This is the quickest I've written a new chapter in a long time, I believe. We're right back with the action after that calm chapter. Alright! Let's go!

May's eyes flicked open.

The bright orange sun sat as a semicircle on the horizon. Its long rays stretched out across the sky, painting the clouds with oranges and yellows. Below the balloon, the color of the sea seemed muted against the overwhelming brightness of the sun. May squinted her eyes and whined. "It's too early…" she whispered to herself.

"Are you going to get up, May?" Cyndi called to her from out in front. "We're practically there!"

"What?" May yawned. "We're almost there?"

May used her hand to feel the shoulder that Pikachu had fallen asleep on the night before. Finding it bare, she turned her head to the left and right to search amongst the heads of the rest of the passengers.

The small Pokémon had apparently wandered across the shoulders of the others and had found Jessie's hair particularly comfortable. He had curled up in her long locks and went to sleep. Jessie herself, however, was snoring thunderously, keeping anyone except May from being able to get any rest beyond shutting their eyes.

"Jessie, wake up," pleaded James. "It's time for us to start descending."

"Just a few more minutes," Jessie yawned.

"But you're crushing me," the blue-haired man whined, trapped between his friend and the two Frontier Brains. "Can't you just get up now?"

"Oh, fine," the red haired woman grumbled as she stood straight up and leaned back, pressing her partner even closer to the girls who were caught in the middle.

As James, Greta, and Anabel fought each other for the right to expand their lungs the most, May looked down to her right at what was most assuredly their destination. On the far side of the island, there sat what looked like a small city. She could even pick out the Pokémon Center from this height. Closer to them, and where try were going to land, however, was a much different picture than a sparse, quaint town.

The building looked like it was ripped out of a blockbuster film, May thought. It was a small castle, all colored the pitchest black May had ever seen. All along the top of the building's walls were tall, sharp spikes of shimmering ebony. The castle was surrounded by a tall wall also made of black stones. Atop the castle sat intimidating form of the Battle Pyramid. May remembered the tall, dark shape well, but it was the first time she had ever seen it from the sky.

She turned to her allies. "So the Battle Pyramid sits on top of the Battle Fortress?" she asked Anabel, speaking over Brock.

"That's right," the lavender haired maiden responded. "Giovanni uses the Fortress as his base of operations in the Sevii Islands. Since Brandon is one of his underlings, having the pyramid land on the fortress allows for the more direct transport of Pokémon."

"Or prisoners," Greta added. "Ash had no idea where he was until he was told. There's no windows or anything, so even if he wanted to escape, it wouldn't be easy."

"I hope he's okay," Cyndi sighed, flying close by the balloon.

"Focus more on flyin' dan worrying about da twoip!" Meowth panicked, gripping onto Cyndi tightly.

"We're coming in for a landing," Jessie said. "Brock, pull the other rope to let out the hot air."

"Right," Brock nodded. He pushed through the Frontier Brains again and pulled on a second rope. A hole on the top of the Wobbuffet Balloon opened up, and the balloon began floating gently downward into the forests in front of the Fortress. Jessie spotted a sizeable clearing not too far from the entrance and instructed James to land the craft.

The Pokémon Trainers who were stuck in the basket all night took a moment to stretch out as they walked around the clearing. Cyndi landed shortly thereafter, and Meowth was thankful to have something under his feet again. Even in this clearing, though, May and Pikachu could see the top of the Battle Pyramid looming over them.

After a few moments, May began leading the group through the small forested area in front of the Battle Fortress. May swallowed her fear as they finally stepped out in front of the intimidating structure.

The group found themselves standing in front of what appeared to be the main gate. The gate seemed to glare down at May, its bars like long, thin teeth permanently stretched out in a frightening, eerie smile. Its shining, featureless face wrapped around the building as the black walls that surrounded the fortress.

May timidly stepped towards the gate and pulled back on the bars, which held fast to their position. The coordinator let out a growl. "The gate's locked. How're we supposed to get in?"

"Wait," Anabel stepped towards the right side of the gate. She flipped open an unseen panel on the flat wall, exposing the keypad. She flicked a few keys on the pad and looked at the gate expectantly.

A few moments of empty silence passed before the Salon Maiden frowned. "Did they change the passcode?"

"Here, let me give it a try," Greta said, pulling her sleeve back. She stepped up to the keypad and began punching in another passcode.

After a few clicks, the gate sprang to life, opening inward towards the main building.

"Hey, great work, Greta!" May clasped her hands together and laughed.

Greta swallowed sharply. "I… I didn't… finish inputting my code…" she managed to get out.

"Which means," deduced Brock, "that someone is expecting us."

May's cheer disappeared as she looked towards the building. The building's exterior was extremely ornate. Unlike the plain outer perimeter, the Fortress was made up stones of various unpredictable sizes. From below the large pyramid, it seemed like the Battle Fortress was simply a tall, black box that was used as a landing site for the other facility.

Looking ahead, May noticed that the door to the Fortress was open, with a faint light shining from inside. May looked to the Pokémon on her shoulder and swallowed her fear, remembering something that was told to her months ago. Knowing her own Pokémon would be afraid if she herself let the building scare her, she put on her bravest face and turned to her compatriots. "Are we ready?" she asked them.

"Let's go, May," Brock nodded.

"Let's go save Ash!" Cyndi cheered.

"For honor!" James shouted.

"For glory!" Jessie responded.

"For da twoip!" Meowth finished.

"If we're going to save Ash, we'll all need to work together," Anabel said. "We'll all have to work as hard as we can."

"We've gotta get May to Ash, right?" Greta asked. "We've just gotta focus on that objective. The rest'll be cake."

With her whole team behind her, May stepped into the Battle Fortress.

Inside the open door, May quickly realized where she stood. Even with just the faint light from the outside lighting the room, she could tell that the markings on the floor meant that trainers would battle here.

The faint light that had shone from the outside seemed to vanish as May and her friends entered the room. Suddenly, the lights in the ceiling all turned on simultaneously. May blinked for a bit at the change in the lighting, but before she could say anything, a voice called out from the door on the opposite side of the room.

"Prepare for trouble!" shouted a woman, clad in black, as she stepped out of the shade of the doorway on the opposite side of the room.

Following her out of the doorway was a man, also in all black. He followed up her line by saying, "And make it double." As soon as he stepped through the door, it slammed down behind him, closing off the path.

May quickly took a look around the room. There were no stands for crowds to sit in to watch the battles. The floor was covered in dirt, as is usual for Pokémon battlefields, but the walls were made of a blue-tinted steel.

Before she could make any further notes about the room, the duo shouted, "Now here's our mission so you better listen!"

May directed her attention to the woman across the room from her. She was dressed like Jessie was, except her outfit seemed like a negative, with a black blouse and skirt and white gloves and boots. The only thing that remained constant was the red R on her chest. Her blonde hair was in two ponytails, and large earrings hung from her ears.

The man who was opposite her similarly looked like a negative of James. His hair was much more neatly trimmed and turquoise in color, but he wore the same outfit and boots that the other man wore, only with the colors reversed.

The duo continued uninhibited.

"To infect the world with devastation!" the woman began reciting the motto.

"To blight all peoples in every nation!" the man joined in.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!" the woman thrust her arm outward.

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!" the man punched towards the ceiling.

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!" Cassidy finished, turning her back towards Butch.

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!" Butch finished, also turning his back to his partner.

"I know who you are," May shouted, annoyed at their time-wasting display. "It's Cassidy and Brian, right?"

Butch's face turned bright red. "The name is Butch!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Not Brian! We've run into your boyfriend enough that he should have told you my name! And I just said it a few seconds ago! Didn't you listen to our motto?!"

Cassidy surveyed the trainers who entered from the other side. "Look there, Butch, it seems that there are some traitors in our midst."

Butch was about to shout at Cassidy for messing up his name, but realized that she said it properly. "You're right," he smiled, recognizing the familiar trio. "Although I guess 'traitors' is the wrong word. They were fired, remember?"

"Oh, how could I have forgotten?" Cassidy mocked them.

"You wanna make something of it?" Jessie growled at the other woman.

"Wobbuffet!" the Pokémon appeared next to his trainer.

Cassidy cackled in response at a pitch that hurt Pikachu's ears. "You're way outta your league, girlie," Cassidy taunted. "You should have just stayed away. If the Boss learns that you're here, he won't let such disobedience go unpunished."

"Just get out of the way, you two," Anabel shouted. "We don't have business with the likes of you."

Butch shook his finger at the Frontier Brain. "That's not how it's gonna work, twerp," he sneered. "If you wanna get through the door, someone's gonna have to battle us."

Jessie stepped forward. "I'll take that Cassa-ding-dong on!" The red-haired woman's blue eyes burned intensely. "C'mon, James. You can fight Butters."

"It's not Butters! It's Butch! I just yelled at the twerp about this thing!" Butch's chest heaved as he glared furiously at Jessie and James. "I'm ready to get this started!" He produced a Pokéball from his pants pocket and pitched it forward. "Mightyena, go!"

The Pokéball snapped open, and one flash of light later, a canine Pokémon stood between May's group and the Rocket Duo. His fur was wild and black, the red irises trained on James.

"I guess I'd better give you a hand, then," Cassidy smiled. "Let's go, Houndour!"

Cassidy's Pokéball snapped open, and a smaller dog-like Pokémon stood next to Mightyena. His underside was a vibrant red that contrasted with his dark underside. Both Pokémon barked at Jessie and James.

"Are you sure you wanna fight them?" May asked Jessie and James as they stepped forward from the group.

"Those two have had this coming for a long time," Jessie said, her gaze not faltering from her rival.

James let out a sigh. "I don't really have anything against these guys personally. I'm just along for the ride."

"Hey!" Meowth jumped forward. "Don't forget me!"

"So it's the whole dopey trio," Butch smiled.

"I was wondering when that worthless Meowth would open his big trap again," Cassidy laughed.

"I've had it with both of you!" Jessie yelled. "We're going to clean your clocks!" Jessie brought out her Pokéball and tossed it. "Seviper, let's go!"

James smiled at the Pokéball he lifted out of his pocket. "Cacnea, it's your turn, too!"

Their Pokéballs opened up, and the two Pokémon from Hoenn appeared next to each other. Cacnea turned from her forward trajectory and gave James strong, prickly hug.

May let out a gasp when she saw the door behind Butch and Cassidy open.

James pulled Cacnea from his face and threw her back into the fray. The four Pokémon stood against each other and glared, waiting for a command to start the battle.

"Houndour," Cassidy shouted, "use Flamethrower!"

"Cacnea, block it with Sandstorm!" James countered.

"Mightyena, use Poison Fang on Cacnea, quickly!" Butch commanded.

"Seviper," Jessie thrust her hand out, "use your strongest Poison Tail on Mightyena!"

Houndour opened his small mouth, and a torrent of orange and yellow flames shot across the battlefield. The Cactus Pokémon spun around and generated winds that began filling the room with sand. The flames hit the sand and were dispersed harmlessly.

Mightyena began running through the sand, the winds cutting against him. Seeing what he thought was the form of the Pokémon, he leapt forward, but came into contact only with the glowing purple tail of Jessie's Fang Snake Pokémon.

"May," Anabel whispered closely, "we need to make a break for that door while the battle's going on."

"Why?" May asked. "Shouldn't we support Jessie and James?"

"That's not how it works in the Battle Fortress," Anabel replied. "The door's only open while the Pokémon are battling. You end up having to leave some Pokémon behind to fight alone against the opponents inside."

May's eyes widened. "Th-that's horrible! You have to abandon the Pokémon?!"

"It's a cruel facility," Anabel sighed, then smiled, "but we have the advantage. With so much help, we'll be able to get you far into the Fortress by leaving people behind instead of weakening your party."

May's eyes remained wide. "You're asking me to abandon my friends in a place like this where I can't help them?! I-I can't do that!"

"You have to," Greta spoke, walking close. "Don't worry. I'm ready to do whatever it takes."

Brock put his hands on May's shoulders. "We're a team, May, but we all know that you and Pikachu are the only ones who'll be able to reach Ash. So we've got to do whatever we can to get to him."

May fought back some tears and looked up at the Breeder. "T-thanks Brock."

"What're you waiting for?" Jessie shouted.

"Go on, twerps!" James nodded. "We can handle these fools."

"You really think you can beat us?" Cassidy shouted in reply. "Something must have broke after the Champion clobbered you.

May let out a short gasp. "T-the Champion?"

"We're not afraid of you!" Jessie fought back.

Meowth leapt forward. "Dat's right! We're good guys now!"

"Wooobbuffet!" he nodded in agreement.

May dashed along the edge of the arena with Pikachu firmly holding onto her shoulder. Brock and Cyndi followed close behind, with Anabel and Greta bringing up the rear. The four battling Pokémon continued exchanging blows. Cacnea slammed her arms into the side of Houndour, who held her in his mouth. Seviper wrapped around Mightyena and began constricting.

May stood in the doorway behind Butch and Cassidy. "C'mon, let's hurry!" she called to the others. Shooting weary glances at the Team Rocket members in the battle Brock and Cyndi hustled through the door. Anabel and Greta followed closely behind, but didn't seem worried about any stray blows.

As soon as Greta and Anabel were past the threshold, May looked back to Jessie and James. She hesitated for a moment, wanting to help them. Brock grabbed her arm and yanked her in the door, and as soon as she was out of the doorway, the sliding steel door slammed shut.

Silence filled the air for a moment as May fell to her knees. "No…" she whispered. Then, raising a shout, "No! We can't leave them! This is how it happened to Ash! We split up, and something terrible happened to him!" She stood up and began pounding on the door, her hands balled into tight fists. "We have to go back and save them. We've gotta open this door!"

"May…" whispered Cyndi to herself.

"Pikachu…" he cooed into her ear.

Brock grabbed May by her arms and pulled her away from the door. "May, come on…" he whispered gently.

"It won't open from this side," Anabel tried to console her. "Only the Frontier Brain in charge of this facility can do that."

"That… that Giovanni…" May choked back tears, refusing to cry. "Is this how he fights? He divides up friends, and family, and lives, and picks on us when we're at our weakest?" She sniffled and looked back at the metal door. "I will save Ash from him! And then, when it's all over, it'll be okay, just like Ash would say!"

May took a moment to look around the room. It was quite dark, with only a single light filtering down from above. The walls seemed like the same cold, muted blue steel like what was seen in the previous room. A staircase, with each step made of a wire mesh, climbed the walls around the room. May turned, her back now to the door, and stepped towards her right, where the staircase began. She began climbing the stairs, each step creating a resounding metallic echo that caused the coordinator to shudder. Brock and Cyndi followed closely behind her, with the Frontier Brains keeping their distance as they followed.

"Hey, Anabel," Greta whispered to the lavender-haired girl. "What did you think of what May said?"

"'What May said?'" Anabel blinked. "What do you mean?"

"She said that after she rescues Ash, everything's gonna be fine," Greta replied. "But what's gonna happen to us? I mean, we… I mean, I did some pretty bad stuff to him. Will it really be okay?"

"Are you feeling alright, Greta?" Anabel raised a concerned eyebrow. "You normally don't worry about how people will react until you've already acted."

"I know, Annie," Greta averted her gaze, "but this entire thing has me thinkin', ya know?" The Arena Tycoon took a moment to gather herself. "I'm not even really sure why you're here. I thought you liked Ash. If he joins Team Rocket, and we stay with those guys, won't it be better for you and him in the long run?"

Anabel shook her head. "I think I understand now," she replied. "I do have feelings for Ash. But at the same time, I've seen how much May cares for him. And knowing how much he loves her back, the worst thing I could do would be to break them up."

"So…" Greta continued looking away. "Are you over Ash, then?"

Anabel sighed. "Just about. I still think about him sometimes, but I know we're not meant to be."

"I-is there anyone else you've got your eye on?" the normally timid Tycoon asked the Maiden.

"That's a weird question for you to be asking, Greta," Anabel giggled. "I'm not sure of everything yet, but everything will be all right in the end. I'm sure of that." She shot a smiled at the blonde girl. "C'mon, we're lagging behind. Let's catch up." Giving Greta a friendly slap on the back, Anabel began climbing up the dark stairs more rapidly.

Greta stood still for a moment. "Everything'll be alright, huh?" she asked herself. Then, she began chasing after her friend up the dark stairway.

This chapter was gonna be longer, but since it was dragging through these parts, I decided that I would just snip it right about here. I'll have to finish writing the next part, but hopefully it won't take too terribly long. I'll see everyone then!