Work Text:
Maxie Matsubusa was going out of his mind.
He was going out of his mind and it was all thanks to Team Aqua. It was Team Aqua that had stolen his files on the properties of how to make an artificial key stone. It was Team Aqua that had let half of Team Magma's Numels loose in the jagged pass. It was Team Aqua that was running a muck all over Hoenn.
It was Team Aqua's Leader Archie that was getting closer and closer to awakening Kyogre and destroying the world.
Awakening ancient gods sounded fun and very worthwhile in the beginning. Maxie remembered those fond nights of staying up and talking about the wonders of what Kyogre and Groudon could do for the world. With Maxie Matsubusa and Archie Aogiri in control of them, the world would become the perfect place to live. People would no longer go hungry or be forced to live in cramped cities. Humanity and Pokemon-kind alike would benefit tremendously if the environment was altered just a little bit.
However, it became very apparent that their definitions of "benefiting the world" were vastly different.
It was on this date many years ago when they were both still dealing with harsh acne and high school teachers that were totally out to get them that Archie had nervously asked Maxie out to dinner and a movie.
It was on this date a few years after that that Maxie started talking about bringing their dreams into reality. The talks of forming a team were in their early stages. But most importantly, Archie had knelt down he Maxie least expected it and pulled a silver ring from the pocket of his ripped jeans.
It was on this date two years ago that Archie confessed he thought Maxie's plan was stupid. The only way to better humanity was to get rid of it.
It was on this date a year ago that Maxie had given up trying to convince Archie he was being completely psychotic. Since the man loved the ocean so much, Maxie pulled off his ring and tossed it right into the murky waters, never to be seen again. Their unified team was officially disbanded and Teams Aqua and Magma took its place.
Today, it seemed like Team Aqua was on the path to victory.
Maxie had no idea how Archie was doing it. All of the grunts were so carefree and reckless that it made absolutely no sense how they haven't been caught yet. Well, the Hoenn police force also hasn't had the best reputation in the world either.
Archie was getting closer and closer to his goal and the world was going to end. Maxie rested his head against his desk. He was by no means relaxed. He was anything but. With every step forward Team Magma made in stopping Team Aqua, Team Aqua took three. Before they knew it, Team Aqua was going to find the location of Kyogre and bring down a watery apocalypse.
"Leader Maxie, sir?" a voice said as he stepped into the doorway. Maxie knew that voice all too well. It was simply Tabitha. He straightened himself up and gestured for the man to step up to his desk. Maxie was by no means presentable. His hair was scattered about from the sheer amount of how many times he's ran his hands through his red locks. Tired eyes lied behind thick frames of glasses. His skin was paled and wrinkled from the stress. When was the last time he ate? Slept? His guess was as good as any. However, Tabitha has seen him in worse states, so he felt alright letting the man in.
"What is it? If it's another round of bad news I will need you to fetch what last bit of Ibuprofen I have left."
"Oh, no sir!" Tabitha was quick to say to ease his boss's worries. "It's more neutral news than anything else. There's a package outside your door and I wanted to make sure you were aware of its presence."
Maxie quirked a curious brow. "I was not." Now that he was thinking about it, he may have heard someone knock on his office door earlier when he was venting his frustrations to Camerupt. The grunts know better than to interrupt him when he's in venting mode. "Bring it in."
"Yes sir." Tabitha saluted and strode back to the doorway while Maxie stood from his desk. The package was of medium stature, and based on how Tabitha was carrying it, it wasn't all that light either. It was hard to say what this could be. Maxie orders supplies all the time and uses a shady, but paradoxically trustworthy middle man to do so. He never uses his name, so the fact that this was addressed directly to him made him all the more curious. There wasn't a return address either.
Just to be on the safe side, he threw Mightyena out of his ball to see if it was safe.
"Were you not expecting this, sir?" Tabitha asked as he watched Mightyena sniff around the box.
"No, I was not." Mightyena sat down by Maxie's feet, looking up and expecting a reward for his task. The reward he received was a pat to the head and his tail wagged with happiness. Since Mightyena wasn't causing a fuss, it must be safe. "Thank you, Tabitha. You are dismissed."
"Yes sir." Tabitha saluted him once more and turned to leave. He was hesitant for a moment, almost as if he was going to say something further, but ended up quietly leaving the office.
No one talked about what today was and expected to live.
Maxie pulled a small, but useful, pocket knife from his coat pocket and carefully cut the tape on the sides. He was honestly expecting this thing to blow up at any given moment, and when he looked inside he sincerely wished that it had been a bomb.
Instead, what he found was a neatly polished, highly detailed model of a ship placed carefully in a sea of package peanuts. His heart pounded against his chest in anger, knowing exactly who this came from. Still, he picked it up and inspected it. It was such a beautiful model. Not a detail was missed. Hours upon hours had to be spent constructing such a model.
Maxie was utterly fascinated when helped Archie make one all those years ago.
For the time being, he placed it on his desk and looked back in the box just to see if there was anything he had missed. There was. Almost lost in the sea of foam was a white envelope. Maxie had no idea what would be written in it. Archie was the most unpredictable person on the planet. If he were the least bit predictable, well, Team Magma wouldn't be losing this war, now would they?
Maxie didn't even want to open it. He just wanted to toss all of this in the garbage and have Camerupt burn it. His hands were admittedly a little shaky as he cut the top of the envelope. He paused and took in a deep breath as he pulled the paper out and unfolded it.
Aye, Maxie
Here's just a reminder that you and your crew are always welcomed to come aboard Team Aqua. I know that the offer's a long shot, but you were always stubborn like that. For now, here's a little something something for you. Based on how everything's looking, you're gonna need it. I don't want to see you go down in defeat, but I'm just doing what needs to be done. Just think about it.
Happy anniversary,
Archie
Beside Archie's name was a crudely drawn picture of Kyogre. However, Maxie didn't take time to appreciate the artistic beauty of his ex. In fact, he wadded up the letter into a crinkled ball and tossed it across the room. Mightyena pounced up and ran after it. The paper ball didn't stand a chance against the Pokemon.
"That bastard!" Maxie shouted. The grunts loitering outside his door all scattered to go anywhere but there.
He slammed his open palms on his desk. How dare he! How dare he assume that he, the great Maxie, would want to aid a psychopath in destroying the world! How dare he send such a rude invitation!
How dare he still care.
Maxie wanted to wring Archie's neck. Hang him. Shoot him. Throw him in a pit of lava. He could think of a thousand and one ways to kill him, but nothing would satisfy him. He didn't want to murder him. Apparently, Archie felt the same way.
With tears made from a cocktail of regret, anger, and sorrow streaming down his face, he looked over at the beautiful ship. He remembered his hands being too shaky to properly connect any of the smaller pieces. He remembered Archie's large yet gentle hand guiding his, showing him the proper techniques of piecing a model like this together. He remembered the laughs and the cheers of excitement and accomplishment when they finally finished such a painstaking task.
He remembered just how sweet Archie's kiss felt against his lips. How much kindness and hope there was in his eyes. How caring his smile was. How good hearted his laugh was.
That man he used to love doesn't exist anymore. That man can't even be called a man anymore. Archie Aogiri, the leader of Team Aqua, was nothing but a power hungry monster.
Maxie wiped the tears from his face after who knows how long.
In every fairy tale his mother used to read to him when he was nothing more than a small child, the monster either died or transformed into a human at the end of the story.
Maxie could think of a thousand and one ways to kill Archie, but none of them would be satisfying.
He haphazardly placed the stack of papers on one of his side takes on the corner of his desk. With as much care and gentleness as a mother holding her newborn baby, Maxie moved the ship onto the now empty space.
Archie still had a small ounce of humanity left in him. That was more than enough for Maxie to work with.