her through, other officers coming in to keep the grunts off of them so they could pass through. They made it to the staircase, natural light pouring in from upstairs.

"You think you can make it up?" The officer asked her.

"I'll need your support, but yes." It was a slow and steady process. Her legs were weak from lack of use, but she made it up the stairs, a large golden cabinet shoved out of the way into the corner of the room.

She had been knocked out on the way into the base, so she didn't realize that the base had been secretly hidden in a souvenir shop of all things. She noted that was a little odd, but she tucked that thought away once they went through the doors, and she was finally outside again for the first time in almost a week.

The fresh air felt nice on her rope-burned skin, and clean in her lungs. She had somewhat expected to see her mother outside of the shop, a worried expression on her face, but the woman was nowhere to be found. Instead, she found herself captured into a set of warm familiar arms.

"Drew!" She rasped in surprise. He only held her tighter, and she noticed the way he trembled against her. Numerous questions swirled around her head. Where had he been? What happened to him? How did he find her?

She thought that he wouldn't linger in the embrace long, but he didn't seem to want to let go anytime soon. He clung to her like she was about to disappear again.

"Drew?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry!" He apologized, his voice breaking and heavy with emotion. "This was all my fault."

May didn't know how to respond, so she simply stroked the back of his head, rubbing her fingers through his green hair. She hoped it would help calm him down. She hushed him soothingly.

"I wanted to make it up to you by being the one to rescue you, but the police wouldn't let me go into the building. I had to stay out here and wait. It was torture."

"It's okay. Everything will be okay. I'm safe, you're safe, that's what really matters."

"I missed you," he said into her shoulder.

"I missed you too," she replied, her throat suddenly tightening. A loud scream of aggravation broke her attention away from Drew. Her aunt was being hauled out of the building by multiple officers. Drew let go of her to watch as well. Long gone was her coy and confident demeanor. She was desperate, thrashing and yelling, trying everything to get away. It was a complete one eighty from how she had been just yesterday. It took multiple officers to shove her into the car, before one of them approached her, a familiar bag and belt in hand.

"I believe these belong to you? We confiscated them from her earlier," the officer said, handing her the stolen items.

"Thank you," she said with a polite smile. Sighing with relief, she snapped the belt back around her waist where it belonged. Now that she had her Pokemon back, she felt so much better. She never realized how vulnerable she was without her precious partners. As she got her items resituated, officer Jenny approached her.

"If you don't mind, Miss, we'll need your contact information. We'd like to get your account of what happened later."

"Oh, yes, of course," May said, taking out her DexNav from her bag to exchange numbers.

"We will be reaching out very soon," she said, and then she rejoined the fray of officers.

May and Drew stood side by side. A heavy silence settled over the two. It was probably the most awkward she had ever felt around him before. May sighed.

"We need to talk," May announced, breaking the silence. Drew simply nodded in agreement.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A/N

I almost fell asleep multiple times writing this chapter since I'm so tired. Hopefully it's coherent enough that it's understandable. If not, I'm so sorry. I didn't get to go to sleep until almost 2 am last night since my roommate got drunk and I had to take care of her.

Then I woke up at 5:30 am because the power went out, then I got up at 6:45 am to get ready and left my dorm at 7:45 to go home for winter break and drove three hours. It's just past 11:30 pm while I'm writing this so I've had a very long day. I'm glad I finished the chapter though, but I will be going to sleep now haha. Hopefully you enjoyed the update. Until next time,

YouDontKnowShipping