Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Uh—Maxie? …Maxie?” stuttered a man as he fearfully opened the door. Tabitha knew that his boss would be waiting for him on the other side, and he also knew that his boss wouldn’t be particularly pleased with the news he had to deliver.

“What?” Maxie said, without bothering to look up at him. He was busy narrowing down the pool of candidates for their final mission. Tabitha entered the room, stepping quietly, and delicately. While Maxie’s terseness was always to be expected, it had been particularly bad of recent.

“There’s a—situation—I think you should know about…”

Maxie’s hands froze on the page. His eyes flitted up over his glasses, but there was no fire behind them yet. His voice was even and cold. “What do you mean ‘a situation?’”

“I, uhh… Well. You see… I.. erm…”

Tabitha stopped. The paper in his pocket burned hot like acid, and the words contained more evidence that would inevitably damn him. He choked at the possibility of bringing it to light. The pause was too long for Maxie, who now rose from his seat and marched toward Tabitha. “You what, you insufferable fool? You. What.”

While Maxie and Tabitha stood nearly the same height, with Tabitha surpassing him by only a few inches, Maxie’s sharpened wrath was tall enough to make those petty inches seem infinite. Tabitha shrank, turning his head to avoid the pierce of his leader’s gaze. “It’s uh—“

“Look at me when you are speaking!You will address me with your eyes when you are speaking or I will give your job to someone better qualified.”

“Well it’s kind of hard when you’re standing practically on top of me.”

Maxie paused. Oh. He was pretty close, wasn’t he? Personal space. Personal space.

Without wanting to lose the fire—for fear that Tabitha may grow complacent once again—Maxie retreated only a step. For a moment, he thought perhaps he had given Tabitha too much ire for letting the child intruder escape yesterday. Perhaps.

“What happened in Slateport?” Maxie asked. “That’s where you were, weren’t you?”

“I was on my way to Slateport—and—and—“

Maxie frowned, but allowed Tabitha room to speak. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to shoot the messenger, especially when the stuttering made it painfully obvious that the news was not only bad, but most likely pertained to the messenger himself.

Then again, he had already fired several rounds, hadn’t he?

Wrists trembling, Tabitha reached for his pocket and pulled out the newspaper. “I think you should see this, sir.”

Maxie reached for the paper with a surgeon’s hand, as if the safe transfer of this document would somehow determine what was inside. As Maxie skimmed it over, Tabitha felt the need to fill the silence with,

“I think someone working for Stern destroyed the submarine parts.”

“I can see that!” Maxie snapped. “Don’t you think I have even the simplest powers of deduction! Of course Stern dismantled the submarine!”

“But how can you tell—?”

Maxie raised the paper as though he was going to strike Tabitha with it, but once he saw the big man wither, he lowered the page. Don’t shoot the messenger. Don’t shoot the messenger. Even if the messenger had been particularly incompetent of late…

“I need to spell this out for you don’t I?” Maxie said. “Stern got the tip from the boy.”

“Hey! That wasn’t my—“

“That was entirely your fault and you are lucky I don’t discipline you further.”

Tabitha met Maxie’s gaze with indigence, but submission. It was no use trying to defend himself when Maxie wielded his words like swords. Seeing that Tabitha was adequately subdued, Maxie turned to carry the paper back to his desk. “I am aware of the fact that several of our members rushed to the basement to try to stop him. But the simple fact is that you were not there. Courtney salvaged what she could, but not enough to prevent him from disabling vital parts of the submarine. Now, we would have just stolen more parts from Slateport, but it appears we’re too late for that one too, now aren’t we?”

Tabitha was silent.

“Punctuality, Tabitha. I think it would bear you a great benefit to learn the definition.”

There was an even longer, heavier silence as Maxie pressed his fingertips together in deep thought. After a few moments of bearing this uncomfortable weight, Tabitha was almost relieved when Maxie began to speak again.

“The boy, Brendan, and the girl, May, are both working for the Pokémon League Champion, Steven. And that spoiled, meddlesome son of Devon’s president knows more about things that aren’t any of his business than any man ever should. You see, when Brendan uncovered our plans for the submarine, he no doubt informed Steven, who then alerted Stern—“

“Who ordered that all the parts be destroyed.”

“Precisely.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I will arrange for alternative means of transporting our team to the Seafloor Cavern. In the meantime, Tabitha, I want you to stay as far away from me as possible.”

Tabitha did not move. He was still winded from the onslaught of Maxie’s blade. However, Maxie persisted; this was effective immediately. “Out. Now.”

Without another beat, Tabitha nodded and scurried out of his leader’s office. Maxie sat there as he again studied the words on the page. Submarine dismantled. Damn it all to hell. After all these years, his dream was about to be foolishly unraveled by two nosy children being fed half-truths by Devon’s silver spoon. A silver spoon who wanted nothing more than to play detective because some vapid regional competitive organization decided he had the most powerful Pokémon in all the land. What an embarrassment.

The air was growing heavy around him, so Maxie rose to contemplate the painting on his back wall. It was a replica of the same mural in Granite Cave, which served as a daily reminder of his ultimate goal. He traced the figures of the two primordial beasts with his eyes. The shadow of Groudon thrashed against the quaking earth, its claws tearing fissures into stone. But in the wake of this devastation, Maxie knew that the magma would rise and cool, giving birth to new landscapes where life could prosper. Meanwhile, the old, dead rock would sink deeper into the molten ground and, ignited by that very flame, would combust itself and transform—almost alchemy-like—into more magma that would pool and rise so the cycle could begin anew. He had studied it—even, witnessed it—many times before.

But his eyes strayed from the graceful wrath of the red flame and found themselves rapt in the crashing waves. And, more prominently, on the blue silhouette that leapt and bounded in and out of pillars of water and fire, egging its competitor on. Kyogre. While Groudon slashed and tore, commanding massive volcanic eruptions and tectonic plates, his opponent merely danced around him, teasing him and chasing him and sending wind and rain that could never truly stop a pyroclast fueled so deep within the earth. Only slow it.

Maxie knew that he could bring Groudon to its rightful victory—to free it from the endless torment of its vexing blue counterpart—to vanquish this hideous conflict once and for all. A conflict had not ended, but only come to a stalemate. And yet, as he continued to stare, he found himself drawing more and more into the unabashed spirit of the unrelenting tide, and he was faced with the sickening realization that he knew what—or rather, who—his current situation obliged him to summon.

Chapter Text

Archie stood with his arms folded. The rollicking creature in his eyes beamed with the smug bravado of a puppet-master stringing along a marionette. Oh, how he could make the little man dance—!

“You mean to tell me that you, the ‘great and powerful’ Maxie, are comin’ here askin’ for my help?!” he laughed. “Now that’s some character development!”

“Please,” Maxie begged, to the best of his limited ability. “I don’t come to you of my own accord, but rather of absolute necessity.”

Archie only laughed more. “But’ya did, didn’t you? Why didnt’cha send one of your cronies like’ya always do?”

“Do you think this is some kind of joke? That the state I am in right now is just a blithe little game? Let me tell you, while my team has been consistent and organized for years now, yours has been lacking any sort of clear motive since—”

“Whoa, settle down there, partner. I’m only pullin’ your leg.”

“This is no laughing matter, Archibald.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “First of all, sunshine, the name’s Archie. Plain old, regular Archie. Second of all,” Archie meandered closer to Maxie and put his arm around him, “oh Gluteus Maximus, I honestly don’t see any reason why I should help’ya out.”

“Get off of me.”

“Why?” Archie leaned in even closer. “Does this make you uncomfortable?”

“No. You have the pungent aroma of vodka and rotten fish to lull my nerves. Get. Off.” Maxie jabbed his elbow into Archie’s midsection, but it appeared to have no effect. Archie laughed and shook away from Maxie, sending Maxie—significantly more gaunt and lank—off his balance. Maxie held his composure and stared through the Archie’s whimsy with resolve.

Archie saw the determination in Maxie’s face but was unwilling to settle just yet. It was too much fun to pester him like so. “Look’it this through my eyes, chum. Here I am, mindin’ my own business, just tryin’ t’cause a little trouble n’stay outta jail, and here comes my long-time rival tellin’ me he’s actually not as far ahead as he’s been bluffin’, and I just might win this thing.” Archie bopped Maxie on the nose. “Better luck next time, buffie.”

“I said don’t touch me, you filthy—!” Maxie was cut off by another thunderous bellow. This was not going well. At all. Maxie readjusted his glasses frames and straightened his back. He cleared his throat uneasily. “You get handsy when you drink, you know that?”

Archie leaned on his desk and took another swig from the bottle, giving him a wink. “I always drink, honey.”

“That’s apparent.”

“Look, Max. I’m sorry. But of all the people I’ve swindled, cheated, and flat-out stolen from, I’ve seriously got no obligations t’you.”

“You’re making a foolish mistake.”

“Oh really? And why’s that, princess?”

“Don’t you realize that you depend on me as much as I depend on you?”

The words struck Archie, inebriated as he was. That was an interesting turn. “Whaddaya mean by that?”

“I mean our two teams, like land and sea, are symbiotic. One cannot exist without the complement of the other.”

“Is this some kinda fruity new-age horseshit you throwin’ out at me Max?”

Maxie paused for a second, perplexed, until he remembered the bottle in Archie’s hand. “No. Think about it, Archibald. That is, if thinking is even a task your vacant skull is capable of in such a state.”

“Hey. I can hold my liquor.”

And, with this, Archie slightly lost his footing and spilled a bit of his drink onto Maxie’s coat. Maxie snatched the bottle from him. “That’s it. You’ve had enough.”

Archie didn’t feel up to fighting that battle. “Okay, okay. So what about the sea n’the land sendin’ compliments t’each other?”

Maxie streamlined his nerves to work past Archie’s obtuse behavior. He couldn’t tell if Archie was exaggerating his drunkenness to be a pill or if he actually was that dreadful. “Consider everything my team has done for you of recent. If not for the development of our submarine that can withstand even the most extreme conditions, your grunts couldn’t have swiped the blueprints and built the exact same thing…” Maxie’s voiced trailed off as the extent of Team Aqua’s blatant plagiarism struck him. “Or consider all the information you know about Kyogre because of my research. I spent years studying these beasts. I exhausted over a decade of my life laying out the framework that your team hijacked.”

“Okay I’ll bite. But if this is a yin-n’-yang sorta deal, then what has been in this for you?”

Maxie grinned. “Publicity,” he said. “Your gang looks like a bunch of rotten thieves compared to mine. What did you do last week? Vandalize the museum? Who was there on the scene fighting the crooks? Capital M, my dear adversary.”

“You were tryin’ t’steal those keystones too!”

“Yes, but the press doesn’t know that,” Maxie said. They were in his ring now, and he was certain he could win this round. “Considering that you broke in through four windows on the top floor, injuring two young children and destroying the entire water cycle exhibit in the process, the evidence isn’t very flattering on you. What did Team Magma do, on the other hand? We walked in through the front door.”

Archie grunted and turned away. “Front door…”

“Please. Can we stay on topic?”

“Yeah okay. And what exactly am I s’pposed t’do for you?”

Maxie gave a sheepish grin; his victory had been quite short-lived. The words were painful and clumsy, but he tried his best to carry them with grace.

“Well. I was thinking that… since your team appears to be the authority on seafaring… and my team is in dire need of transport… across the sea… and, as we are en route to the same destination… I supposed that—you might—”

Archie started to laugh as he made the connection. He saw Maxie in his desperation, realized what he was about to say, and wanted to do everything in his power to milk the act dry. “That I might what, darling?”

“That you—”

“Say it.”

“That our teams could temporarily form an alliance in which you escort us by ship to the Seafloor Cavern.”

Archie met Maxie’s gaze with a bewildered contentment. He could hardly believe Maxie had grown so desperate as to admit it: that he wasn’t always capable of everything alone. While Archie smirked, oddly proud of his rival for recognizing such a fault in himself, his gaze shifted when he felt the air of the moment. That this was, in all actuality, one of the most sincere looks they had ever exchanged. Maxie noted this shift as well, and straightened his posture and tightened his lips before things could get too personal.

“It would be a temporary arrangement, of course. As soon as we set foot in the cavern we would resume our status as the most bitter of enemies.”

“Of course,” Archie said.

“Please. Will you do this small favor for a—” Maxie winced, “—friend? I’ve devoted my entire life to this research. I don’t deserve this to happen to me now.”

Archie raised an eyebrow. Maxie was gonna need to say something a little sweeter to him than that. “Try again.”

Maxie sighed. “And… what fun would there be without someone to chase after?”

There it was. Archie lit up and slapped Maxie on the back, laughing heartily as he said, “Now you’re talkin’!”

Maxie grabbed at the sting in his shoulder. How was Archie so strong—? “So you’ll help us?” he asked.

“Aw, sure, what the hell?” Archie beamed. “And you’re right. What fun would there be in just walkin’ in and takin’ what’s so rightfully mine? Amiright sis?” He nudged Maxie again.

“Charming.”

“Now you gotta shake on it,” Archie extended his hand to him.

“Excuse me?”

“A treaty’ya want, a treaty you’ll get, but’ya gotta shake my hand first, rosie.”

“Please stop doing that.”

“Doin’ what?”

“Giving me pet names. It’s vile and quite frankly demeaning.”

Archie rolled his shoulders back playfully, hand still extended to Maxie. “This is my ship, ya’gotta play by my rules, bucko.”

“I do not have to tolerate degrading behavior.”

“Who said it’s degrading? Me n’my crew toss each other names like that all the time.”

Maxie looked him once over until his eyes landed on Archie’s palm. If this was the only route that would lead him to Groudon, it looked like he was going to have to take it. He slowly extended his arm, and, without taking his careful gaze away from him, shook the hand of the man he was so bitterly resolved to hate. Archie grabbed his free hand over Maxie’s and shook harder.

“Welcome t’the crew, my boy! We set sail tomorrow mornin’!”

Maxie pulled away from Archie, wiping his hand on his coat as he turned to walk out the door. “Don’t think this changes anything about us.”

Archie grinned. “Of course not, sweetheart.”

Chapter Text

Maxie stood on the deck of the ship, presiding over the apprehensive crowd of red and blue that had gathered on the pier.

“This is going to be a disaster.”

Archie walked up to him. “Nervous? Seasick? We haven’t even hoisted anchor.”

“Archie, is this really a good idea? Your team and my team on the same ship together? I thought for certain we’d be riding separately—”

“If there’s one thing Team Aqua’s got a lot of, it’s respect for their leaders. If I say hold fire, they’ll hold their fire. Now your kind, I’m not too sure about,” he laughed. “But as long as I say the word, you’re an honorary captain of Team Aqua.”

“I’m not sure that I’m okay with that.”

Just then, the noise below them swelled as two pairs of Aqua and Magma grunts began shouting at one another.

“Dirty Pirates!”

“City lilies!”

“Yar har!! Shiver me timbers! Swimming is a lot of fun!”

There was a brief silence. And then,

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean you little red piece of shit?! Carvanha! GO!”

“Mightyena!”

And with that, the seas parted and a Pokémon battle erupted on the pier. Team Aqua and Team Magma rallied around their respective mercenaries and goaded them on with cheers of, “Walk the plank!” “Teach these dirty hobos a lesson!” and “I’ll swab your poopdeck!” On the fringes of the arena, several punches flew as Team Aqua cast aside their pokéballs in favor of the long-awaited hand-to-hand combat.

Archie’s voice boomed from the deck. “HOLD IT!!”

All at once, the squabble came to a pause; even the members of Team Magma were quelled by his powerful bellow. Archie waited for the noise to settle and then said,

“Any one’a ya who DOESN’T wanna make this trip can leave. But keep in mind that you walk off that pier and you walk the plank. All bets’re off. Consider yourself booted from Team Aqua.” Team Aqua’s eyes stayed firmly planted on their leader. They nodded. A handful of Magmas started to walk away.

“HALT!!” Maxie roared. The staggering handful ceased almost immediately. The rest of Team Magma already understood the message. “Any one of you miserable degenerates who dares to abandon this mission will be sentenced to a life of intellectual torment and menial labor under Groudon’s new sun. I’d like you to recall that when you signed up for this little excursion of ours that you also temporarily signed away many of your legal and personal rights. For those of you a little rusty on your legal analysis and who did not bother to read the fine print, it means that, essentially, for the next five days, I own you.”

The dead silence died once more. The eyes of Team Aqua grew bleak and large as they looked to Team Magma in sympathy. One of them mouthed,

“I’m so sorry.”

Maxie went on. “As of this moment, all of you answer to the both of us. Whether you consider us a member of your respective parties or not is irrelevant. For the entirety of this voyage, we are your superiors and we will glean equal respect from the both of you. Do I make myself clear?”

There were a few ‘yes, sir’s from Team Magma, who had been trained always to respond when Maxie ordered. Team Aqua held their tongues and strained to be polite. Archie stepped back in.

“Team Aqua, take a good look at yourselves. Now take a look at the redcoats in front a’ya. Take it all in. Laugh at those scrawny lil’ bitches. Spit at ‘em. Give ‘em the finger if you’re feelin’ it, I don’t fuckin’ care.” There were a few takers, but most of Team Aqua stared on expectantly. Team Magma sneered. Once Archie had seen his crew had their fun, he continued, “I hope y’all enjoyed that ‘cause that’s the last time it’ll happen all week. You n’the redjacket are now one and the same. I don’t care what that slimy sonuvabitch did to you in the past. Enterin’ this ship means signin’ a treaty.”

“Our rivalries will resume once we hit land. But until that moment, all differences are cast aside.”

“Now pick your favorite redjacket, shake his hand, n’offer t’help carry his shit to his cabin. Report back t’me so we can get set t’sail. Team Magma’s our honorary guest. Let’s make ‘em feel welcome.”

And with that, the bridge dropped, and just as Archie had ordered, the members of Team Aqua began to escort Team Magma aboard. Maxie looked down at the spotless obedience of Archie’s team in awe. It was certainly not what he expected coming from a gang of bandits. Perhaps Archie knew a thing or two about leadership after all. “That was remarkable. Their loyalty is impeccable—they truly respect you.”

“A little booze goes a long way, my darling,” he bopped him on the shoulder. Oh. Maybe not, then. “Here. Lemme show’ya to your cabin.”

Archie walked Maxie across the deck, where they stopped at the door labeled “Captain’s Quarters.” Maxie frowned, but Archie did not hesitate the open the door and show him inside. Behind the door was a living area with a dingy old couch, a neglected bookcase, and a table buried under empty bottles, a haphazard stack of books, mismatched cards, and spare poker chips.

“Is this—?”

“Nicest room in the whole stinkin’ vessel. This is where I live.”

Maxie looked disdainfully at the garbage littered about his feet. “You live here?”

“Well really more like sleep, drink, play poker, and pass out here. I live out on the open sea. Bedroom’s through the next door.”

Maxie delicately maneuvered his way around the mess, struggling with the doorknob before finally prying it open. The furnishings were even more sparse—just a desk with a lamp, a window, and a bunk bed. Maxie was at least relieved to see it was far less cluttered than the living room.

“So… top or bottom?”

“What?” Maxie spun around.

Archie laughed. “Top or bottom bunk, genius. Don’t get your gay little panties coiled. Which one d’you prefer?”

“Whichever one you haven’t slept on.”

Archie grinned. “I sleep on the couch.”

Maxie let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Bottom.”

“You got it,” Archie said as he hurled Maxie’s bags onto the bunk. Maxie cringed when he saw the thoughtlessness with which Archie handled his belongings, but reached for them and started unpacking.He pulled out a set of red sheets and began to strip the bed of its old ones.

“Wait, what’re you doing?”

“I brought my own sheets.”

“…What?”

“You’ve never washed these before, have you?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“You’re s’pposed t’wash those?”

“Case in point.” Maxie threw the fresh sheets over his bed. He took the old ones and showed them to Archie. “There are maggots eating these.”

Archie cocked his head to the side, taking the fabric from Maxie’s hands. He leaned his face in closer, sticking his thumb through the hole. “Would’ja lookit that…”

“Dispose of them,” Maxie ordered as he tossed them aside.

“Hey! You don’t tell me how to run my ship.”

Maxie turned around and threw him a devilish grin. He already had him beat. “Our ship.” Archie frowned. Maxie craned his neck and lifted his heels to deliver his reply directly in his rival’s face. “‘You and the redjacket are now one and the same.’”

Archie groaned, picking up the sheets and leaning on the doorway. “You’re a real class-A asshole, you know that?”

“Much obliged,” Maxie said.

There was a prolonged silence as Maxie rummaged through his bags and Archie looked onto him, still fiddling with the ragged sheets. Maxie could feel Archie staring, and, after a moment or two of exasperated fumbling, he turned back around and said, “Don’t you have a ship to command or something?”

“What? Oh—yeah.” Archie said. “So, uh… if’ya need anything… just holler.”

Maxie gave him an ironic salute as he said, deadpan, “Aye aye, Captain.”

Archie looked amused but didn’t let on too much. “Oh, you’re adorable.”

“Unequivocally amiable, I know.”

Archie lingered there, but Maxie continued arranging and rearranging things as if he could kick the man out of the room with only the sound of his baggage. After a moment, Archie took the hint. “Right. So. Like I said. Y’know where to find me.”

Maxie pretended to be too engrossed in his unpacking to hear. Once Maxie heard the door close, he slackened his posture and attended to his things at a much less furious pace. He pulled some papers out to set on the desk and stopped at the window to take in his new surroundings. In truth, he had never been on a ship before, and especially not one of this size. The occasional short ride on a ferry was to be expected almost anywhere Hoenn… but even then, he had typically managed to avoid such exploits by opting to fly on his Pokémon as soon as he could. And this was so much different than that.

Maxie had always thought Archie had just been using the whole pirate thing as sort of a gimmick. But here, for the first time, he saw Archie in his true element: he was, in all actuality, a full-blown pirate. He had of course always known this to be true, but now, for some reason, it struck him.

Out the window he could see a couple stray Aquas buzzing about the pier, carrying the last pieces of cargo aboard. From Team Aqua’s hidden port on the southeastern side of Dewford Island, the trip would last about five days. That was, of course, if Team Aqua didn’t get distracted looting in Pacifidlog or Sootopolis, as they were often known to do. It would have been much more efficient to travel underwater from the Magma headquarters in Lilycove, but without the submarine, it looked as if he would have to make do with a bunch of dawdling pirates on a glorified sailboat. He went back to his bags and pulled out more books, arranging them neatly on the old shelf. Much better. What was a shelf without an abundance of books to read?

Chapter Text

The cabin door opened. Maxie was sitting on the edge of the couch, trying to distract himself from the filth by reading. Although, he still looked too afraid to sit comfortably. They had been sailing for several hours now, and the sun had started to set, compelling Maxie to exploit every possible light source in the room. Archie looked around, confused. It appeared that Maxie had even picked up some of the clutter.

“Max? Time t’come out and say hello t’everyone, buddy.”

Using the book as all but a physical barrier, Maxie replied, “There is no need for human interaction when I have literature.”

“Don’t be such an asshole you’ve been cooped up here all day,” Archie said. Maxie sighed. “If this really is our ship, then that makes you a new captain. And real captains get t’know their crew”

Maxie remained indifferent. “It would appear as if you and I have very different ideas about leadership, wouldn’t it?”

“What is that anyway?”

“A book. Perhaps you’ve never seen one before?”

“No I knew that, you shithead. I meant what’re you reading.”

Maxie flashed the cover to him. “The Natural Theory of Pokémon Evolution. I’m revisiting it to brush up on my knowledge before I awaken Groudon.”

“You mean you’ve been working all day?”

“‘Work’ is too severe a term. I consider it more to be… studying.”

“You’ve been outta school for how many years and you’re sittin’ in here studying.”

“I know it may come as a surprise to someone as unsophisticated as you, but some of us actually do glean a significant amount of pleasure from intellectual pursuits.”

“Please,” Archie said. “Just come out onto the deck n’say hello.”

“I don’t want to.”

In one swoop, Archie huffed across the room and lifted Maxie off the couch by his collar. Maxie’s glasses went tumbling. “I don’t care,” he said. Maxie squirmed in a failed attempt to readjust his frames. He forced a laugh.

“When can I meet them?”

“That’s the spirit!” Archie threw him down. Maxie swooned back toward the couch, just as quickly picking himself up and straightening his glasses. “There’s a party kickin’ off down below. C’mon, I’ll show’ya where.”

“Wait. You didn’t say anything about a celebration.”

Archie grinned. “Don’t know about any ‘celebration’ but… there’s a party.” And with that, he grabbed Maxie and pulled him away, out into the cool twilight of the deck.

“I can’t believe I’m letting you drag me to a party.”

“Well, really, y’didn’t have much of a choice. I would’a just picked’ya up and carried’ya if you didn’t agree to go along,” he laughed. “You don’t weigh that much.” Maxie groaned.

“I hate you.”

“Not until Thursday,” Archie winked. “For now the least we can be is neutral acquaintances.”

“Oh frabjous day…”

“What?”

Maxie shook his head. “Literature.”

Archie and Maxie headed down to the lower level, with Maxie growing more apprehensive the further they descended. He cringed when they climbed down not one, but two godforsaken ladders, and wound up in what was clearly meant to be a storage hold. While the room was certainly large enough to accommodate their guests—albeit with a shorter ceiling than Maxie was comfortable with—it felt cramped and musty between the bodies gathered and the barrels and crates hastily pushed to the side. In addition to a handful of folding tables and chairs, some crates remained upright, covered in badly-worn tablecloths. Dying lanterns and buckets with wax-dripped candles were trying to pass themselves off as centerpieces.

A small gaggle of Aqua grunts danced around three large wooden columns in the room. They performed as a ragtag band—two fiddles, a drum, a flute, and a tambourine—all in all, not unimpressive. But the fact that they were leaping all over the place made them much less a band and much more an acrobatics troupe. The rest of Team Aqua followed suit—singing, dancing, and stomping their feet—while Team Magma hung in the back, awaiting clearer instruction. As he ducked his head to dodge the chaos, Maxie gave a quick nod to Courtney and Tabitha, who had correctly positioned themselves as far away from Team Aqua as possible.

“Well, Max, make yourself at home,” Archie said, pulling out a chair practically in the center of the mess. “I know you don’t like dancing so we saved’ya a seat.”

“I think I’ll be fine over here thank you,” Maxie turned and directed himself toward an empty seat in the far corner. He wanted to avoid being punctured by a stray bow. By the time he reached the table, Archie had already distracted himself at the makeshift bar.

Maxie sat down and noticed a crate near him that was full of rocks. There appeared to be a few more nearby. At last. Something on this accursed sea vessel he could enjoy. Without moving too far from his seat, he peered around to inspect their contents. Nothing too consequential, of course. From what he could make out—and deducted from common sense and probability—likely just some gabbro, basalt, limestone. But why were they down here? He supposed to weigh the ship down… or something. They certainly weren’t using them for any academic purposes.

Having lightly indulged in his compulsive desire to identify any rock near him, he felt around his jacket for the spare novella he kept on him in case of emergencies. This was definitely an emergency. By the dim light of the lantern , he opened his book and shut himself out from the pressing commotion of the room around him. He was content like this for only a brief while, until one undeterred female from Team Aqua sauntered up and seated herself directly across from him.

Shelly sat there with her chin resting in her palm, eyeing him up and down coolly. She could see his agitation growing the longer she sat there in silence, so she sat there in all the more silence and continued to stare. Maxie was determined to ignore her as long as possible. Finally, she blew her hair out of her face and said,

“So, this is him, huh? The great and powerful Maxie. In the flesh. You know, those ads in the paper make you seem a lot taller.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You advertise Team Magma in the Hoenn Gazette. Not to mention all those articles written about how you swooped in once again to fight off those dirty blue pirates from Team Aqua. You pay the editors to write that shit or what?”

“What I elect to do with my finances and how I choose to market my organization are frankly none of your business,” Maxie said. “And, just in case you were misinformed, the Gazette only reports the facts.”

Shelly scooted herself in farther. “You think you’re better than us or something? Sitting here alone with your stupid little book?”

“First of all, this ‘stupid little book’ is a novella. Probably a term you’ve never encountered before,” Maxie said. “And second, I have no need to think I’m better than you. I am.”

Shelly raised her eyebrows, disarmed by the true extent of Maxie’s arrogance. “Wow, Archie wasn’t kidding. You really are the biggest asshole on the face of the planet.”

“Such a shame he could only articulate such a trite observation.”

Shelly frowned at the rebuttal, frustrated that her prodding seemed to have no effect. Her gaze could not sear through the man’s defenses fast enough. After a few more moments of silent gunfire, she saw that her typical weapons were obsolete and everything was now fair game.

“Heard you two were an item back in the day.”

Maxie slammed the book down on the table. “What kind of ludicrous—!”

Shelly’s lips twisted into an evil grin. She had punctured him. “And suddenly Big Mr. Vocabulary Man can’t finish his sentences,” she said. “You and Archie. Archie and you. Two star-crossed lovahs.”

Wrath came burbling from Maxie’s gut into his throat, but he sealed his tongue to the roof of his mouth to avoid saying something imprudent. The fury burned through his eyes while Shelly continued her assault. “You two do have a history, though, don’t you? I mean, you’ve known each other for quite a long time.”

“Archie and I had known about each other in school, and had what could almost be considered a friendly acquaintanceship in college until—”

“Until Archie dropped out. I know,” Shelly said. She rose, running her hand across the edge of the table as she stepped in closer to him. “But I mean, you certainly don’t leave much to the imagination, do you? Sharing a room together?”

Maxie jumped up. “Archie’s accommodations for me are strictly on a level of—”

Shelly laughed. “You don’t have to be so defensive. I was only kidding.” She gave him a lighthearted shove. Maxie followed her warily with his eyes. “Look, I just came to make myself very clear. And that is while Archie will let you think that you have power here, there is one thing that will always control you, and that is talk.” Maxie’s fire went silent. Shelly moved in even closer, circling him. “You have to be in control of every little tiny detail passed around about you, don’t you? Your ego’s too big for that. But the thing is… I don’t have to obey you on this voyage. I just have to follow orders.”

And with that, she winked, pivoted, and floated back into the crowd.

Maxie stood there, disgruntled and confused by the woman. He looked back to the book face down on the table, snatched it up, and hastily returned it to his inner pocket. Archie approached with a drink in hand.

“I saw Shelly came by t’say hello!”

“So that’s what that was.”

“Ain’t she somethin’?” Archie said, looking out to her. Maxie glanced at him with something that almost felt like concern, but it quickly dissipated.

“She certainly is an enigma.”

Archie beamed, “I know! One of the brightest girls on the ship, she is. One of my admins, in fact. Splits the role of Quarter-Master with Matt. I can always depend on her.”

“I don’t think you understand what enig—”

“Here, I brought’cha somethin’,” Archie set the drink down on the table. Maxie reached for it suspiciously.

“What is this?” Maxie asked as he inspected its contents.

Archie laughed. “Who knows? Just try it!”

Maxie frowned. He knew Archie wouldn’t leave him alone until he complied. Taking a deep breath, he winced and raised the glass to his lips. The unspecified liquid seared through his mouth and throat. He lurched forward and spat it out. It was absolutely vile. And cheap. Archie only laughed more.

“That is foul,” Maxie said.

Archie snatched the cup away from him and took a swig. “Tastes like… rum and… and—” Perplexed, he took another gulp. “Something!! Whooee that is strong!”

“It’s repulsive.”

Archie cackled, “Oh yeah, I guess your refined tastes aren’t acclimated to this kind of brew, are they, sweetheart?” Maxie’s eyes raised their daggers at him, but knew it wasn’t worth the fight. “What kind’a booze you drink, honey?”

“Fine wine. Champagne. Chianti perhaps. Or a nice pinot noir.”

“Peena-what?!”

“You’re ignorant.”

“I think we got some pineapple juice layin’ around here somewhere.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okiedoke. C’mon, Max. Come say hi t’your shipmates,” Archie started to tug on him.

“Actually, Archibald, I intended to speak with you on that matter,” Maxie said.

Archie turned. “Okay, shoot.”

“I do not condone of our two teams associating in this… intimate… a climate. It could deter their willingness to resume our rivalries once we reach the cavern.”

Archie patted him on the back. “You’re thinkin’ too far ahead, lass.” He took another drink. “Besides, wasn’t it you who said we should cast aside our differences?”

“That doesn’t mean that they should—”

“Relax, mate. Enjoy yourself. This is a party, after all.”

Maxie rolled his eyes and Archie wandered back into the crowd. Maxie almost felt embarrassed for him as he watched his rival singing and dancing amongst his inferiors. Carefully, as if coming in too close a proximity to the rest of the party would contaminate him, Maxie slunk across the room to Courtney and Tabitha. They sat at a dingy little barrel-table, scowling at the mystery drink with the same repulsed expression he had.

The two rose when they saw him. “Good evening, sir,” they said with a quick salute. This was technically a team function… wasn’t it? Maxie skipped the niceties and got straight to the point.

“Patrol the area. Keep an eye on our team members. If any of them looks as if they are getting a little too acquainted with our opponents, go between them. I’m going back upstairs.”

“Yes, sir.”

And with that, Maxie turned and made his exit. Courtney looked over to Tabitha, alarmed. Tabitha only sobered his gaze out to the crowd and nodded, sternly.

Chapter Text

A bell-like tone rang throughout the ship just before sunrise. All members of Team Magma reached for their phones grudgingly. A single message appeared on the screen: Urgent meeting on the deck in 10 minutes. Roll call will be taken. –M

Without wanting to wake their blue neighbors in the adjacent cabins, the Magma grunts pulled on their hoods and wandered groggily out into the crisp morning air. Courtney and Tabitha stood on either side of the deck, taking names as they arrived. Once Tabitha gave the signal, Maxie appeared on a higher level of the ship, looking out over all of them. He began to speak.

“Now, I am aware that things were a bit out of the ordinary yesterday,” he said. “Team Aqua has extended their hospitality to us, and for that, we should be grateful. I am also aware that Archie and I instructed you to treat one another with solidarity. I have no qualms about you taking trifling liberties to interact with members of the opposing team. However,” he punctuated the word with severity. “As you engage in such frivolous merriment, as in the meantime we have no active contentions, keep in mind who you will answer to at the end of the week. Do not grow fond of the Aqua who helped you unpack your things or taught you to gamble last night; for before the week is out you may have to stand taut as you watch he and his Pokémon perish in flame.” Grave silence. Maxie pivoted. “We are on the brink of a dreadful war, a war of ages, a war between the sacred land and the very sea we sail on, and—”

The door below him swung open. A dazed Archie came stumbling out, rubbing his eyes. He stood in the doorway, squinting, holding his hand up as a visor to block out the light. The sun was hardly even out and it was already too damn bright for him. Once he had adjusted well enough for the red assembly to come into view, he turned around and called back up to Maxie.

“Max, that you? What in the hell’re you doing up so early?!” A few snickers came through from the crowd.

“This meeting is strictly confidential and I am going to have to order that you—”

“Meeting? At six-thirty in the morning? Maxie my boy, my hangover isn’t even up yet!”

Several more laughs. His team was watching them like it was a performance. “Silence,” he said. He turned back to Archie, “Then go. Team Magma can—”

“Team? There aren’t any teams right now. We’re a crew,” Archie swung himself up onto the ladder and met Maxie where he stood. He addressed Team Magma. “And since I am just as much your captain as him, I say… meeting dismissed, you lily-livered landfolk. Don’t you dare come back out here till ten.”

There were a few cheers, and then the exhausted—and slightly dehydrated—Team Magma made their way back to their bunks. Tabitha and Courtney were powerless in keeping the sleepy red-hoods from their beds.

Maxie glared at Archie. “Go back to bed, you dolt. You can’t usurp power from my team like that.”

“Ah-ah, ladybug. Our team.”

“I. Hate. You.”

“Maybe if you stopped your bitchin’ and just trusted me you’d actually enjoy yourself on this lil’ voyage.”

Maxie scoffed. “Enjoy? You think I need to enjoy myself on this endeavor? This venture is of necessity only and I do not want it to interfere with the goals that I—” he stopped. Archie raised his eyebrow. “—My team has worked so diligently to obtain.”

“Can’t you have any fun at all?”

“I do plenty of things for recreation like reading and—”

Archie put his arm around him. “Max, if you’d stop makin’ excuses for your sorry self for one goddamn minute I’d like to tell’ya a thing or two.” Maxie leaned away from him, but was unable to escape. “Look around here, whaddaya see?”

“I see a grubby boat and a pirate with a hangover.”

“Why dont’cha look a little harder? Farther out there,” he directed his gaze to the horizon.

“That’s the sun.”

“And below it?”

“The sea.”

“That’s right, laddie. I live for the sea. Every day we travel somewhere new. We wake up in the mornin’, swab the decks, and hoist anchor. Slave away to Big Lady Blue all live-long day. And, in the evenin’, we hunker down and feast together. Not just as a crew, but as family. And if all my years of sailin’ have taught me anything, it’s that it’s about the journey, not the destination,” Archie looked out to the open sea, oddly proud of himself for the speech he had managed to deliver so early in the morning.

“It’s about all those other families you pillage and raid from too, isn’t it?”

Archie frowned. “D’ya have’ta ruin everything like that?”

“I would plainly refer to it as telling the truth, but yes, I do, in fact, have to ruin everything ‘like that.’”

“No wonder your team doesn’t like you.”

“Now that’s just preposterous, my team—” Maxie stopped as recent events surfaced in his mind. “…Okay. My actions of late have been less than cordial. But my team understands. They know the next few days are critical to our success and I’m just trying to take control—”

“If’ya treated ‘em like people and not robots you just might get a little more control.”

“I treat them plenty fairly. I—”

Archie put his hands on Maxie’s shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. “Max. I’m gonna ask’ya a question. How many times have you seen me crack the whip?”

“What is that supposed to mean? You never—you’re so—”

“Precisely, my boy.”

Archie’s words almost struck him. But the moment Maxie caught himself being even remotely introspective over something Archie had said—hung-over, at that—he shook the feeling away. “Where are your showers?”

“What?”

“Your showers. You know, the place where cultivated members of society rid themselves of yesterday’s filth. I should like to freshen up before I begin the day.”

Archie doubled over laughing. Maxie stood there, unamused. “You think we have—baths—on a ship?!”

“Showers actually but I will take that as a no.”

“You really don’t know anything about sailin’, do you?”

“Yes. I grew up in Fallarbor.”

“I know you did. I lived in Dewford. We both went to school in Rustboro. They ain’t that far from the sea.”

“I don’t know if you’ve been to Fallarbor recently but there are jagged cliffs that make ship access impossible. The nearest port was in Petalburg. Not everyone in Hoenn grew up at sea, Archie.”

“Somethin’ I’m hopin’ to change,” Archie grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m goin’ back t’bed. This headache is killin’me.”

“If you stopped drinking rocket fuel in the evenings, perhaps your mornings would be simpler,” Maxie said. Archie slammed the door shut. And with that, the stiff Magma leader was left alone on the deck with the flowing expanse of the sea.

Maxie wandered to the railing and looked down at the endless blue chasm below. He could see how gentle rise and fall of the waves may be appealing to some, but he also knew that this charm was only a veil for the dark, unrelenting, and sheerly unknowable forces that lay beneath. Maxie shuddered at the thought that something could be lurking in there—taunting him and laughing at him from a depth he could not see—and so he stepped back from the ledge.

Archie’s dream was understandable—almost, dare he say it, endearing—but more in the way that a young child’s belief in the Tooth Clefairy is endearing, rather than as something that was feasible and to be admired. Especially not when it stood directly opposed to knowledge, stability, and human development.

The door to Archie’s cabin opened a few hours later. Archie’s eyes still pained him to open. “…Maxie?”

“It’s nine-thirty, wake up you useless lout. I thought you might like to be up before your crew.”

Archie rolled over. “Whatever was in those drinks last night might’a just done me in for the day.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re just dehydrated.”

“What?” he slowly sat up, holding his head.

“You do know why you get hangovers, don’t you?”

“Because I had too good a time last night?”

“No,” Maxie’s already-inflexible patience flexed even further. “I mean, certainly you know what alcohol does to your body?”

“Makes you drunk?”

“It dehydrates you. That’s in essence what a hangover is. You need to drink water.” Maxie handed him a bottle of water. “Drink this. It will make you feel much better in an hour or two. I brought you this too,” he showed him the pill in his other hand. “Ibuprofen. It’ll take the edge off the pain.”

Archie accepted the water and the pill from Maxie’s hands. Then, he stopped for a moment, examining them. “You ain’t tryin’ t’poison me or nothin’, are’ya?”

Maxie almost smiled, but kept a serious tone. “I have no need to eliminate you when you pose no real threat to my goals.” A little brighter, he added, “Besides, you are the only one between us capable of commanding a sea vessel. I haven’t the slightest idea how.”

Archie shrugged. “Fair enough,” he said and swallowed the pill. Then he said, indicating the water bottle, “Hey, whered’ya get this anyway?”

“I found a couple of them in the kitchen. You’re sinfully low on supplies—that aren’t dried beef or alcohol, that is.”

“And what were you doing snoopin’ around my ship?”

“Our ship,” Maxie sneered. “And I wanted to fix myself breakfast.”

Archie laughed. “I always leave that t’the cooks. It may seem strange to you fast-paced city folk but this crew always eats our meals together.”

“What do you have to cook with—?”

Archie disregarded Maxie’s question and rose from the couch. “After our mornin’ duties we’ll settle down for a bite n’set course for Slateport.”

“And why do we need to stop there?”

Archie grinned. “I have a few things I still need t’pick up. And you,” he flicked Maxie’s glasses, “can do your little grocery shopping, sweetheart.”

Maxie grimaced, removed the frames from his face, and inspected them. “Perhaps I can find a decent place to shower…”

“That’s the spirit! C’mon now! Time t’wake the crew.”

Archie opened the door and Maxie followed. A couple Team Aqua members were already straggling about, awaiting orders. Archie handed a bell to the nearest grunt, who started down the corridor, ringing it and knocking on his crewmate’s doors. While Team Aqua emerged one by one, Team Magma came flowing out as a unit. They assembled in the center, sorted into confused rows that were just trying to stay out of the way.

Archie lifted himself onto a nearby barrel so he could address the masses. “Time for the mornin’ duties! Team Aqua, you know what to do—take a Magma and put ‘em t’work. The sooner these chores are done the sooner we can eat!”

At once, the seas parted as Team Aqua took up their new apprentices. Team Magma gave it their best, but many of them looked awkward and gangly carrying buckets, tying knots, and poorly attempting to help hoist the anchor. Courtney and Tabitha weaved through the crowd.

“Scanning…”

“He has to be around here somewhere. Scan harder.”

“Recalculating…”

“I can’t believe I let him slip out from under my very nose.”

“It’s disgraceful…”

“I will bury him by my own hand.”

“Reprehensible…”

“If I could only—”

“Good morning, Tabitha.”

In his bout of anger, Tabitha had not even realized that he had walked past Maxie without any sort of acknowledgment. He straightened up, spun around and saluted his commander, praying that Maxie had not overheard their conversation.

“Good—Good morning, sir.”

“And where might you be off to in such livid haste?”

“Oh—um—nowhere—” Maxie gave him a doubtful frown, then looked to Courtney, who would deliver the truth.

“There is…dissonance…on the ship. And we are…searching for the culprit. We will punish those…the culprit, I mean. Tabitha and I will resolve this….”

Maxie grinned. “Glad to see it is being handled, then. Carry on.”

Tabitha nodded and scurried off with Courtney, who was still craning her neck and rising up on her toes in attempt to see over the crowd. Maxie tried to look as if he was supervising things, but had no remote idea what “supervising things” would even mean in this context. He quickly felt too incompetent standing on a ship on his own, conceded, and sought out Archie, who tried to show him a few things that he would instantly forget. Just then, a mountainous Aqua, even wider and taller than Archie, approached them. Maxie stepped back in contempt of the rugged-looking man.

“Bro—food’s almost ready. You should call in the crew.”

“Of course!” Archie said and then turned to Maxie. “Max, I’d like’ya t’meet Matt, another one of my admins. Mattie, this is Maxie.”

Matt extended his hand and Maxie hesitantly took it. But the large man shook so hard that Maxie’s knuckles popped. Maxie retracted his hand, shaking it out quickly, but Archie only laughed at him. Matt, seemingly unaware of Maxie’s throbbing knuckles, said,

“Glad t’get to finally meet’ya when you aren’t tryin’ta kill me.”

“Well, based on your size, that could easily be the other way around…”

“Any bro of Archie’s is a bro of mine.”

“We aren’t ‘bros,’” Maxie almost gagged at the loose term. “We’re still rivals—we are just in the midst of a temporary ceasefire negotiation.”

Without warning, Matt picked Maxie up off the ground and hugged him. “I like you. You’re funny, bro.”

Maxie struggled to speak as his entire body was slowly constricted. “Put—me down. I can’t…”

Matt lingered there only for a moment longer until he loosened his grip and set the man down gently, as if placing a doll back on a shelf. “Oh, sorry,” he said, after realizing that Maxie had been straining for air. He looked to Archie again, “I’ve cooked up somethin’ extra nice for our new friends today.”

Archie gave him a pat on the back. “Right-o, Matt. Now hop to it, don’t wanna leave these hungry scamps waiting long.” He climbed higher onto the deck and yelled, “Atten-tion!”

Team Aqua froze and turned to look at him. Team Magma followed suit, if only past their confusion.

“Now is everything in order?” Archie asked.

“Aye,” Shelly called out, checking the last few things off the list in her hand. “I just ran the checks. We’re all set to sail.”

“That’s what I like’ta hear! In record time, too! Now go on, food’s waitin’!”

Chapter Text

The walls of the dining hall swelled, voices reverberating off every edge. The cozy chamber was not meant to accommodate so many hungry faces at once. In order to make way for their guests, some members of Team Aqua took their plates upstairs and picnicked on the deck. A handful of the more adventurous Magmas elected to eat outside as well. However, most were not too keen to challenge their comfort zones.

Tabitha, who had been late to the rush in search of the offender, now found himself alone and uncomfortably close to Matt, who had been serving food with the other cooks. Matt handed him a plate and Tabitha winced, sniffing it.

“Seafood?”

“Fish omelet.”

“Of course.” Tabitha picked up a sliver of something so browned it was unidentifiable. “And what is—this?”

“Fish bacon.”

“Is there anything on this plate that isn’t made of fish?”

“Well, there’s rye bread.”

Tabitha rolled his eyes and shoved past him, muttering to himself, “Filthy brute.” Matt overheard him, but decided he had been called worse, and a pillowy red man from Team Magma wasn’t worth the effort. Some people were cranky before breakfast. Shelly, however, stopped Tabitha dead in his tracks.

“Hey. You better be thankful for that meal he cooked. Matt and the others had to get up really early to make that shit for you. I think you owe him an apology.”

“I, Tabitha, admin of Team Magma, do not owe anything to the likes of—”

“And I, Shelly, admin of Team Aqua, don’t give a damn. Say you’re fucking sorry.”

At this point, Matt intervened. “Shelly it’s really no big deal.”

Shelly pulled back, grudgingly, but kept a hateful eye on Tabitha. Tabitha, in all his pride, felt uncomfortable, but was too stubborn to bow to her. “Okay,” Shelly said. “But, believe it or not, we have rules here, pal. And one of the first ones is respect. Archie put me and Matt in charge of keeping law and order on this ship for a reason, and it would benefit you not to find out why.”

Tabitha was about to speak, but Courtney witnessed the entire encounter from afar and stepped in to retrieve Tabitha before he finally received his long-overdue ass kicking. With a delicate hand on Tabitha’s shoulder, she looked to Matt and Shelly and said,

“Thank you very… much for the food…. Team Magma is quite grateful. Tabitha is just a little… grumpy in the mornings.”

Matt laughed. Shelly accepted Courtney’s roundabout apology, although she would have preferred to hear it from the swine himself. Matt offered to sit and dine with them, but Courtney politely declined and pulled Tabitha away.

Across the hall, a small group of red and blue was eating in a familiar pleasantry that was quite unconventional for the two teams.

“Is this really all fish?” the Magma girl asked her blue counterparts.

“Well, there’s rye bread,” the male Aqua said dryly. The blue girl sitting next to him said,

“Yeah, Matt and the cooks fish them up every morning. Though usually, the meals aren’t nearly this lavish. A lot of times it’s just stale toast.”

“Sometimes we have cheese if we steal it,” the blue man added. “Although, that doesn’t last long. We can’t keep anything you have to refrigerate.”

The Aqua girl saw the concern on the three Magmas’ faces, and she explained, “Our real hideout’s a lot nicer. But when we’re out at sea, we have to make do with what we can. This is an old-fashioned ship.”

One of the male Magmas raised his eyebrows, “No kidding.”

“But that’s nothing compared to what you guys’ve got,” the blue girl said. “How do you do it? Putting up with Maxie all day?”

The three Magmas shifted uncomfortably, silently consulting with one another until one of them explained,

“A lot of us don’t see him that often. He’s not exactly what you’d call a social butterfly.”

The red girl nodded. “Tabitha and Courtney are the ones we usually answer to. They’re not pleasant all the time, but much more tolerable. Courtney’s really sweet on her own. But throw Tabitha in the mix and it’s a nightmare. She’s too shy to contradict him, so the whole checks-and-balances thing doesn’t really work out.”

The other Magma male added, “The only time we see Maxie is when we have team meetings, he’s giving a speech, or we go out for missions. And even on missions he doesn’t directly address most of us. Courtney, Tabitha, and other higher-ups relay commands to different squadrons. In training, Tabitha basically teaches you to fear him like a god. If he condescends to speak to you, it’s usually not a good thing.”

“So most of you have never even spoken to him?”

“That’s right.”

The two blues looked to each other, dumbfounded. Archie was constantly throwing parties and having group outings to get to know the crew. He knew everyone on the ship by name, and even knew the names of some of their friends and relatives. How could anyone follow a leader so coldly impersonal?

“So… how do any of you actually deal with staying there?”

The red girl spoke up. “Well, you have to remember Team Magma has a minimum GPA. You can’t apply until your second semester of college, you have to be attending college, and at the screening you have to submit transcripts of classes you’re taking. It’s almost like applying for school all over again. But since most of us loaded ourselves up with honors and Advanced Placement courses in high school, we’re used to being pushed pretty hard.”

“But what keeps you there?”

One of the Magmas laughed. “Oh, that one’s easy: he pays us.”

The two Aquas’ jaws dropped. “I mean, even we get a share of what we rob, but he pays you?!”

The other red male nodded. “Not only that, but since majority of us are full-time students and work for him part-time, if we have to miss a class because of a mission, he gives us a bonus and handles it with the professor. Those of us majoring in any kind of science—which is nearly all of us—actually get course credit or internship credit for being here. The man’s rich as hell. He has big connections to nearly every university you can think of.”

“Isn’t he like a super scientist with like five degrees or something?”

“I believe he got his undergrad in Geology, with a focus on Volcanology, and another degree in Pokémon Evolution.”

“I know for sure his PhD is in Evolution Theory.”

The other two nodded. “Yeah, he talks about that one a lot.”

“He’s actually done some really important science shit, that’s why he’s so loaded.”

“I heard he and Archie used to be on a team together.”

“That is a possibility,” the red girl replied. “Maxie conceived the idea for Team Magma while he was in some kind of fraternity during undergrad.”

“ASPEN. Alliance for the Study of Pokémon Evolution.”

“How do you all know so much about Maxie if you don’t even talk to him?”

“We have to take a team-oriented proficiency test every year.”

“Ninety questions straight from his thesis and dissertation.”

“Don’t forget the bonus questions from his autobiography.”

“What an ass.”

“You got that right.”

“Y’know, I heard he’s gay.”

The girl Aqua shrunk back the instant the words had left her mouth. The three Magmas looked to each other with grave concern. She quickly covered up with,

“I mean—wow that sounded bad. Uhm. I was just wondering if you guys knew. Since you said he had an autobiography and everything. We hear it in Team Aqua all the time.”

“We do, actually,” the male Aqua piped up, trying to alleviate the sudden anxiety.

Team Magma started to laugh. The most rational, the female, said, “Well, no wonder gossip like that would spread in Team Aqua. I mean, we have our fair share of rumors about Archie.”

“But is it true?”

They only laughed harder. The first Magma spoke up, “Are you kidding me?! That man has ‘celibate’ stamped across his forehead.”

“I’m pretty sure his only sexual orientation is rage,” the other added.

“No time for affection. He knows only anger.”

“He’s a fucking robot.”

The two young men snickered to one another. The female Magma remained straight-faced as she explained,

“Even if he does have some kind of sexual orientation—which a lot of us highly doubt—he certainly maintains that he has much more important things to worry about. He would never let on that he had any sort of personal life, and he especially wouldn’t tell us about it.”

“There’s no way he’s gay. He’s not even nice enough to be straight.”

“He kills puppies for fun. He can’t feel love.”

“Which is why I’m so concerned about what’s gonna happen if he finds out about—”

The first Magma grabbed the blue girl’s hand. The words dropped silent from the corners of her mouth. “Don’t worry,” he said. “He’s not going to.” The other three glanced around to make sure no one was watching while the couple giggled at their handsome little secret. The other Magma tapped his friend on the shoulder as he saw an important Aqua approaching.

As if she had seen her chance, Shelly wandered over to the table and sat down. The two Aqua grunts nodded to her, with the girl quickly straightening up to pretend everything was normal.

“Well, hey there everyone,” she said, with perhaps just a bit too much cordiality. “What’re you all up to?”

“Talkin’ shit.”

The three Magmas shrunk for a moment, but Shelly raised her eyebrows. “Aha,” she said. “A little talk never hurt anybody. What’s the buzz?”

“We were actually talking about…” the red hood lowered his voice, embarrassed. “Maxie...”

Shelly leaned in, very quickly even more intrigued. The girl Magma, becoming anxious, said,

“But he would get so mad if he found out, please don’t—”

“Oh, don’t worry darling. Your secret’s safe with me,” Shelly said. “You all should feel like one of the family here.”

“So, Shelly, do you know about Maxie?” the blue girl asked.

“What about him, dear?”

“Is he g—”

“Were he and Archie on a team together?!” the Magma girl blurted out. The others looked at her, frustrated, but the single glance she threw them reminded them of the severe consequences waiting if Maxie discovered what had been said behind his back.

Shelly hesitated for a moment, then smiled, relishing in her opportunity to stir this simmering pot. “I believe they were pretty close those first two years before Archie dropped out of college. In fact, I think they were even in some kind of fraternity together.”

“Yeah, that’s what we were saying,” the Magma girl agreed, at ease for successfully redirecting the conversation away from a dicey collision.

“I think they tried to start something up, but I’m not too sure what became of it,” Shelly said. “They went their separate ways. Archie dropped out. Kinda strange how things work out like that, y’know?” She rose and gave them a wink. “I wonder what could have possibly happened to make the two of them enemies?” She laughed. “Any number of things, I suppose. They had very different plans for the world, after all.” And with this, she turned to exit, but stopped to tell the blue, “Oh, and once you’re finished eating, report to the deck as soon as possible. We’re setting course for Slateport.”

Team Aqua took notice of their leaders beginning to climb up to the deck and finished their meals. The members of Team Magma rose with them, but were unsure of the proper cleanup procedures. Instead, they stood idly around, scooting chairs in and out and dusting little crumbs off the tables in a feeble attempt to look productive. They’d… probably adjust eventually.

Chapter Text

It only took a few hours to land in Slateport. The crew knew that this would be their last opportunity to stock up on supplies before they hit the rough currents that awaited them toward Pacifidlog. Beachgoers looked on in apprehension as the infamous ship docked on the pier; Team Aqua had never been shy about where they parked their vessel. Archie was one of the first people to appear, electing to dive straight into the water rather than to walk off like a regular person. The mad rush of blue that followed was to be expected, but onlookers drew back as members of Team Magma started to emerge as well.

Maxie was one of the last people to exit, surrounded by a posse of higher-ranking Magma officials. Expressionless, yet aggressively locked on their target, they escorted their leader off the pier and onto the beach. Maxie held his head high, meeting the beachful of puzzled stares with fierce assuredness. Now, more than ever, it was imperative to look as if all was going according to plan.

Together with his machinelike coterie, Maxie crossed the sand and made his way into the city, where he intended to seek out the Pokémon Center and shower. Immediately.

The door to the Pokémon Center slid open and everyone rose, jolted. Trainers held tight to their Pokémon, even though they knew Team Magma was far from the criminal mob Team Aqua was known for being. To just see them appearing so suddenly—and forcefully—in a port city, of all things, took them by surprise. The nurse stood behind the desk, looking fearfully onto the red wall.

“May I help you?” she asked. Everything was silent. The room appeared to be hanging in time, suspended in that harrowing instant before a bomb is dropped. All eyes were glued to the small red sea as they parted and the notorious Magma leader came into view. Very few trainers had actually seen him in person, and only from a distance. He was something like a political figure; only to be talked and debated about, and occasionally supported during an election year. Ads on posters and television were much more common.

“Team Magma requires the totality of your services for approximately the next twelve hours. We request that the premises be evacuated and the center be closed at once so that Team Magma can have complete, undisturbed access to all of its facilities.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t—”

Maxie took one deliberate step forward. He had mastered the art of getting his point across without words. The nurse shrank back. Maxie gave a slight grin, being careful not to let on just how much he reveled in this fleeting moment of power. “Of course, we would not leave you all without a means of care. We will provide you with any kind of medicine you might need, and make arrangements with the Mauville Pokémon Center to redirect evening traffic.”

“This center is supposed to—”

Maxie stepped forward once more. The room hushed. “I would like to remind you of our authority in that if you do not comply, we have made a pact with Team Aqua and have the means necessary to take this building by force.”

Team Aqua—? A few of the trainers looked around to each other. For as long as they had known, Team Magma had been actively fighting against the general chaos Team Aqua ensued. Now they were… using it?

“All we require is that you peacefully surrender the Pokémon Center for twelve hours. It is absolutely vital to the next phase of our mission. We will return it to you as soon as our time is up.”

After a few more moments of mystified silence, Tabitha added in, “We’ll give you all Max Revives and Full Restores.”

Maxie nodded and the group opened up a few black boxes, emblazoned with the red Magma “M.” Max Revives, Full Restores—anything a trainer could possibly need. All patrons of the Pokémon Center almost immediately lined up to receive their goods. The nurse came out from around the counter and approached Maxie, warily.

“What is this all about—?”

“I am afraid that the details are at this time classified. Just know that we have come to you—as always—with peaceful intentions.”

“You don’t have any kind of permit for this—?”

“Deepest apologies. I couldn’t seem to procure one on such short notice. I’m positive that the city won’t mind—especially not after they witness the fruits of our labor.”

The nurse stared at him for another moment, then made her way to exit after murmuring, “I’m alerting the authorities about this.”

Maxie was confident it would be of no use. The worst they would get was a slap on the wrist. Or, perhaps, more laughably, a fine.

“We greatly appreciate your compliance and generous contributions to science,” he called out after her.

The last few trainers made their way out and the doors to the Pokémon Center were sealed tightly shut, guarded by two of Maxie’s henchmen. Maxie instructed Tabitha to notify Team Magma that if any of them needed to use the Pokémon Center, they had until midnight to do so. The team then started to assemble the warp panels so that they could get in and out without incident. Maxie climbed to the top floor to begin freshening up.

In only a few short minutes, buzz of the two teams’ simultaneous arrival was all over the city. News vans surrounded the Pokémon Center, but not one could see inside. The police were at a loss—some kind of barrier sealed the building, and none of their efforts appeared to be working. Team Magma’s technology vastly outpaced that of their own. And, unfortunately, all of it was meticulously patented, so no one could catch up without paying them off. Townspeople and visiting trainers alike swarmed like flies, peeking over and under one another to try to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

On the other end of the city, Archie’s head surfaced from beneath the waves. He had decided to seek out Maxie and toss him an idea. He started in toward Slateport—blissfully unaware of Team Magma’s recent exploits—when three reporters came rushing up to him.

“Archie! Commander of Team Aqua! What is your plan now that Team Magma has taken the Pokémon Center?”

“What are your two teams doing here together?”

“Does their seizure of the Pokémon Center have anything to do with Primal Reversion?”

“What exactly is Primal Reversion?”

“Are you in on this scheme too?”

“What could your team possibly gain from working with the enemy?!”

More and more people were ditching the relatively inactive scene at the Pokémon Center in favor of flocking to the infamous leader who had finally made his appearance. Archie stared blankly into their cameras, then glanced down, wondering which microphone to speak into. He threw his hands up in defeat.

“I ain’t got the slightest idea what you rascals are talkin’ about,” he finally said. “What is this, now?”

“Team Magma’s taken the Pokémon Center!”

Archie gave a baffled look to the young reporter. “They’ve what now?”

“Team Magma—”

Archie pushed the man aside. “I heard’ya the first time, scamp. I just gotta see it for myself.” And with that, he shoved his way through the mob and sauntered up to the Pokémon Center, cameras and microphones in tow. Once he arrived, a few bystanders recognized him and began yelling.

“It’s him! That pirate!”

Archie laughed, “That pirate. Yeah, that’s right, ya’landlubbers. I’m that filthy sea rat yall’ve been hearin’ so much about.”

“Freeze! Put your hands in the air!”

Archie complied, but raised an eyebrow at the three officers and their Pokémon.

“You’re under arrest!”

“Oh am I now?” Archie said, hands up. “Dont’cha have a bigger problem at the moment?” The officers looked back at the barricaded health center. Archie continued, “I’m not doin’ya any harm just bein’ here.”

“But you’ve caused countless amounts of damage to this city, pal. We’re putting a stop to your crime spree before—”

“Well, okay, but I’m the only one who can get into that Pokémon Center.”

They stopped. Archie looked to the three of them earnestly.

“You can take me in some other time. But only I can get in there.”

The three officers consulted with each other, but realized they didn’t have much of a choice. Considering the mysterious, impenetrable barrier on the door—and what they could only make out to be warp panels on the floor—Team Magma’s operations within the building could be a potentially larger threat than any of the usual antics Team Aqua got up to. They escorted Archie to the door, where he pressed his hands to the glass and peered in. Tabitha met his gaze and sneered. Archie tapped on the door.

“Let me in, Tabby Cat,” he said. “I gotta speak to Maxie.”

“Do not address me, the great Tabitha, in such a—”

“Tabby Cat. Open the door.”

“I said—”

“Tabby.”

“You shall not—”

“Oh for Christ’s sake Tabitha let him in.”

Archie and Tabitha stopped at Courtney’s words. It was the most either of them had heard her say at once, and it was the loudest Archie had ever heard her speak, even from behind the door. Almost out of pure shock alone, Tabitha obeyed and unsealed the door. But as he began to open it, he saw the police creeping up and shut it again. Archie looked to him confused, but Tabitha nodded to the restless crowd behind him. Archie turned around to address them,

“He’s only gonna let me in if y’all stay out.”

“But this is a matter of public—”

“That’s the deal.”

They hung back, grudgingly, but watched Archie as he entered the building. As soon as Archie was in, Tabitha resealed the door and addressed him.

“What do you think you are—”

“I came to speak to Maxie.”

“Our Maxie wants nothing to do with the likes of—”

“Hey. I thought we were in a truce right now.”

Tabitha grinned. “We aren’t on the ship.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “Come on, Tabs. Where is he?”

The smugness on Tabitha’s face made it clear to Courtney he would do nothing but refuse to cooperate, so she spoke up herself. “He’s… busy… at the moment. But I’m sure if you give him some… time, he’ll be right back.”

Archie looked to another one of the more feeble-looking Magmas for a more direct answer. “Where is he.”

The newly-promoted captain quivered being so close to the man for the first time. “Upstairs,” he blurted out. Courtney and Tabitha glared at him. Archie abandoned the poor teen and made his way up the stairs.

He stood there on the second floor, wondering where Maxie might have gone off to. Then, faintly, he could hear the sound of running water down the hall. Of course. By the time he reached the restrooms, the water had stopped and he could hear movement on the other side of the door. He opened it.

Maxie stood facing the mirror in a towel, combing back his hair. Archie hesitated for a moment, suddenly overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the situation. He struggled for some way to make his presence known without being too sudden or overbearing. All he could think of was,

“Nice sweater tan.”

Maxie jumped back at the sound of his voice. The comb went tumbling to the floor and he spun around, barely catching himself on the edge of the sink.

“What are you doing here?!”

Archie grinned sheepishly. “Whoa, take it easy, Max. I just came in here’ta talk t’ya real quick.”

Maxie scrambled to collect himself. “Why do you have to talk now? Who even let you in here?!”

“Tabitha let me in. Another one of your redcoats told me you were upstairs.”

Maxie paused for a moment, incredibly self-conscious standing lank and pale in front of his muscular opponent. He rubbed his shoulder uneasily, as if he was trying to cover his body somehow. “So, what do you want anyway?”

“Right… uh…” Archie had almost forgotten what he had come in here to say. He hadn’t realized how strange this all would be when he had resolved to open the door. He tried to laugh it off the best he could. “Since you were sayin’ we were so low on supplies… and drinkin’ lots of water is good for dehydration n’all that…”

Maxie stopped listening and tried to busy himself by checking his appearance. This was ridiculous. And horrifying. He needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. Archie continued speaking as Maxie gathered his things and began to tuck them neatly away.

“I was just gonna organize a little bit of a heist tonight and I wanted t’know if you were in.”

Maxie paused, setting his shower caddy down on the counter. “A what?”

Archie walked toward him, somewhat uncomfortably. Maxie stepped back, wary of his approach. “Y’know, a robbery. We’re gonna take stuff.” He laughed. “Real first-rate pirate business.”

Maxie rolled his eyes. “Brutes.”

Archie shrugged. “I figured you n’your dry sense of humor wouldn’t be up to all the fun we’d be having.” He turned to walk away. Maxie called out to him from behind,

“Is that a challenge?”

Archie turned back around and smiled, “It might be.”

“I can have fun, Archibald. I’m not as heinously banal as you think I am. I am certainly capable of handling a little mischief-making.”

Archie raised an eyebrow. “The name’s Archie, fritter flakes,” he said. “And we’ll see what your sweater tan has t’say about it.”

“I do not have—” Maxie looked down at his forearms, noticing for the first time that they were indeed whiter than his pale hands, if only marginally. “Okay, it’s hardly noticeable and barely worth your—”

Archie grinned. “Hey, lookit me. I got a weird v-neck thing goin’ on thanks t’this getup.” He pulled his collar back which revealed the rest of his chest was several shades lighter, although still inherently dark. Maxie looked the other way.

“Please leave me to finish getting ready.”

“Wait wait wait, I gotta ask’ya one more thing.”

Maxie looked at him.

“Did you really just hold up an entire Pokémon Center just so you could take a shower?”

Maxie frowned. “That was the general idea… except I have it reserved for all members of our respective teams to utilize for the next twelve hours.”

“The police are outside.”

“But they can’t get in, now can they?”

Archie hung there for a moment—contentedly lost for words—until Maxie turned and reached for his clothes on the outside of the shower stall.

“Archibald, I am in a towel,” he said. “I have no desire to converse with you like this any further.” And with that, he closed the curtain and began dressing.

“You look different without your glasses,” Archie said.

“Everyone does,” Maxie answered curtly, pulling his sweater over his head.

Chapter Text

As evening began to fall, activity waned at the Pokémon Center, even though it seemed as if the whole city was still camped outside. On the ship, Archie called the two teams together so he could lay out the plan. Maxie stood with his arms crossed, visibly peeved, but going along to prove a point.

“We are going to rob the juice stand,” Archie declared. “For all’a ya lava lickers who probl’y ain’t stolen shit before, consider this your true pirate initiation.” He laughed. Maxie pressed his fingertips to his brow.

“That’s the ‘heist?’ Rob the juice stand? That dilapidated little shack right over there?”

“Ease up a little there, Max. Which one of us shut down a whole damn Pokémon Center so he could take a shower?”

There were more than a few giggles. Maxie frowned. Archie continued,

“This is an expedition for fun, but also of necessity. We’re gonna celebrate crossin’ the current with a grand feast in Pacifidlog. We’ll need lots’a supplies for the journey, and certainly lots of juice for all the hangovers the next morning,” he laughed, giving Maxie a wink. “Those are caused by dehydration, you know.”

“You are insufferable.”

Archie laughed and opened his arms as if to put Maxie on display. “Magma Leader Maxie, everybody.”

More laughter. Maxie grimaced. If things kept up at this pace, this could be its own three-act circus by the time they landed.

“So here’s the plan. Once we’re all in position, Maxie’s gonna give the signal to evacuate the Pokémon Center. Tabitha n’Courtney will clear up the building, escape, and unlock the door. While the police are distracted with all’a that, we’ll storm the beach and surround the stand. We’ll see where that takes us from there,” Archie said. Maxie rolled his eyes. Archie hadn’t even thought it the whole way through.

At dusk, Archie positioned the ship so that it would be easier to make a quick getaway. The motley squadron of red and blue approached the stand from all sides, wary of the handful of people who still lingered on the beach. Archie gave a nod,

“Now’s as good as ever.”

Maxie reached to the earpiece on his glasses and held down on the call button. “Tabitha,” he said. Tabitha’s voice appeared on the other line.

“Tabitha here, sir.”

“I’m afraid our stay at the Pokémon Center must come to a premature end. We’ve made other arrangements for the evening.”

“…What?”

“You heard what I said. Close the building. Evacuate any team members remaining. Unlock the doors, and return to the ship. Promptly.”

“Yes sir.”

Things went quiet for a moment, but Maxie could faintly pick up the sounds of movement as Tabitha yelled to the other grunts in the building. After a minute or two, Tabitha ran the final checks and returned to his pager. “The premises are evacuated. Doors will be opening in three… two… one.” The line cut out as Courtney and Tabitha warped back onto the ship. “We’re clear.”

“Over.”

“Over.”

Maxie looked to Archie. “It’s open.”

Archie let out a lively howl. “Alright team, you heard ‘im! Now’s our time t’strike!” And with that, both Team Aqua and Team Magma charged at the building, Pokémon at their sides. Maxie hung back, wary of such a flashy operation being carried out over a penniless juice stand. Archie, however, would have none of his rival’s sourpuss attitude and grabbed Maxie’s arm, dragging him across the sand.

“We’re just going to barge in through the front door?”

Archie winked, “Just you n’me, madam.”

A few sunburnt faces turned around when Archie plowed through the door and paraded into the center of the room. Maxie stood at the door frame, taking stock of the situation. A few trainers, a few couples, one mother and her two children with their swimming tubes. One terrified store owner. Everyone in Slateport knew Archie, whether from the news or personal experience, but the man behind the counter had clearly never been this close. Archie addressed them with fanfare.

“Now don’t all’a y’all get too excited all at once. We don’t wanna hurt nobody. We just wanna take some stuff and leave.”

“Just you?” one trainer called out. “This is a battle zone! Breloom, go!”

Archie laughed, but refused to send out a Pokémon. Maxie, however, took the petty threat a little more seriously.

“Camerupt.”

The sturdy, wall-like Pokémon erupted from its Pokéball and Maxie did not hesitate to Mega-Evolve it. The brash young trainer shrunk back, his Breloom quivering. “Oh…” he said. “I, uh, didn’t see you there, Maxie…” and he returned the Breloom to its Pokéball.

“Foolish child,” Maxie said, keeping his Camerupt out for dramatic effect. He re-analyzed room, his smile asking if there were any more willing contenders. Even the boldest trainers sank back toward the walls.

Archie beamed, delighted that Maxie had finally decided to play along. “That’s right, we got the whole building surrounded.” He approached the man at the counter. “We’d like one order of everything’ya got. On the house.”

“You can’t—”

“But we can,” Archie gave a loud whistle. Red and blue poured in through the roof and the windows. They flooded the counter and rummaged through the supplies, picking up and carrying entire crates right out the front door. A few trainers tried to stop them, but the swarm was overwhelming. Archie hoisted himself over the counter and snatched a crate of his own, dashing gleefully away while the rest of the team made their exit. In that time, the Camerupt had disappeared and Maxie approached the counter where the man could only stand, petrified. Maxie reached into his pocket and pulled out a checkbook.

“I apologize for my… ‘friend’… I really do. But our two teams find ourselves in a bit of a pinch at the moment, and temporary cooperation is the only solution. Now, I am prepared to reimburse you, in full, for the entirety of the damages. What exactly did they amount to?”

“What—?”

“What was the monetary value of your entire inventory?”

“Oh—uh…” frazzled, the man could barely think, much less take stock of what was left. “Uh—300,000 pkd.”

Maxie began scribbling on the check. “I’ll double it—no, triple it—to express Team Magma’s sincerest apologies for your inconvenience.” He neatly tore the paper out and handed it to him. “That will be all. Good day.” And, with that, he turned and strode out of the room, wide eyes following him until the door swung closed. The poor man stood there in a daze, 900,000 pokédollars in hand.

Team Aqua hoisted anchor and set sail as soon as everyone was safely on board; police sirens were blaring in the distance. People had started running onto the beach in some deluded attempt to catch them. Maxie stood near the rail, looking out in concern over the growing crowd. Archie approached him.

“And you are certain they will not pursue us?”

“Not with those currents up ahead,” Archie gestured toward the bow of the ship. “It takes the cooperation of every person and Pokémon aboard. But we’re one’a the only vessels in Hoenn capable of swimmin’ upstream.”

“We’re going to hit the roughest part of the journey overnight?”

Archie shrugged. “We just needed a quick escape. We’ll sail just till we’re outta sight, then hunker down for the evening. Not as much planned for t’day as last night, but I was thinking of havin’ a little get-together so our admins could get t’know one another better,” he nudged Maxie at the mention of the party, but Maxie remained unamused.

“Delightful little concept, but I do believe I will have to decline,” he said, starting back to their room. “I have had quite my share of fun today and would like to return to my studies.” Then Maxie proceeded to cross the deck and seal himself in the cabin for the next few hours. Archie stood there in defeat as he watched the door close behind him.

Tabitha, as usual, was walking angry circles around the ship, Courtney fluttering along at his side. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before,” he said as he fiddled with his phone.

“This is highly… unauthorized.”

“It won’t be if we catch him.”

“Maxie has commanded that operations such as these must be—”

“I don’t care what Maxie says,” Tabitha snapped. “It’s what Maxie thinks. This is mutiny. If we don’t get this under control, I will be the one to take the blame.”

“I’m sure he will severely punish—”

“Me. It always falls back to me. The guilty party will be booted from the team and terrorized, for sure, but I—” he stopped as a red dot appeared on the screen. “Aha.”

“Geolocation tracking is—”

Tabitha grabbed Courtney by the shoulder and spun her to face him. “Maxie chipped the phones for a reason, Courtney. I don’t care if we need his permission or not. And, frankly, he doesn’t give a damn either, as long as we catch who needs to be caught.”

Courtney twisted his arm away. “You will not treat me like that.” She snatched the phone from his hands and jammed her heel down on his toe. Even through his boot, Tabitha let out a yelp. “And you will not disrespect our leader. I’m… performing an override.” While Tabitha recoiled in pain, she stormed off with the phone. The incapacitated Tabitha hobbled after her.

“So now you’re on their side too?”

Courtney froze.

“You supportthis, don’t you?! Which one of us is disrespecting our leader now?”

She hesitated, then slowly turned back to face him. “Maxie ordered that until we… set foot on land, all differences are cast aside. His… intentions were that for the sake of this voyage… we treat each other as one. All he requires is that our team remain mindful… If this rebellion continues after Primal Reversion, then we are… authorized to intervene.”

“Maxie gave us clear instructions to separate those members who were getting too friendly. This mutiny far transcends mere conviviality—it is downright treason! It has been going on for too long now—it poses a dangerous threat to Maxie’s ultimate vision.”

“And your…insolence… poses a dangerous threat to Maxie’s current vision.”

“That can be debated.”

“Has he outright… said otherwise…?”

“Give me the phone, Courtney.”

“I will not stand for you… overstepping our leader like this. Deleting…” She extended her arm to drop the phone in the sea, but stopped when she saw Archie approaching. “Greetings, sir,” she said, full of innocence. She slipped the phone into her pocket.

“Hello there, Courtney! And Tabitha…” Archie’s voiced trailed off for a moment, caught off-guard by the visible ire radiating off the stocky man’s face. He addressed Courtney to refocus. “I was just droppin’ by t’ask how you two would feel about havin’ a game night in my cabin?”

Courtney beamed. “We would love to! …Wouldn’t we, Tabitha?”

Archie jumped at Courtney’s enthusiasm, letting out a bellowing laugh that drowned out Tabitha’s cry of dread. “Glad to hear it! I’ll call up Shelly n’Matt!”

The four admins gathered in relative harmony in the living room of Archie’s cabin. Maxie, noticeably irritated, sat on the end of the couch. He stuck his nose further into his book to snub their entry. Shelly and Tabitha were tight-lipped—antagonistic of one another—while Courtney and Matt found their companions’ cold reticence an obstacle to true diplomacy. Archie uncomfortably tried to foster conversation by addressing Maxie.

“Hey there, Max, I brought in the crew!”

“Charming.”

“We were thinkin’ of playin’ a few card games.”

“Don’t mind me, I’m just reading.”

Archie was off-put by Maxie’s negativity, but carried on. “Well, okay, if that’s how you’re gonna be. We’ll just be here so… feel free to join in ifya’d like.”

“Quite generous of you to offer.”

Archie turned to Courtney and Tabitha. “So nerds, what games’ya familiar with?”

“What?”

“Euchre, blackjack, poker—what’s your sport?”

“Sports?!”

Matt and Shelly chuckled. Archie rolled his eyes. “Okay, let’s start smaller. Either of you play Go Fish?”

Courtney nodded excitedly. Tabitha looked to the ceiling in agony.

“Old Maid?”

More nodding.

“Crazy Eights?”

Nods.

“Uno?”

“If we play Uno one more fucking time I swear to Christ Archie I will—” the four of them turned to Shelly. She laughed, embarrassed. “That game is a cheap piece of trash.”

Archie leaned over to Tabitha, “It’s because I always win.”

“I want to play Go Fish!” Courtney squealed.

Tabitha groaned. “But that is so childish—”

“Go. Fish.”

And so they gathered around the coffee table and spent the next hour playing Go Fish for the sweet red-hooded girl’s sake. Archie seated himself between Maxie and Tabitha. Maxie leaned as far away from him as possible while still remaining on the couch. When Courtney had sufficiently destroyed them all several times over, she was content to step aside so Archie could teach them poker. Maxie continued aggressively reading, making sure his lack of interest was a central focus in the room.

Team Magma remained fairly inept at the game regardless of how many rounds they played. Shelly and Matt had their small victories, but Archie dominated the table with his big talk and boisterous luck. Hours passed. Slowly, Maxie’s posture began to slacken and droop. While Archie was too caught up in himself to notice, the four admins observed Maxie’s body gradually sinking inward. They spent every subsequent turn passing anxious glances at each other until his eyes finally closed.

Courtney wordlessly consulted with Tabitha. Tabitha tried to peer around Archie, but was unsuccessful. Oblivious, Archie dealt out the cards for the next round. All movement in the room came to a dead halt when they realized what was about to happen. Just according to their fears, Maxie stirred in his sleep and rested his head on Archie’s shoulder. Archie froze. Remaining as still as possible, he glanced around the room, desperately reaching for a lifeline.

“Don’t… wake… him,” Courtney mouthed. Archie nodded.

Shelly and Matt were snickering to one another, but all lightheartedness faded when the weight of the impending disaster pressed itself upon them. The room hovered in an apprehensive stillness, all eyes locked on the sleeping monster while time grew threadbare. Archie did his best to wriggle his way out, but even as he shifted with a marauder’s dexterity, the tiniest movement was enough to rattle Maxie awake.

For an instant, the world was still as he processed the disturbance. Then, the fire welled in his pupils, pressurizing in his veins. He jumped up. The whole room turned back to brace for the impact. Maxie hung on the arm of the couch, pressing his glasses back to his face

“That did not happen!!”

Archie forced a laugh. “Sleepy there?”

Maxie selectively unheard Archie’s remark. “No one speaks a word of this,” he said. “Not one syllable. It did not occur.” Tense silence. His posture alone was not enough to mask his trembling nerves, so he hid himself behind a murderous glare. “If I do discover any word of this has left this room, I will personally see to it that you are forced to breathe in open flame.” He turned, picked up his book, and huffed his way into the other room. The door locked tightly behind him.

“What got into him?” Shelly asked.

“He’s been…. staying up later and later. Doing… research on Groudon,” Courtney replied. “He must be… exhausted.”

“No kidding.”

“Perhaps you all should go, and I can try t’see if I can cool him off,” Archie said.

“Perhaps that is a good idea,” Courtney agreed. She made her way toward the door with Tabitha. “Thank you…. very much. Archie…”

Archie nodded. “My pleasure.” Tabitha and Courtney exited with Matt close behind. Shelly lingered at the doorway.

“He’s not coming out of there, you know,” she said.

Archie sighed. “I know.”

She shrugged, brushing off the weight in the air. “Your loss,” she said, and floated out the door.

Archie stared out at the empty space where Shelly had been, where the door still hung slightly ajar. Her words echoed in his mind as his fingers hung over the doorknob, but he closed the door and returned to the couch. He tore the bandana from his head and ruffled his hair as he tried to plan a way to deal with Maxie. There was no reckoning with him when he was like this. Archie laid back and decided to give Maxie awhile to calm down; the poor man was just a little spooked. It’d blow over quick.

When Archie judged that sufficient time had passed, he readied himself to approach the door. He knocked lightly.

“Maxie?” he said. “Can I come in? I’m tired.”

There was a long pause. Archie was just beginning to think it was hopeless when he heard the latch open. Maxie’s face appeared at the door.

“I thought you slept on the couch.”

“Not tonight.”

Maxie stopped there for a moment, staring up at his exposed brow. Archie returned his gaze. Looking Archie truthfully in the eyes for the first time since he suggested their teams were interdependent, Maxie opened the door and returned to his spot on the bunk. Archie graciously accepted entry into the room.

Chapter Text

There was a lilting silence between the two of them, interjected only with the crisp whooshing sound of the pages turning in Maxie’s book. The whole vessel was sound asleep; resting up for the rough currents that lay only a couple miles before them. Archie rolled over in his bed for about the nineteenth time. It seemed like it had been hours, decades… and still the reading light shined from the bunk below him. Finally, Archie turned his head over the side of the bunk and looked down at Maxie.

“Hey, whatcha readin’?”

“Just… more studying.”

Archie leaned over closer, as if he was trying to catch a glimpse of the cover. “That don’t sound very interesting.”

“To you, maybe not. You never were one to take the initiative to do your own work.”

“Hey. What’s that s’pposed’ta mean, huh?”

“You know very well what that means.”

“If you’re talkin’ about how Team Aqua used your research to make the—”

“Even before that.”

A pause. “Oh…” Archie shifted uncomfortably. Maxie cleared his throat, as if it would somehow expel the memory from his mind. He flipped the page.

“You haven’t talked about that in a while,” Archie said, quietly.

“I like to forget to.”

--

A pair of red boots stalked through the corridor. One of these is not like the other…

--

“Wait, is that—?”

“My old notes, yes. I believe that keeping in touch with the foundations of my research is critical to the success of my mission. Even if they are—even if they do—bring up—unfortunate—” he stopped himself. The words were too clunky. Archie shrunk into his blanket.

“You know,” he said. “What you said the other day about all that land and sea stuff… I know I was drunk. But I really thought about that.”

Maxie was quiet. Archie took the opening to add, “I mean, if it makes’ya feel any better, I wouldn’t have anything I have now if it wasn’t for you.”

Maxie set the book on his lap as a sudden influx of thoughts tried to drown him. The man. The ship. The sea. His crew, his family. His dreams. His way to achieve them. The light he had seen ignite in his eyes when—

“I’m sorry that I can’t say the same for you.”

Archie was silent.

--

138…139… why, why, why. Why had he let the number escape him?

--

“Some party last night, huh?”

Maxie chose to ignore him, but Archie was now even more desperate to overcome the silence.

“Just like high school, amirite?”

“Don’t pretend you knew me in high school.”

“I—”

“Do not.”

Archie pressed forward, certain he could win the next round. “College, then.”

Maxie’s eyes lost focus on the words in front of him. He turned his head up to address Archie, although from this angle he couldn’t really see him. “I suppose. Maybe. But those early years are long behind us now. I’m sorry for your sake you couldn’t outgrow them.”

“Maxie, can’ya lighten up even just a little?”

“You’re bothering me when I’m trying to study.”

“Maxie we’re not in college anymore.”

--

146. 146. The number seemed familiar. Was this the traitor? But where was the room…?

--

“I always kinda looked up to you, y’know?”

“Funny thing. The way you and your lot tormented me you’d never be able to tell.”

“Not in high school…”

“Then not at all.”

“No,” Archie sat up in bed and jumped down from the bunk. “That changed. I looked up to you. You know that. I grew past all that immature shit. I realized—”

“You realized what? That you could use my knowledge to—”

“No,” Archie grabbed him by the hand. They both stared at each other, Archie just as startled as Maxie. “I’m sorry.”

Maxie, although he almost welled to tears at Archie’s sincerity, snatched his hand back and picked up the book. “It’s done. Why are we talking about what happened so many years ago…?”

Archie knelt down closer. “Because I never told you I was sorry. I wanted to clear my chest. I’m sorry.” Archie couldn’t tell if Maxie’s gaping expression was one of judgment or acceptance, so he added, “There, I said it now. I was an ass to you—more than an ass—but I’m sorry. And I needed to say that t’you in person.”

“It doesn’t change it now. It’s done. It’s over.”

--

Tabitha pressed his ear to the door. Snoring. Next.

--

“I know it doesn’t change anything. I just wanted you t’know that I did care about all that. Later on…”

--

The rooms were neatly arranged with Magmas in even-numbered cabins and Aquas in odd. He needed only to try the even numbers. Yawning. Next.

--

“Well alright then.”

Another long pause. Archie moved to the window and looked out onto the big, dark sea. “Man, I love it out there,” he said.

“That’s apparent,” Maxie said and flipped another page. Archie wasn’t sure if he was actually reading them.

“So what is it you love so much about the land?”

Maxie paused, academically perplexed by the simplicity of the question. Did he really “love” anything about it at all? Certainly he loved the ancient mysteries buried deep below the surface; rock that lives and dies and rebirths itself while carried on giant tectonic plates. Sinking into magma, heating, melting, rising, cooling, being transformed. There was perhaps something poetic about it, but Maxie didn’t think he could quite pin down what.

And still, even in his fascination with the land, he understood the vital importance of the sea. Without water, there could be no subduction, critical in forming some of the largest volcanic—

“I love science, Archie.”

“What?”

“I love science. I love technology. The land itself is powerful in its own right, but if you knew the first thing about geology you would understand the complex and interconnected relationship between the land and the sea that is critical for our very survival.”

“So you’re saying—?”

“I do not, as you put it, want to dry up all the land and turn the world into a massive volcano. That wouldn’t be ecologically feasible. That would be a disaster, actually,” he said. “I want to bolster human progress. Volcanoes do many good things for life as we know it, as does sustainable agriculture. Meanwhile, humanity is in near constant war over the struggle for resources. In merely expanding a few of the continents, we give room for new things to grow.”

“But where will you go when this is all over?” Archie asked. “Because I know if I won—” he looked out to the vast expanse of the moonlit sea. “I’d be out there.”

Maxie almost smiled. “You’re already always out there,” he said. Catching himself, he once again buried his face in his book.

“I think I’d be more complete. Knowin’ I gave somethin’ t’somebody.”

“What?”

“When I look out to the ocean, I see everything. I see my ancestors, their ancestors… n’I remember what it felt like sailin’ as a boy. And it makes me wanna do somethin’. The bigger the sea, the bigger the chance somebody else’ll get t’feel that way too. And if a lotta people feel that way, then… well, maybe the future’ll be a brighter place to be.”

Maxie set the book down and stared at him. Never once had it occurred to Maxie that Archie’s motivations might have been for something more than an endless pool party. Surely, Archie wanted to use the expansive seas as his own personal playground; that much was evident. But at the same time, that he had in mind a greater vision—something like changing the world, almost. But how could it ever be that way?

“That’s quite a noble vision, Archie,” Maxie admitted. “But the world simply does not—”

“There’s always a ‘but’ for you, isn’t there?”

--

Tabitha arrived in front of cabin 146. That’s when he realized the door was just barely ajar—he stepped inside.

--

“What do you mean?”

“There’s always a catch. You can’t just let somebody be right. You always gotta insert your own better opinion.”

“But you aren’t right! The world does not work like that. The world changes with science. Vaccines, transportation, clean energy. Sure, this talk of feelings may be nice, but every good thing you can think of stems from some kind of scientific achievement. If I can expand the continent by even the tiniest fraction of what I have predicted Groudon is capable of, the potential for human advancement almost—.”

“And there’re some things that can’t be measured with science,” Archie said. “What we have here, my boy, I think, is a question of the head and the heart. Of the land and the sea,” he looked to Maxie with a smile. “So, where would you be, Mr. Sunshine, if the blistering sun dried up the raging sea?

--

Far away, hidden deep within the ship, two figures rustled in the darkness. “I’ll have to leave you early in the morning…”

--

Maxie turned another page. “Going back to what I did before, I suppose. Lending my hand to this generation of research… expanding the influence of Team Magma… gathering data on these great volcanoes—geological formations—”

“But do they mean something to you?”

“Of course they mean something to me!” Maxie said. “Why do you think I devoted the entirety of my undergraduate research to the study of the earth, only to move on to get a doctorate in Evolution Theory. Mt. Chimney is one of the most powerful sources of energy in the known world, and it has to do with its link to these ancient Pokémon. Why else would Hoenn be so geographically diverse? Mountains, deserts, oceans, trenches—Pokémon shaped our land! And the land shapes their evolution. Their influence—”

“I wasn’t askin’ya for a history lesson, buddy. I was tryin’ to ask’ya a personal question.”

Maxie stopped, at first hesitant to divulge anything too private. But he figured that since the room was secluded enough, and Archie had already admitted something about himself… perhaps he owed Archie a confession as well. “I’ve been fascinated with ancient Pokémon ever since I was a child, certainly you were aware.”

Archie shrugged. “You always were yappin’ on about Groudon…”

“Correct. Now, taking my accomplishments regarding Groudon and Primal Reversion and Infinity Energy out of the equation, I have done next to nothing with my thirty-two years of living. Don’t you see, Archie? This cause is so vital to me because if I fail, I will have nothing left of myself to show.”

“That’s not true,” Archie said. “What about Courtney and Tabitha? They’re in it with’ya, too. And as much as I know it seems like your whole team hates you, they do look up t’you. N’they really care about one another. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t have a team. And, if anything else,” Archie walked back toward him, “when all this is said and done, you’ve got me.”

“Oh shit,” the man said suddenly. The olive-skinned girl looked to him in concern. “What,” she asked. “I don’t have my phone,” he said. “I have to go back.” “Just stay here. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Only one of us is gonna win this thing in a few days, Max,” Archie said. “N’after that, we’re both stuck lookin’ back at the mess we’ve made. I’ve always liked’ta think we were kinda fond of this little rivalry between us… that we kind of loved—”

“Hating each other,” Maxie nodded, thinking on it.

“Hating each other… yeah,” Archie glanced down, almost embarrassed. “The whole us-against-them thing… it really brought my team together, y’know? And these kids… some of ‘em really need somebody. Some don’t have any place else to go. Bein’ able t’work against Team Magma… it gave them a purpose. It made ‘em a family they didn’t have somewhere else. It really is symbal—symbeeo—god damnit what is it?”

“Symbiotic.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, unfortunately, Archie, symbiosis is not always equally paid out. Team Magma hasn’t reaped nearly the tangible benefit that Team Aqua has had from following us—”

“For fuck’s sake, Maxie, stop doing that!”

Maxie set the book down, shaken by his outburst. “What—?”

“Stop givin’ me these big ol’ eyes like you actually get what I’m talkin’ about and then openin’ your mouth t’hide behind some big sciencey facts! I don’t give a rat’s ass about facts! Sometimes, Maxie, there’s truth in things that’cha can’t fuckin’ measure! Listen to your heart for once, god damnit!”

Maxie stared at him for a while, and Archie began to think it was useless. But, for a brief moment, Maxie considered all the times he and his team had grown together. When Courtney and Tabitha had stayed behind in his office talking and laughing after work was finished for the day. When his whole team flooded his office with cards for his birthday—this, he had actually found to be a great waste of company paper—and somewhat of a saccharine embarrassment—but a sweet gesture nonetheless.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said at last. “But given the circumstances, I dofind it—difficult—to open up about things sometimes. Especially to you.”

Archie sank. “I said I was sorry about that…”

“‘I’m sorry’ won’t quite mend it. You can’t put a plug in a geyser and call it dormant.”

--

“Can’t they track you on those things? If we get caught we’re dead.” “If there’s a team meeting in the morning and I don’t show up, we’re dead too. Besides,” he said, walking toward the ladder, “they’re not supposed to.”

--

“So,” Archie said, once again desperate to lighten the mood. “You didn’t really answer my question. How did’ja fall in love with the dry land?”

Maxie thoughtfully stripped away all the scientific jargon came to mind. He now realized Archie was challenging him to venture to his core, to take stock of his inner motivations and his past. A place he wasn’t too sure he wanted to go. “I think in much the same way you fell in love with the sea.”

“I was practically born in it.”

“Precisely,” Maxie said. “I was born and raised in the shadow of Mt. Chimney. My favorite place to read was a tree covered in volcanic ash; my mother would spend hours cleaning the soot out of my clothes… I collected soot and stones that I watched a man melt into glass… I traveled through Meteor Falls to get to school. And every day on that journey I was met with something new. I saw that the Earth was very much alive. One day an elderly Draconid woman living near the falls saw me crying as I came home from school. She told me a story to calm me down. Every day after that, she would teach me something new about the ancient Pokémon. One time, after the abuse from our peers was particularly harsh and I was very late coming home, I found out she had been sitting in the cave waiting for me. That’s when she gave me this,” Maxie reached into his collar and pulled out a string tied around his neck. Hanging from it was a dull, reddish, teardrop-shaped stone. Archie moved in closer to examine it.

“This rock, she told me, according to legend, was actually a scale that fell from Groudon before Rayquaza sealed him into the sea. She entrusted it to me because she knew I came from Fallarbor, where the scale was said to have landed.”

“It’s just on a piece of string,” Archie said.

“Yes,” Maxie said. “It used to have a better chain. But…well, it—” Now it was getting to the awkward part.

“I broke it. I remember.”

Maxie went silent. Archie continued, “It was so stupid. I had no idea.”

“No, you really didn’t.”

“I was the reason you were crying that day, wasn’t I?”

“You weren’t the only one.”

Archie lowered his head, brushing the scale with his thumb. Maxie held on nervously, tilting his chin up and leading his eyes away from the hand that held the stone. He prayed the hand could not feel the way his heart began to race—although, he was unsure of exactly why. He tried to tell himself it was because this was, after all, the same hand that broken the necklace in the first place. To think that he was here now, holding it again…

“I’ll get you a new chain.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said. “I want to.”

--

The hooded gentleman hurried back to his cabin as to not keep his lady waiting. He arrived to find the door cracked, as he had left it. But standing across from him was the bulky shadow of the man who had pursued him, waving the phone in his hand triumphantly.

“Looking for this?”

“Tabitha—!! I—“

The Magma admin smiled with a malicious grin. “Oh, you’re dead. You’re so, so dead,” he laughed. “Wait till Maxie gets ahold of you.”

“Tabitha, I can explain, I—”

“Oh. No need to tell me.” He flipped through the screen and arrived at the image of the young woman in blue. “I already know.”

--

Maxie pulled the scale back toward him, away from Archie’s hand. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally getting to him. Thoughts and feelings were particularly susceptible to being distorted in the night.

Thoughts and feelings were so susceptible to distortion, in fact, that in the perfect storm of dreadful circumstances, rational thought could be broken down into formless shadow. Feelings could bubble into unknowable nonsense. Everyday matters that were so inconsequential in the daylight could twist themselves into beings so large, so muddled, and so convoluted that they were insurmountable, indistinguishable from one another. These formless beings held within them things that could not be articulated with words, nor even spoken at all. And a formless, shapeless, unknowable beast proved a manxome foe that Maxie loathed to encounter. A formless, shapeless, unknowable beast, after all, would be impossible to slay.

“That’s very kind of you, Archie. But we may have more pressing matters to attend to in the coming days.”

“That’s another ‘but’ from you, isn’t it, mister? Cant’cha just accept an act of kindness for once in your life?”

“I’d like to get back to reading, if that’s alright with you.”

“Go to sleep, you need your beauty rest.”

“I—”

“I’m joking, do what’cha want,” Archie said as he hoisted himself back onto the top bunk. “Thanks for the talk. G’night.”

Maxie’s hand still lingered on the scale and the old, worn piece of twine. While the twine was long dead, the stone continued to radiate warmth from Archie’s palm. The exhaustion began to hit Maxie for the first time; he didn’t feel like studying anymore. That, and he was starting to feel a creature dwelling in him that did not show itself in the daytime.

“Goodnight, Archie,” he said and turned off the reading light.

Chapter Text

Maxie rose early again the next morning. As usual, only about five hours of sleep. But he was sure it had almost certainly been less due to Archie’s presence last night—he wouldn’t stop chattering at first—and then the snoring and mumbling that followed when he did eventually doze off.

As soundlessly as he could, Maxie gathered his things and quickly changed out of his night clothes, praying that Archie would not wake to see him. He refrained from putting on his coat for the time being—he was simply going down to the kitchen to fix a small breakfast. The whole ship was nowhere near awake yet.

Maxie walked out into the morning air and found himself rapt in a glance at the misty sea. The sun was just beginning to rise, and its lightly golden hue cast a soft glaze over the flat blue horizon. He was caught there marveling in the splendor, almost admiration, until he realized for the first time that, in the moment, he was caught at sea entirely alone. Not an inch of dry land to be found.

When this realization struck him, he traded in his wonder for a small jolt of panic. No land, just sea. All around them. While at first beautiful, something about it seemed so desolate. There was no height, no variation, no mountains, no people, nothing else to behold. Just an endless, eerie, flat, overwhelming expanse of blue. What could in fact be lurking below them at this very moment—

Before Maxie could complete the thought, he darted across the deck to find a temporary refuge in the walls of the galley. He rummaged through the cabinets until he found a tin of instant coffee that he had managed to swipe in Slateport City. Excellent. Now he would just need to find a glass to consume it in, and some fresh water. He located the bottles of water he had found the other day to soothe Archie’s hangover, happy to see that they had since been restocked after their excursion. Now, as for the glasses…

Maxie continued opening and closing cabinets for a bit until he found… of course. Beer steins. This would have to work well enough. He pulled a tankard out of the cabinet, carefully inspecting it to ensure there wasn’t any kind of grease or other mysterious substances accumulating on the surface. Then, he scooped a spoonful of coffee into the glass, pouring the water over it. It was rather convenient that it came with a lid.

As he walked back out onto the deck, suppressing the fear he felt earlier, he summoned a young Numel from its Pokéball. While his Camerupt was the one he primarily relied on in battle—and the one he had raised since childhood—he was still partial to Numel as its own Pokémon and kept this one on him mostly for company.

“Alright Nugget,” he said to the sleepy Pokémon, coaxing a berry out of his pocket. “I need you to heat up this water.”

He was too tired in this moment to realize that he could, in fact, have just heated water on a burner in the galley.

The Numel obliged, happy to be out of his Pokéball for the first time in a while, and the two returned to the cabin. Maxie was still nestled on the couch with his coffee and a drowsy Pokémon when there was a knock on the door. The pattern was familiar—one he had heard hundreds of times before. Tabitha either wanted something or was coming in to say some stupid nonsense Maxie typically already knew. He returned Numel to its Pokéball and called out to the other side of the door.

“What is it Tabitha? I haven’t even finished my coffee yet.”

“There’s something I need to talk to you about, Leader Maxie Sir—”

“Surely it can wait until our morning meeting—”

“No, it can’t,” Tabitha replied. At this point, Maxie had risen, tankard of black coffee in hand. “It will affect the morning meeting. It’s regarding the… disturbance.”

Maxie opened the door. Tabitha, in full uniform, was startled to see Maxie without his jacket. Maxie realized this, but continued regardless. “This had better be good.”

Across the ship, in the hall of cabins where Team Aqua and Team Magma slept, Courtney stood guard in front of room 146, occasionally talking back to the voice coming from inside.

“Courtney please.”

“Access denied.”

“Courtney.”

“Request not validated.”

“Courtney.”

“Message failed to send.”

“Courtney please,” the Magma grunt begged. “Stop acting like this. You’re the only one who will understand.”

“Error. Forbidden.”

“God damnit Courtney I know you only do that computer shit when you’re stressed.”

“What…?” she turned around to look at him as he was peering through the cracked door. “What are you… talking about…?”

“Jesus Courtney, seriously?” There was a short pause as Courtney tried to process the information. It was still early, and the gears in her head were taking a bit longer to turn. Perhaps if she hadn’t been up later than usual chasing Tabitha around the ship…

The Magma grunt continued. “Well. Now that I have your attention. I know you’re not as cruel as Tabitha. Everyone knows it. You aren’t power-hungry like him. You genuinely respect Maxie and this team and—”

“The remarks about my behavior and Tabitha’s are… irrelevant. And somewhat presumptuous… What are you saying?”

“You’re the only one who will give me a chance. I can’t afford to—” the grunt’s voice trailed off as he considered the fallout.

“I am afraid that I am… obligated to deny your request. Romantic relationships are strictly forbidden in the workplace under Chapter… 8, paragraph 7a of Team Magma’s Code of Conduct. There is a special warning against relationships, even of a platonic kind, with… members of Team Aqua in subsection—”

“That’s—”

“Unfortunately, Team Magma reserves the right to discipline you accordingly… It is all up to the discretion of Leader Maxie, of course, as we are in….. atypical circumstances….” she paused. Nothing in the Team Magma Code of Conduct prepared them in the event of a truce. “But you would probably do well to review the section on third-degree disciplinary action found in—”

“Courtney, that’s—!”

“I am terribly sorry. It is not up to my personal opinion. I’m… required to put you on lockdown. You will not be permitted to… leave my sight. I’m… locking onto you. Target… locked.” After intensely staring at him for a moment longer, she turned back around after something in his eyes flashed into hers. For an instant, she saw the face of the girl. The lights at the party… then the darkness of the escape.

“So it’s true then,” she said at last.

“What?”

“I… saw it…. I saw her.”

“Courtney…?”

She shook it away from her head. “Never mind. Don’t… bother with what I just said. It does not matter. What matters is you aren’t… leaving…”

Just then, an alert sounded on their pagers. Another alert went off from Courtney’s pocket, where she still kept Tabitha’s phone.

“Oh fuck.”

Courtney looked down at the message: Urgent meeting in 10 minutes. Attendance is absolutely mandatory. Any lateness will be punished according to code. -M

A groan could be heard from two doors down. “Jesus Christ, again?!” A few more erupted from adjacent doors. “He’s pissed.” “It’s even earlier this time…”

A second message flashed onto Courtney and the Magma grunt’s screens: A second, private meeting is also scheduled for you immediately succeeding the aforementioned meeting. -M

“Oh dear…”

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.”

“I’m afraid this does not… bode well for you,” Courtney said to him. “But you must come with me.”

Like the day before, the Magma grunts, sleepy as they were, pulled on their hoods and organized themselves on the deck. Courtney allowed the male grunt to slip back into the crowd, but kept a tight mental lock on him so he would not escape. As Courtney and Tabitha took roll, Maxie approached them.

“Tabitha,” he said.

“Yes, Maxie sir?”

“I noticed your phone did not seem to receive the meeting alert.”

“What?”

“I didn’t hear any notification when I sent out the message.”

Tabitha’s stomach dropped. He had almost forgotten. He looked desperately to Courtney, unsure whether she was going to come to his aid or rat him out entirely. After a stern, but unreadable glance at him, Courtney addressed Maxie.

“That’s because he… left his phone in his room when he went to inform you about the disturbance…” Courtney reached into her pocket and revealed Tabitha’s phone. “I… kept it on me for safe-keeping.” She then handed it back to Tabitha with a devil hidden behind her smile. Tabitha got the sinking feeling that he would owe her something in the near future.

“Good work, Courtney,” Maxie said and turned to Tabitha once again. “Don’t forget it next time. It is absolutely critical that we are able to communicate remotely at all times.”

“Yes, Maxie sir,” Tabitha saluted to him. After Maxie walked away, Tabitha scowled at Courtney, who held on to her menacing grin.

“I hate you.”

“I just… saved your job.”

“That won’t matter soon. After all, it was me who turned him in.”

“And defied orders to do so…” she said. “I could do as protocol requires me and… turn you in. And according to my analysis… the results of that would not be… kind to you.” She smiled again. Tabitha shrunk. “But I’m… above that for now. Maybe this will be some motivation to… cooperate in the future.”

Once all roll had been taken, Maxie stood above the tiny sea of red hoods.

“I want to begin by saying that I am remarkably pleased with our team’s performance during the—operation—in Slateport City.” “Operation” was a very strong word. “We have stocked enough supplies to make the remainder of our voyage relatively comfortable. Team Magma’s cooperation with Team Aqua was impeccable, and truly reflects the spirit we must foster while aboard this ship. You all should be incredibly proud of yourselves.”

Team Magma waited for the big reveal of the actual reason for the meeting. With Maxie, there was always a “but” or “however” in everything, and it always came bundled up in a thin veil of good news.

“However—”

“Called it,” one Magma whispered, bumping another on the fist.

“Take a shot every time Maxie says ‘however.’” They silently cackled. Courtney glared at them from across the deck. They quieted themselves when they met her gaze, but the thought lingered in their minds.

“I would like to once again remind everyone to whom you currently answer and to whom you will continue to answer at the end of the week. This temporary alliance with Team Aqua is strictly on the level of business, and will expire as soon as we set foot in the Seafloor Cavern. You should not presume that this changes anything about the state of affairs between our two teams. Cooperation is essential, but even moreso is tact.”

There were a few dissonant whispers in the crowd, speculating at what this could mean.

“This morning, I was made aware of some grave and inappropriate conduct occurring between members of our team and the opposition. It would behoove you all well to review the Team Magma Code of Conduct, Chapter 8, paragraph 7a. Direct special attention to subsection i, concerning behavior toward members of Team Aqua.”

The whispers swelled, like a nasty current rising at sea.

“Silence!” Tabitha barked. “Maxie did not order you to speak!”

“Thank you, Tabitha,” Maxie said. “Team Aqua has been incredibly generous to provide us with… generous… food and lodgings. But you are not friends. You are shipmates, you are passengers, you are business partners. You will exit this ship and return your full allegiance to me. After that, it is very possible you may never see any members of Team Aqua again, especially as we draw ever closer to our goals. Which should serve as the ultimate reminder of why we are here, and why you have devoted yourselves to Team Magma in the first place. It was for science, it was for the betterment of humanity. And it was not, as I recall, to make friends. And certainly not to make friends with Team Aqua.”

He stopped after he spat the last words out of his mouth and felt the bitter consternation linger there. Team Aqua’s hospitality was difficult to navigate. He knew that outside the ship, they were the strictest of enemies. And yet, they would continue to make merry with Team Magma no matter what he told them. He could only control the consequences rather than the actions.

“Anyone found suspect of growing closer to a member of Team Aqua than that of any approved conduct will be subject to the third-degree disciplinary action laid out in Chapter 19. And, might I remind you, that includes permanent dismissal from Team Magma and immediate revocation of any financial assistance you may be receiving. In other words, one bad decision now could jeopardize your entire future, and that’s not only in regards to Primal Reversion.”

The muttering began to rise again. Maxie called out over it,

“I will take no questions or commentary on the matter. This is not up for debate, even in our immediate circumstances. Bring any further concerns you may have to Courtney or Tabitha. We have plenty of examples of appropriate conduct in Chapter 8 paragraph 9, subsections A through E. Consider Team Aqua temporarily members of our own team. And might I remind you that romantic relationships are strictly forbidden between members of our workplace. Meeting dismissed. Prepare for your morning responsibilities. Team Aqua should be waking soon.”

“It’s five-thirty…”

“Five forty-five,” Maxie said, his patience burned short from his team’s incessant whining. It was so difficult to get young adults to do anything these days—especially not before ten. If they really wanted to succeed, they needed to learn discipline. And if they could not do that, unfortunately, he had to be the one to do it for them.

Chapter Text

Maxie sat by the coffee table and reviewed the call sheet, pleased that at least there had been no latecomers. He scanned the page for the name that Courtney had highlighted—Isaac. Such a pity. Maxie thought he vaguely recognized the name, and believed that this insurgent was in fact a student who had shown a fair bit of promise in geochemistry.

Maxie assessed the room, seeing that it was about as clean as it was going to get for a place Archie lived. He retrieved a copy of Team Magma’s Code of Conduct from the shelf. There was a knock on the door.

“Enter,” he said without looking up from the boy’s file. There it was. Third year, Geoscience. Then again, that wasn’t all that uncommon for Team Magma…

Tabitha and Courtney walked through the door, handling the grunt as if he would break loose at any moment. Their apprehension contrasted greatly with the grunt’s own expression, which already admitted defeat. Courtney and Tabitha seated him across the table from Maxie, but themselves remained standing.

“I’m sure you already know why you’re here.”

Isaac shifted his eyes away from his leader. He had never spoken to Maxie in person before. This was it, wasn’t it?

“Is there anything you would like to say for yourself?”

The boy stammered. “It’s not—I didn’t mean for it—I—”

“Please don’t try to make excuses for yourself. We already have the evidence. I was just asking if you had any closing remarks before I explain our course of action.”

“This is—”

“An apology might be a prudent way to begin.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But this is—it’s all just a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t lie. It might make your punishment more severe,” Maxie said. “If you cooperate, I may err on the side of benevolence. It is quite early in the morning to be handling all this, hm? Tabitha, if you will,” he gestured for the confiscated phone. Tabitha handed it to him.

“This belongs to you, doesn’t it?” Maxie asked.

“Yes…”

“And are you aware of what we found on here?”

The boy was silent.

“Not only were you breaking curfew, you broke curfew without your pager, and you didn’t even bother to delete some pretty damning evidence off of it.”

More silence.

“The most damning of it all? All of this fuss over a girl in Team Aqua. Which I’m sure even common sense could tell you is strictly, expressly forbidden,” Maxie turned the phone over to find the red “M” engraved on the bottom. “This is a company phone as well,” he said, tossing it aside.

Isaac looked like he was about to say something, but he hardly had the words to begin. It was three against one, and Maxie was insurmountable.

“You have directly defied orders and broken several rules spelled out in the Code of Conduct. Do I need to refer to which ones?”

“No…”

“Ah, then I’m sure you know them. As you certainly did when you made these reckless decisions.”

At this point, Tabitha spoke up. “Not only did he make these decisions aboard the ship, Leader Maxie sir, but the evidence suggests that this insurgence has been going on long before this week.”

Maxie gleaned through the papers. “Oh is that so?” Tabitha pointed to the screenshots in the file. Maxie stopped. For an instant, the whole room was devoid of air. While there was breath when he spoke again, it wasn’t very hopeful.

“This is dated from nearly eight months ago.”

Tabitha grinned, reveling in the boy’s alarm. Courtney’s gaze bounced between Maxie, Isaac, and Tabitha. Especially to Maxie.

“Well, that certainly doesn’t help your case,” Maxie said. That was a severe understatement. The fire in him was welling. How could this have gone on for so long right under their noses—?

“Maxie, please, don’t—”

“I am your leader and you will address me as such,” Maxie nearly roared. Isaac quivered. “You are in no position to argue your case or even grow so bold as to assume any amount of pleading could do anything to rectify your situation. You’ve done quite your share of growing bold already.”

Just then, there was the sound of another door opening. To say Archie was half-awake would be generous. He stumbled into the room, dazed, and—worst of all—shirtless. Maxie’s face grew pale. Tabitha and Courtney could hardly conceal their shock. This was almost as bad as—or maybe worse than—the playing card incident of last evening. Everyone on Team Magma hung in this static wordlessness as Archie rubbed his eyes and woke to realize that four other fully-dressed people were in the room with him.

“Whoa—wait—what the hell’re you all doin’ in here—?”

“Archie, this meeting is strictly confidential to Team Magma and it is incredibly rude and unprofessional to—”

“Another one’a your damn meetings? What time even is it?” he asked as he wandered over to the couch where a white undershirt hung over the armrest.

“Six,” Courtney chimed in.

“In the morning? What could’ya possibly be on about?!” he said, pulling the shirt over his head. He only wore this early in the mornings or when he was going to bed. Maybe it was polite to put it on in such company.

“Archie, please, this is—”

“Cupcake.”

Jaws in Team Magma dropped further than they had before. Even Archie seemed to startle himself awake. Not only had Isaac never witnessed Archie in such close proximity—forget shirtless—but he had never seen anyone throw such blatant disrespect to his leader. Somehow, when he envisioned the feud between Archie and Maxie, he only considered it detached, almost theoretical. Not real and immediate and with real words being exchanged. Especially not… those kind of words?

Courtney and Tabitha stared at one another, and then at Maxie. No one could find anything to say. After a few moments of intense silence, Maxie said only,

“Archie.”

Seas of dialogue flowed silently between them. Somewhere between the mountainous peaks of “You will not disrespect me” and “What the fuck did you just fucking say about me you little bitch—” Archie hung in the quiet valley of the words they had exchanged only hours ago. Although he did not move, something within him bowed its head. Maybe there was a reason that kind of talk bothered Maxie so much. Archie raised his hands in surrender.

“Hey, hey you’re right. I’m sorry, princ—I mean. Just pullin’ your leg, ol’ scamp. It’s early,” he said. He then turned to Isaac to deflect the strange mixture of bewilderment, rage, and betrayal he could see burning in Maxie’s eyes. “So what’d he do?”

“Mutiny…….” Courtney said quietly.

Tabitha spoke up as Maxie could not. “This traitor has gone directly against our code of conduct and engaged in a romantic relationship with—”

Archie let out a gleeful howl. “Aw the poor boy’s in love! Who with?”

“A member of your accursed team.” Maxie hissed. Alright. Not diffused yet. Thankfully, Courtney and Tabitha picked up the slack.

“Romantic relationships are strictly forbidden under Chapter 8…”

“And there’s a specific section forbidding relationships of any kind with Team Aqua—”

“It is an… egregious offense…”

“What’s all this about teams I’m hearin’? There ain’t any teams right now.”

“Archie. Please allow me to govern my team the way I see fit.”

“Maxie, please allow me to run my shipthe way you said I needed to run it,” he wagged his finger at him. “This was your idea. Now,” he once again turned to Isaac and the other Magma admins. “As your co-captain, what should be done about this lad?” Maxie again interjected.

“According to the third-degree punishments in Chapter 19, he is immediately discharged from Team Magma and his financial assistance is revoked—”

“No—” Isaac blurted out. “I can’t—I won’t be able to finish—”

“You should have thought about that before—”

“Hey, hey captain,” Archie moved closer to Maxie and put his hands on his shoulders. Was it intentional that he managed to place them exactly where the necklace hung around his neck, albeit under the thick layers of his jacket and turtleneck? “The boy’s in love, Max. I’m glad that our ship could welcome aboard such—”

“Insolence.”

“Not the word I was going for, but…”

“He will be severely punished.”

“On your time, not our time,” Archie said. “And your time don’t pick back up till we land.” Archie looked to Isaac. “Congratulations, my boy. I hope you n’the young lass—” he glanced back over to Maxie. Still fuming. “Well, I hope she was worth it.”

Maxie looked over to Courtney and Tabitha, then to Isaac, and back to Archie. Archie may do this for show, but when all is said and done, Maxie reminded himself that he was still in complete authority over his own team. He would handle it accordingly.

“Tabitha will be having some words with you later. Meeting dismissed.”

All three of them continued to stand there, not sure exactly what to do.

“Out. Now.”

The two admins shuffled out with their hostage, leaving Archie and Maxie in the room to cool off. Maxie trudged to the other side of the room, sorting his files away on the bookshelf.

“Two days you’ve been here and you’ve managed to hold two—no, three—secret meetings behind my back.”

“Three decades of living and you’ve managed to embarrass me every minute.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s done. It’s over,” Maxie said. But it was clear to Archie that it was not done, nor was it over. “Am I a joke to you?”

“What?”

“Is all you’ve lived for to watch me fail? To torment my dreams and desires—” Maxie paused. “Well, considering our teams are rivals, I suppose we are just living to see the other fail…”

Archie almost laughed.

“But must you humiliate me in the process?”

“That was a mistake. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“No one on my team has ever witnessed such—nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“Well, these ain’t your typical circumstances. Blame it on the dirty pirate n’his crooked goonies who don’t know how to behave. It ain’t a reflection on you.”

“When you walk into my meeting disheveled and shirtless it absolutely is.”

Archie shook his head, wondering if he’d heard Maxie correctly. That couldn’t have been what he meant. “Is that—what… what are you sayin’, Max?”

Maxie’s eyes widened, suddenly forced to face the reality of what he had just implied. “I mean to say—people might… assume… any number of things. As people are apt to do—”

“Are you tryin’ to suggest that people might think we’d be fucking?”

“Well, you didn’t have to put it so crassly…”

“Uh-huh.” Archie’s inflection made it sound like more of an intrigued, “Go on…”

“Surely you know how it—how rumors start. Teenage minds overrun with hormones and ghoulish lust… as we’ve just seen demonstrated…”

“Still,” Archie said. “You know the truth. So whatv’ya got t’worry about?”

Maxie paused, still unsure of where he was really going with this. He just didn’t want people to get the wrong idea. “I can’t risk even the appearance of a double-standard. Can you imagine what it would look like if I were to punish the boy for his disobedience while people were thinking—”

“I get it,” Archie said. “Still, it’s more a reflection on me than you, n’maybe on teenagers and their dirty minds too.” He laughed. “I’m sure you’d know how to squash it.”

“Flattered that you have such overwhelming faith in my abilities.”

“Christ, I’m tired. I need to go back to bed.”

“Then go. Glad you stopped in long enough to smear my reputation.”

“This is my house, Maxie. You were havin’ a secret meeting in my living room.”

Maxie suddenly realized the truth of this, but carried on as if he had neither processed it nor heard. “Go back to bed. I’ll just be here reading and enjoying the rest of my coffee—” he picked up the tankard. Archie laughed.

“Nice mug.”

“Best I could do in such meager circumstances,” he raised the glass to his lips, but then sighed. “It’s cold now…”

“You drink that shit?”

“You drink that shit?” Maxie indicated the half-empty bottles strewn across the floor. “Please. Have some class. So many of these aren’t even good quality—”

“I thought you weren’t a liquor person.”

“I’m not a cheap person and I just wasn’t a fan of whatever—wretched—brew you tried to serve me the other night.” He muttered to himself, “I’m pretty sure that was rat poison…”

“Pinot noir~”

“My tastes have progressed through the ages. Yours, on the other hand, seem to not have developed past—” he looked around, “well—past ASPEN.”

Archie’s eyes brightened. “ASPEN! You said it!”

Maxie sighed. “Yes. Of course. I mean—of course I remember ASPEN. How could you—how could I not—?” He shook his head. “Either way. I can hold my liquor.”

“As demonstrated by all those wild and crazy parties you went to…”

“ASPEN is an academic society! It has ‘study’ in the name!”

“Oh yes I’m sure the Great Maxie can hold his liquor just fine, just like all those shots he did at all those parties he attended…”

Maxie clenched his jaw, biting back the knot that coiled in his throat. Archie didn’t know the precipice he was dancing on. “Go to bed.”

“Sure sure,” Archie said as he stayed in the room.

“Or I’ll make you drink this,” Maxie waved the mug in Archie’s face, then scowled at it once more. “Stupid… cold…. instant coffee…”

“You drink it black?!”

“Well it’s certainly not what I drink at home but it works in a pinch.”

“That’s fuckin’ nasty… I can’t drink it without, like—” Archie was too tired to really articulate how he liked his coffee, mostly because he hardly ever drank it. And, when he did, he had to dress it up with all kinds of accessories to make it even barely tolerable.

Maxie paused, realizing that he had finally found a weak spot. “Wait… are you meaning to tell me, the Great Maxie, that you, the Great Archie, may, perhaps… sweeten your coffee up with all that frilly nonsense you unceasingly harass me about?”

“Oh, fuck you, Maxie!”

Maxie laughed. He had bested him this round. Archie couldn’t help laughing as well; Maxie was in a particularly good mood for having almost thrown a kid overboard minutes ago. Archie was just glad to see the ticking time bomb successfully diffused and trying to enjoy its shit-ass coffee.

“Alright, alright. You got me there. I’ll be back ‘round nine or ten. You know the deal. Wake the crew if I’m not up there.”

“I might,” Maxie said, sitting back down on the couch. He would rest for now, and allow Archie to rest, but he knew he’d have to deal with all that later. He already knew he’d be dealing with the grunt on his own. In that vein, he opened his phone and composed a brief message to Tabitha: Follow protocol. We’ll abandon him at the next stop. -M

Chapter Text

It was nine-thirty, and Maxie once again stood by himself on the deck. He stared up at a rusty old bell hanging near one of the masts. Was this—was he supposed to ring it? Tentative, he reached up and, scrunching his shoulders to brace himself, gave a few generous tugs on the rope. There was a silence, then a thunderous bellow from below as Matt came barreling onto the deck.

“Danger!! Is there danger?!”

He looked around. Nothing on the water. Just a singular wide-eyed, red-headed man standing helplessly alone on the sea.

“I’m sorry—I just—I wanted to wake the others.”

“Well they’re certainly awake now,” Shelly meandered up behind them. Team Aqua began to stagger out out of their rooms. A sleep-deprived Team Magma followed suit, taking the lead of their more experienced counterparts. They all gathered and looked on expectantly at their leaders.

“I—” Maxie was caught off-guard by their stares. He quickly straightened up. “Commence the morning agenda,” he said, having absolutely no idea what the morning agenda entailed.

“We call them duties here you stupid asshole,” Shelly muttered. Maxie didn’t have the energy to respond to that. She climbed up higher to properly address her crew. “Get set to sail. We’re hitting rough waters today toward Pacifidlog. Ready the ship for hazardous conditions. Make sure all your Pokémon are in order.”

As Team Aqua dispersed, helping Team Magma along, Archie finally appeared on the deck. He gave a devilish grin to Maxie. “You rang the wrong bell, didn’t you?”

“Please. What other bell—?”

Archie indicated a small hand bell hanging on the wall outside their cabin. Maxie rolled his eyes.

“Either way. They’re awake now.”

“Yep. Thanks for doin’ that for me, swee—um, I’m sorry. I mean… Thank you, Maxie.”

“Did you just—?”

Archie had already started weaving his way through the crowd. Maxie stood there, somewhat dumbfounded. Did Archie really just apologize and correct himself totally unprompted?

Team Aqua and Team Magma were buzzing about the ship to get things in order. People and Pokémon alike filled the deck—trainers grooming their Pokémon to ensure they were in top-notch condition. That was a priority today. On another part of the deck, the same group of Magmas had congregated with a copy of their handbook, accompanied by another Aqua, who fed her Wingull some tiny red berries.

“Ok but have you guys actually read this,” the first Magma said.

“I mean, we all had to…”

“No. It’s ridiculous,” the Magma grunt raised the book and started reciting from it, puffing up his chest and sticking an arm behind his back to give his best Maxie impression. “‘Examples of appropriate Team-Member to Team-Member conduct: light conversation in designated areas of recreation, such as in the breakroom or on lunch.’ Then there’s an indented bullet point: ‘However, such conversation should strive to uphold the values of Team Magma and should not include topics too private or controversial such as personal life, sexual orientation, politics, religion, and should not be excessively vulgar—’”

“There’s another ‘however.’”

“That’s not even it.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to talk about?! The weather?”

“‘Members of Team Magma should always be wary of conversation that is held both in the workplace and at home and keep in mind that they are a representative of our organization both inside and outside of the workplace. Be mindful that Team Magma is, after all, a cutting-edge research and technological facility, and therefore we cannot run the risk of any word about our operations getting out before its due time. As such, it is ideal to abide by the law that it is always better to say too little than too much, and to bear in mind, as the old saying goes: loose lips sink ships. In our case, that loose lips run the risk of marring the integrity of our very organization and sinking the ship of our objectives for the human race. Too much free talk can end with miscommunication and disruption of professionalism at best, and with our most sensitive information in the hands of Team Aqua at worst. Don’t run the risk.’ Then a footnote: ‘A copy of the “Free Talk” agreement you were obligated to sign upon joining Team Magma is available in Appendix A for your reference.’”

“Jesus Christ he’s so wordy—”

“‘All members of Team Magma should foster an appropriate sense of personal boundaries and should always be wary to maintain a comfortable distance that must never fall shorter than at least eight and a half inches—’”

“Why eight and a half? That’s so specific…”

“Size of Archie’s DICK—!”

The Magma girl swatted at her male companion. “Don’t be crass.”

The Aqua girl laughed. “Oh my godddd.”

“He’s obsessed with him.”

“They fight like an old married couple.”

“They’re enemies.”

“All the more reason to—”

“Shut up he’s going to hear us!”

“Please, he’s all the way up there,” the Magma boy indicated the quarter deck, where Maxie was totally detached from and wholly uninterested in anything else that was going on below. He seemed to be holding something, but from here, they couldn’t tell what.

“I bet they’re tapping phones—”

“Oh I’m sure they already have the phones tapped—”

“Hey—speaking of,” the Aqua girl said. “Have any of you seen Isaac…?”

There was a fearful silence as the Magma grunts put it together. “Oh my Gooooooooodddd—! Oh my god…”

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck—”

“What?” the girl asked, nervously.

“We had another meeting this morning. Maxie was talking about inappropriate conduct. That’s why we wanted to reread this,” the Magma girl flashed her own copy of the book at her.

“Oh my god…”

“He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s so totally fucking dead.”

The Aqua girl shook her head. “Oh no… this can’t happen. Archie won’t let this happen…”

“I’m really afraid it isn’t up to Archie.”

“Courtney and Tabitha probably already took matters into their own hands.”

The Aqua girl scanned the deck frantically for any sign of her boyfriend. Red and blue faces passed and passed, but none of them were the face of the young man who had disappeared into the dark of the night. She had a feeling something bad had happened. At least he hadn’t ghosted her. Now, it appeared to be much worse.

Above the crowd, Maxie turned a small red gemstone over in his hands. He stared at it in wonderment in the morning light. The way the sun reflected off of it… he could see the faintest shadow of an Omega sign peering back at him from the inside. “The first and the last,” he said to himself. “Which is, which was, and which is everything to come…”

Below, he could still see Archie mingling about on the main deck. They seemed busier than normal—he supposed that they had a lot to prepare for, after all. In the back of his mind, he was hoping the rough waters wouldn’t get too rough… he quickly shook away the thoughts of his horrible susceptibility to motion sickness and stared back down at the gem.

It felt powerful in his hands. Like there was an essence in it that could transform whoever bore it. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining, but he felt as though it was emitting a heat, a radiance that spread up his forearm. A ghost of a presence that dwelled from within it—peering out from the inside—biding its time to break through.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son. The jaws that bite, the claws that catch…” Maxie muttered. The words were from a nonsense poem; one he had been partial to as a child. Somehow, of late, he had found himself coming back to it. The thought that someone so infinitesimally small and ultimately insignificant could quell and slay such a fearsome beast—

Archie seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Well, well, well, Maxie. Did I really catch’ya lookin’ out to sea?”

“I was pondering this, but yes,” Maxie said. He felt very strange holding perhaps what was the most important item to his mission so close to his enemy.

“Aren’t they beautiful? I like’ta look at mine sometimes too.”

“Incredible to think that these gemstones could control such ancient and powerful Pokémon,” Maxie said. “Yet, that appears to be their nature. So intrinsically connected to the land—or sea, respectively.”

“Didnt’cha write somethin’ important once about how these little guys stored all this power Rayquaza bottled up or somethin’?”

Maxie blinked, surprised that Archie had remembered something he had written about so long ago. “Um. Yes, actually. Our earth is very much alive and full of this dormant energy once possessed by these Pokémon… Even Pokémon in our modern world tap into that power when they evolve. Or,” he lifted his hand to the keystone on his glasses, “Mega-Evolve.”

“You mean to tell me Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion are like, the same thing?”

“Essentially. But on a much larger scale. Reversion for them is exactly what it sounds like—reverting to their original state. And that primordial energy that Kyogre and Groudon draw on—the energy that the Devon Corporation foolishly tried to patent and hijack—is the same energy that fuels all Pokémon evolution,” Maxie said. “Surely you… had to know this…?”

“I mean, kinda. I ain’t exactly done all the studyin’ you have. I just knew that Kyogre, when he got strong enough, could reform the sea.”

“Just as Groudon can reshape the land. Although…” he looked back down to the orb. “I begin to wonder how such a tiny vessel could ever conduct such massive amounts of power. Still, the tests are consistent, and repeatable. Science should be trusted. And yet—”

“Well, like’ya said, it’s just like the way this lil’ guy controls your Pokémon,” Archie flicked the keystone on Maxie’s glasses. “And that’s pretty repeatable.” Maxie shook his head. Archie looked down at the anchor that carried his own keystone. “Eh… seems… roughly proportional?”

“It’s a subconscious fear I have worked diligently to quell.”

A silence fell between them as they stared out into the open sea. Maxie then turned to Archie and asked, suddenly, “So, what about you? Have you slain your Jabberwock?”

“…My what?”

Maxie realized this was quite an odd thing to say. “Nevermind—it’s… nonsense.” Why had he even said that? “Is there anything you fear? About this journey or—”

Archie shrugged. “That I never get t’see a world these kids can really live in, y’know? All this technological bullshit’s really gettin’ to their heads.”

Maxie almost gagged. “And I thought I was the old-fashioned one…”

“No no, really Maxie. Lookit this,” Archie gestured out to the sea, then down at the team of red and blue on the deck. “This is somethin’ they’re gonna remember more than the sciencey results of some technological—whatever.”

Maxie paused. How could Archie continue to discredit the importance of scientific advancement as really just “some technological—whatever?” Without it, he’d be nowhere where he was today.

And yet, maybe he did have a bit of a point. The moments that stayed with Maxie most were not when he was in a lab or at writing at a desk—although he certainly did have his share of trials and successes there. What gave him passion, what deeply sustained his motive, were those moments when he was standing in the shadow of Mt. Chimney, or with a team gathering samples in the desert. The trek through Meteor Falls, the mural in Granite Cave, the scale of Groudon he wore in secret around his neck…

“I suppose you’re right.”

“See? A world full of sea ain’t too terribly bad.”

“Those kind of frivolous things wouldn’t disappear if Groudon expanded the continent,” Maxie said. “On the other hand, Kyogre would reign a pool of devastation that would eliminate miles and miles worth of human progress, vital agricultural—”

“We can fish.”

“You’re ignorant. This is for human development.”

“Mine is too. A diff’rent kind of development.”

Just then, Matt called up from below.

“Aye, Archie! I think we’re all set t’sail!”

Maxie glared back at Archie. They didn’t need to finish this conversation; they had had it a million times before. And often, without words.

Chapter Text

After double-checking that everything was prepared, Team Aqua and Team Magma gathered once again for breakfast. Maxie took only a small pastry and his second cup of coffee. He then retreated, once again, as far away as possible from anyone else. He wouldn’t let his coffee get cold this time.

Maxie grudgingly took his seat on a stack of wooden crates—there was no proper seating on the deck—and looked out to all the others who mingled below. He almost smiled, but quickly reminded himself of their circumstances. There was already too much fun going on. It’s not that they shouldn’t cooperate—and even be happy—they absolutely should. It was critical to their success. But how did they ever expect to detach themselves so quickly at this rate? Was this all simply a ruse by Team Aqua to undermine them after all—?

As plates began to empty, voices rose from the deck. At first it was only a handful, then, slowly, more and more. Oh god. It was getting worse. But what were they…? Singing?! Maxie scanned the crowd and started to realize that Team Aqua was attempting to teach Team Magma—he shuddered—sea shanties. “Dear God…”

“And we’ll roooooll the old Chariot along!”

Some members of Team Magma were definitely more enthused than others, but it was impossible from this distance to tell who. Nineteen chapters of the Team Magma Code of Conduct and he hadn’t accounted for… he sighed. Sea shanties. Singing had to violate some kind of code somewhere. He knew it was of no use, but he wished he could beg loud enough to make it stop.

Team Magma looked out of place dotted between their blue counterparts. Most stood taught, unsure of what to do with their hands and feet while Team Aqua stamped along, trying their damndest to get the red ones to loosen up a little. A few Magmas swayed, some clapped, but most participated with the same half-hearted, reticent confusion quite characteristic of a middle school dance. Some glanced nervously up to Maxie like he might punish them if things went too far. And that would be correct. He absolutely would.

Archie climbed onto the quarter deck where Maxie sat. “Lookit Maxie,” he said. “They’re really startin’ t’enjoy themselves.”

“This is detrimental to the both of us.”

“Nah. Boosts morale. We’re gonna need it for t’day.” He paused once again to breathe in all the merriment. “We’re all just one big family now.”

“Oh frabjous day. Callooh. Callay. He chortled in his joy.” Maxie could not have chortled those words with even less joy than he already had.

Archie didn’t hear him over the noise. His voice boomed from above the crew,

“Alright ye scalawags! We’re about t’shove off for the roughest part of the trek! We’re gonna need all hands on deck if we wanna lay anchor in Pacifidlog t’night. But y’know what’s waiting for’ya on the other side? A glorious feast! Better than anythin’ Matt can wrastle up in the kitchen. Although, what he does do is great, ain’t it, folks?” Archie indicated Matt in the crowd. Matt smiled, somewhat bashfully for a man of his size.

“Ready your Pokémon! Show Team Magma the ropes—” Archie stopped, looking back at Maxie. Quietly, he asked, “Hey uh… Max? Are any of their Pokémon good for sailing?”

“How am I supposed to know that…?”

“I’ll take that as a no. I’m sure we’ll find somethin’.” He called back out to the crew. “Check out your favorite Magma’s Pokémon. See if they can be put t’any good use.”

Shelly and Matt ran the final checks, ensuring that all hands of Team Aqua were in position, paired with one or two helping members of Team Magma. Maxie sat back, observing how, despite the lack of clear lines and pecking order, Team Aqua still exhibited a form of duty and diligence. Albeit, not one he was accustomed to. Still, it had this fire, this sureness of spirit that Maxie did not realize was lacking in his own team.

Well, was it lacking? And was it detrimental to their success if it was? No… perhaps it was just different. He reminded himself that, despite their passion, Team Aqua had not made nearly the scientific progress Team Magma had. In fact, Team Aqua had made no measurable contributions to society at all.

Once Shelly and Matt gave Archie the okay, he called out once more from the top of the deck. “Alrighty, ye landlubbers! We’re all set t’sail!”

Then, to Maxie’s ultimate dread, Archie started up a shanty of his own.

“Heave away bullies, ye parish-rigged bums!”

Team Aqua chimed in, moving into position. “Weigh, hey roll and go!”

“Hoist the anchor!” Archie called out. “We’re outward bound for the Seafloor Cave!”

“Weigh hey roll and go!”

“Get crackin’ me lads, it’s a hell of a way!”

“Weigh, hey roll and go!”

Maxie buried his face in his hands. The incessant noise would not go away. Was this real? Or had he, in fact, failed in his lifelong mission and was, in all actuality, already dead and rotting in the deepest pit of hell? Over a decade of his life’s work and he had to watch it slowly and painstakingly get ripped out from under him with a tacky underscoring of sea shanties…

On the deck, Team Aqua and Team Magma worked diligently to move the ship forward. They were rapidly approaching the currents heading into Pacifidlog. It was a passage Team Aqua had done many times before, but it was never an easy task, and it was always good to have a few more helpers on deck. Even if they were just rock-loving nerds who hadn’t been outside all that much. Some help—even clumsy and socially-awkward help—was better than no help.

As Maxie eventually grew numb to the boisterous seafaring, he looked down to the deck once more to observe the remarkable level of teamwork that Archie had managed to coax out of the two teams. He watched the organized chaos with a small flutter of pride in Team Magma, who were, as always, putting their best foot forward in spite of the dismal circumstances. He noted how his dedicated and hardworking subordinates seamlessly obeyed the commands of Team Aqua, tugging on ropes and pulling things across the deck, even if it was work they weren’t normally equipped for. Some were positioned higher up, spotting for more experienced members of Team Aqua or helping Matt, positioned at the helm to steer.

Meanwhile, Flying Pokémon flapped their wings tirelessly to send gusts of wind into the sails while strong-swimming Water-types, tied to the vessel, supported the ship from below. A few Team Aqua grunts escorted a handful from Team Magma to the lower decks, with small train of heavier Pokemon—like Geodude, Lairon, and Torkoal—in tow. Keeping heavier Pokemon below would help to weigh the ship down and maintain its balance against the choppy waters. One gangly and confused Onyx—too large to fit in the hold—remained on the deck with his trainer. Looked like Team Magma’s specialization in Fire and Ground types had some use after all.

Already, Maxie could feel the vessel begin to sway more… and more… and more… It was becoming a bit difficult to find his footing—to maintain a sense of balance. They must be in the current.

Archie approached him.

“Aye, Maxie—we’re going t’be hittin’ the rough part here in a few minutes—”

“You mean—this isn’t the rough part—” Maxie scoffed as the ship swayed harder and he nearly slid off his own feet. Archie jumped as if to catch him, but Maxie managed to keep himself upright.

“That’s why I was comin’ here to tell’ya you better brace for impact.”

“And how—”

“You’re not wanna gonna be near any heavy slidey stuff—an’ I know you’re gonna wanna get indoors when the going gets rough, but it’s really better if’ya stay out here in the fresh air—”

“I’ll do as I please.”

“We usually have one or two really big waves when we first hit. I’ve told my crew t’buddy up, and I’m here to help’ya keep your sea legs.”

“I’m not sure that I have those—”

Archie grinned. “I know. But that’s what you’ve got me for.”

“Frabjous day. Callooh. Callay.”

The swaying grew increasingly stronger. Internally, Maxie begged for any sense of order or stability to return to his own feet. He hadn’t noticed how much he took the floor for granted until he could no longer use it to navigate time and space. His entire body felt almost as if it was being grabbed and shaken—oh wait. It was. By a sea vessel hundreds of times his own size.

After what felt like eternities to Maxie, which, in reality, had only been a couple of minutes, a voice from Team Aqua called out from above.

“Current spotted!”

Matt yelled back to his leader as well. “We’ve got ‘er up ahead, Archie!”

“Alright Team Aqua! Shove forward!” Archie yelled. “Double down—don’t let a little water sway you none!”

And with that, the crew started off on another shanty, but that was now the least of Maxie’s concerns. It did seem to somehow boost the rapport, their willingness to work in spite of the odds, but did nothing to overshadow the whirling dizziness Maxie battled in his head. Archie paused for a brief moment to look at him. “Oh. Oh god. You’re already messed up.”

“Frabjous—” Maxie couldn’t even finish the sentence. He held his hands to his head, hoping everyone else on board was too preoccupied with their miserable work and their miserable singing to see this unfold.

“IMPACT!” Matt yelled. A handful of Aquas followed suit.

“BRACE!!” Archie bellowed, and before Maxie could even make full sense of what was happening, the entire ship lurched downward, further than it had before. Archie widened his stance and planted his feet on the floor. Maxie felt the ground sharply rise, then drop beneath his feet. But just as he could start to go toppling, Archie stopped his fall. Maxie didn’t have time to process that he was in Archie’s arms before another wave hit.

Maxie started to stand, like he wanted to walk somewhere to get away, but Archie knew the worst of it wasn’t over and kept his arms around him. It was then that Maxie realized it felt much safer to be held down like this than to stumble around on his own. He knew if Archie let go now, he’d fall flat on the floor. He braced himself on Archie and looked out to see the whole ranks of Team Aqua and Team Magma doing the same. Every red and blue alike was caught in this same awkward embrace. At least he wasn’t alone. He was just very, very sick.

The moment the roughest waves were past though, and the deck was relatively stable—although by no means dormant—Maxie wriggled his way out of Archie’s grasp and staggered across the deck by himself. Archie followed, much more coordinated than his red counterpart.

“You’re gonna want to stay out here, Max.”

“I can’t—”

“Oh god are you gonna puke—”

“No, I’m fine…” He was indeed not fine. But he was, at least, very certain he wouldn’t vomit. He was not the vomiting kind.

“It’s gonna help’ya if you stay out here—” It wasn’t difficult to chase Maxie across the deck. The poor man could hardly keep his own feet beneath him.

“No, I insist on—”

The ship lurched again. This time, Maxie had been unfortunately close enough to the side that when he swayed over he risked falling overboard. But Archie’s reflexes were much faster, and he grabbed the wiry man by his coat and pulled him back over the rail. Maxie stopped there, looking down over the ocean, hands thankfully pressed to his face. If he hadn’t developed that hand-to-face reflex, his glasses would have almost certainly gone toppling into the sea.

“You little idiot—”

Maxie’s stomach dropped again. “Oh god maybe I am going to vomit—”

Archie held him there for a few moments more, but Maxie stood up. “I’m fine,” he said. Archie still refused to let him go fully until they had successfully navigated far enough away from the rail. The moment he did, however, Maxie made a tenacious, although very wobbly, dash to the cabin door. He flung himself on the couch, shriveling into a ball and covering his head.

“Water should not be able to do that—”

“Don’t earthquakes, like, exist or—”

“That’s—very different—”

Archie sighed and retrieved a bucket from the closet. He set it on the ground by Maxie’s head. “Here,” he said. “In case’ya need it.”

“This is hell—”

“Like I said. You can come t’the deck n’you’ll start feelin’ better. Or you can stay here and—” Archie looked him up and down one last time. Maxie groaned. “Suffer, I guess.”

Maxie continued whining, but it was clear not even the sea herself would compel him to leave this spot. “Alright, but… you’re gonna have a bad time,” Archie said and walked back out the door.

Chapter Text

The ship continued to creak and sway as it swam upstream toward the tiny village. On the deck, Team Magma and Team Aqua had refined their cooperation. Sure, they had their ultimate differences, and most of Team Magma was as about equipped for sea life as a Feebas was to study geography, but the grunts of Team Aqua had taken Archie’s words to heart and brought Team Magma on board as their own. As they progressed through the current, they developed a steady rhythm of pulling ropes and commanding Pokémon, and, accompanied by song, they were now making a fast and steady headway toward Pacifidlog.

Archie, quite on brand, treated all of this commotion much like a big game, with him playing the role of raucous pirate master. He could, of course, address the crew normally and spend his time making sure each hair and thread was accounted for—much the way Maxie would—but what was the fun in that? The adventure? He was, after all, a grown man wearing an anchor and a fishing net, and his crew was just as eager to fill their own roles with their own rowdiness and sailor talk. Team Magma was not so hot on either of these, but nonetheless appreciated the free ride to the cavern.

Courtney and Tabitha stood on the helm with Matt. They, too, had conquered the tumbling waves by clinging onto one another for dear life—Matt had room enough for two—and the both of them had now gained an even deeper appreciation for dry land. Repressing their motion sickness much more successfully than their leader, they now kept watch and helped Matt steer the ship.

“You’re tellin’ me you can track anythin’ on those things?” Matt asked, looking at the devices in Courtney and Tabitha’s hands.

“Well, yes…”

“N’it tells’ya where you are right now?”

“Yes…”

“N’how fast we’re goin’—” Matt wasn’t really stopping to wait for the two to respond. “And now?”

“Well. Yes. It’s a GPS, Matt, it’s not new technology,” Tabitha said, unamused.

“We’ve never had nothing like that on the ship before.”

Courtney and Tabitha exchanged a look. Not a bad one, just a look. They both wondered why they had been so surprised by this though; the ship lacked most modern niceties like electricity and running water. Most members of Team Aqua had traded in their comfortable lives on the mainland for time spent on the endless waves. And, apparently, aboard a severely outdated sea vessel.

“She’s an old ship, y’know,” Matt continued, seeing their exchange. “Not a lot of bells n’whistles. Not runnin’ on… what was it you were tellin’ me?”

“Solar?”

“Yeah! Man oh man bro…. that all your gadgets can just be powered by the sun. Man… wish we would’a thought of that…”

“We didn’t invent solar—”

“I don’t… think that’s what he…”

Just then, Shelly sauntered up to them, nodding to the Magma admins as politely as was absolutely necessary before asking,

“So nerds, what’s our ETA?”

“You will not address I, the great Tabitha—!”

“Cool it, Tabs—”

At this point, Courtney intervened. “Processing…” Shelly looked to her. Courtney’s eyes were somewhat glazed over—was she spacing out? This lasted only a second, then Courtney said, “According to my… analysis, if we sustain this momentum and trajectory, we should be exiting the last current in another… 32.33 minutes. That is… repeating, of course…”

“And to Pacifidlog?”

“Calculating…” she paused to study the map further. “From there, data indicates that we should be landing in Pacifidlog Town with an arrival time of exactly 4:03pm and 39… seconds…”

Matt, Shelly, and even Tabitha blinked, looking somewhat agape at her report. Courtney wasn’t sure why they were staring at her like that.

“What…?”

“So… why do you do that?” Shelly asked finally.

“Do… what?”

“Talk like a computer.”

Courtney hesitated. This was the second time she was hearing this today, and she had never heard it before then. She still didn’t understand exactly what they were referring to. “What do you mean by that…?”

Shelly continued, “You know. Saying shit like ‘analyzing’ and ‘computing’ and ‘processing.’ It’s like you’re giving yourself robot commands.”

“You do do that, Courtney,” Tabitha admitted. Courtney looked on to the both of them with a mixture of alarm and confusion.

“Oh… I never… noticed that…”

“Don’t play stupid. You know what I’m talking about,” Shelly said. There was a heavy, awkward silence before Shelly realized this was yet another example of Team Magma’s flimsy mechanical facade beginning to implode on itself. She pressed on, wanting to see where this could lead. “It’s to impress your boss, isn’t it? Sugar daddy into that kind of thing?”

All three of the other admins jumped.

“Shelly!”

“I—” Courtney, not accustomed to being so flustered, had no idea where to even begin. Thankfully, Matt and Tabitha bought her only an instant more of time.

“Cut it out, Shelly. Uncool.”

“What a preposterous lewd allegation—!”

“I—no… Maxie is—Maxie—” she stopped. What was she going to say? “Wait… no… he’s—” Where were the words?

“He’s what, dear?”

“Relationships between team members are strictly forbidden in the Team Magma Code of Conduct, Chapter 8 section 7! And even if they were allowed, Courtney and I are too professional to worry about such frivolous nonsense! Especially not toward Leader Maxie. We admins have too much respect for our superiors. Sad the same can’t be said of Team Aqua, now can they Shelly?”

“Excuse me?!”

“Tabitha—” Courtney said, but it was too late. Tabitha and Shelly were going at it again.

“You heard what I said.”

“You think you can just come in here and—” Shelly jumped at Tabitha, as if she was about to throw a punch, but Matt pulled her back.

“That’s enough, Shelly. We all just wanna get along here.”

“She should not make such salacious allegations against our esteemed leader and other members of our—”

“Tabitha.” Courtney was nowhere near as strong as Matt, but the sheer force of her word made Tabitha reconsider.

“This is our ship. You all need to play by ourrules.”

“Sis, Archie said we’re all the same right now… we need to act like it.”

At this point, Shelly conceded. She was satisfied enough with the information she had gotten anyway. She only had to put up with them for another hour or so before they landed.

Inside the cabin, Maxie was still shuddering. How long had it been? Would he always be here? Up and down and up and down and—the spinning never seemed to stop. He had maybe fallen asleep for a little while, but he was awake again, and still suffering. Light poured in as the door opened. It seared Maxie’s eyes and he covered his face, groaning louder.

“Maxie—” Archie said, finding his companion in the exact position he had left him in.

“Are we almost done—?”

“Gettin’ there.”

“Close the door close the door close the—”

“Wha—”

“It’s making it worse.”

Archie obliged and walked over to Maxie. It was strange to see his rival, who put so much effort into micromanaging his appearance, forced to revert back to the state of some kind of… suffering… dying animal.

“Don’t be so dramatic, you’re just—” Archie paused. “…Dizzy?”

Maxie grimaced, realizing how the power had shifted, but he was in too much agony to sustain any banter. “This is it, isn’t it—? This is how I die… on the sea of all things…”

Archie sat down next to him and patted him on the back. “You’re not gonna die it’s gonna be okay.”

“Don’t touch me.”

Archie lifted his hands. But in the next moment, Maxie sat up and lurched forward. “Oh god oh god oh god—”

“Wha—?”

Maxie scrambled for the bucket and held his head over it. “Oh god oh god oh god oh god—”

“If you’d calm down—”

Archie looked over and watched Maxie fight with every fiber of his being against the reflexes of his own body. It was clear he was close to throwing up, and it would probably help him if he did. But, in the same vein, Archie had never seen anyone so entirely stubborn, strong-willed, or downright stupid enough to actually repress anything so successfully. Although, it was evident that this was taking every ounce of strength and determination in his dainty little bones.

“Maxie—”

Maxie lifted a finger from the bucket, as if telling Archie to wait a second while he continued to hang his head there. He coughed a little bit, making this kind of unsettling choking noise, then there was a stiller pause. A few more moments passed. Maxie slowly lifted his head, having adequately squandered the reflex. While momentarily victorious, he was sweating profusely, and painfully out of breath.

Archie sat there, rubbing his hands together awkwardly, watching as Maxie continued to suffer on a mountain he had built entirely for himself. Maxie removed his jacket and pulled his head into his turtleneck, blowing air down his chest in a desperate attempt to cool off.

“You could have just—”

“Shush.”

Archie stopped himself as he was about to reach out and pat Maxie on the back again. Instead, he stood up and took another few steps back toward the door. “I’ll bring’ya some water.”

“Oh joy oh joy…”

After Archie procured a bottle of water from the galley, he left Maxie alone to deal with his own shit. He seemed to be feeling better, if only marginally. Sitting up, at least. Archie had to hand it to him: if Maxie had anything, it was sheer force of will.

Chapter Text

Tiny silhouettes of wooden huts now dotted the horizon. When Archie spotted them, a glimmer of joy fluttered through his chest. He felt like a kid again. True, they had been to Pacifidlog many times before, as it was one of the only places in Hoenn Team Aqua wouldn’t be immediately chased out of, but every time it felt so new.

Smaller fishing boats had been moved out of the way so the ship could lay anchor. While most the huts were on stilts a few feet above the water, there was a small beach near the dock that almost everyone in Team Magma immediately flocked to. They stood there in a red clump on the sand, a bit nervous to go any further into a small, waterlogged village that wasn’t remotely their own. Meanwhile, Team Aqua calmly dispersed, some even greeting family members who were waiting for them on the pier.

Maxie had appeared on the deck, at long last coming to his senses. He stood far off to the side; he wasn’t feeling well enough to return to society just yet.

A voice came humming from behind him. “Safe and sound at home again, let the waters roar, Jack~” Archie rested his arms on the rail, a bit closer to him than Maxie had expected.

“Oh… hello.”

“Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main, now we’re safe ashore, Jack.”

“My name isn’t Jack.”

“It’s a song, genius” Archie said. “Not really that into those, are’ya?”

“Not really my genre, no.”

There was a brief pause. Maxie still didn’t have the energy to converse, but it never stopped Archie from wanting to strike up a conversation.

“Beautiful, ain’t it?”

“A bit horrifying, but—”

“Whaddaya mean?”

Maxie hesitated. “I mean, setting aside what abject horrors that raging blue hellscape just subjected me to… consider its endless depths. How many things lurking below the surface right now that we can’t even perceive—that we haven’t even discovered… How one can just fall in and sink down and down and down to a depth we can’t see… if something were to happen to this ship, there would be no way—” he shuddered.

“But ain’t that just the joy of it? Uncovering the unknown? The mystery? The discovery?”

“I prefer my discoveries to be a bit more… discoverable. But I suppose.”

“Y’know somethin’?” Archie said. By the tone of his voice, Maxie could already tell he was leading into another rant. “I forgot t’say this the other day, but there’s somethin’ I really thinkya’d like. You just reminded me of it. So, there’s this story of—”

“Archie.”

“No seriously, Maxie. Listen.”

Maxie sighed. “Alright…” Archie was lucky all of his strength was already spent fighting the current.

“Like I was sayin’… There’s this legend of these ancient seas miles n’miles n’miles from here. Maybe worlds apart. Who knows. Either way, the story goes that nothin’ can live in ‘em. They’re totally dead. But even though they’re dead, they’re all beautiful. Maybe more beautiful than anything we’ve ever seen. The reason they’re dead? They’re too full’a other stuff. Salt. Minerals. Rocks. Y’know, all that other shit you live on.”

Maxie rolled his eyes.

“So they’re totally dead and nothin’ can live there. But there’re all these salt n’minerals on the shore because everything’s drying up. They keep receding and dryin’ up, which makes it saltier, which makes it more that nothin’ can live and grow—”

“Are you suggesting this is what you think would happen if I succeed? That’s not at all how—”

Archie stopped. “No, Maxie… I was just gettin’ at—Christ let me finish—well. I was goin’ t’say that… even though they’re all so dead—they call ‘em dead seas—they still give life. The people on shore take all this rock shit n’they use ‘em for fancy shit like beauty and health n’growin’ crops and stuff. So even though they can’t keep any sea life—the way you’d think a proper sea should—they still give life in a diff’rent way. Human life. Externally.”

Maxie stared back up at him with a bare sense of wonderment. Had Archie really just demonstrated his knowledge of the importance of mineral deposits to the ecosystem? Had he really just admitted that the land was just as necessary for life as the sea—?

Archie started to get a bit flustered when Maxie hadn’t responded for awhile. Something in him began to panic, and he looked back out to the water to deflect. “Anyways… I just thoughtcha’d enjoy. Shows the importance of rocks n’everything… Even if it does cost us some sea life… which I’m certainly not happy about, no.” He forced a laugh.

“Charming,” Maxie said. The two shared another brief moment amid the endless waves together before Maxie cut it short. “So. It appears we’ve hit land.”

“We have,” Archie said. “And we’re havin’ a feast tonight that, of course, you’re all invited to. It’s gonna be in the town hall… just down by my grandma’s, so—”

Maxie paused. It made sense, but he had never really pictured Archie having a past or a family here. Slowly, those things had started to come together, but before this week, he and Archie really were just two opposing forces, existing almost as nothing more than concepts in the other’s mind. It was easy to forget that there was a living, breathing person—with parents, grandparents, relatives—behind the visions and dreams that stood so directly against his own.

“Is there a place I can shower?”

“Yeah, but’cha don’t have to hold up a whole damn Pokémon Center this time,” Archie laughed. Maxie didn’t. “Nonna’s got a pretty nice place y’can use.”

“Oh no… that’s quite—”

“Nah, c’mon. You’re my guest. It’s so much better than a public restroom.”

That was fair.

Motivated almost entirely by his need to be clean, Maxie accompanied Archie off the ship. On the way down, they passed Courtney and Tabitha. Courtney was holding Isaac by his jacket, not tightly, but firm enough that it was very evident that he wasn’t going anywhere without her. Archie took notice of this.

“Hello Archie—” Isaac said to him.

“Greetings,” said Courtney and Tabitha.

“Now what’s—?”

“We’re bringing him out… he’s not restrained, see…?” Courtney smiled, letting her hands off the poor grunt. Isaac knew better than to run.

“Aight, but remember…. we’re in a truce.”

“We have our own rules here, thank you,” Tabitha muttered.

“Hey—don’t you think about—”

“Let’s not… start this again,” Courtney said. “It’s all being handled. We are doing just as you… both instructed.” There was something in Courtney’s phrasing that seemed duplicitous, but Archie decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.

“Excellent,” Maxie said. He understood what she meant.

“That’s good, because I wouldn’t want any’a ya to miss the big party we’re throwin’ t’night,” Archie beamed. “One last hoorah before we set foot in the cavern.”

Somewhat confused, Courtney and Tabitha nodded as politely as they could.

“Now, Maxie n’I are headin’ down to prepare for the festivities. Will y’all be comin’ with us?”

“Very kind of you, Archie… but I’m afraid we must… decline your offer. We have other… data to manage.”

Now Archie was the one doing the confused nodding. Maxie thanked them, and the two team leaders departed the ship into Pacifidlog. While the villagers bubbled with joy to see Archie, and regarded the other members of Team Magma with hospitality, Maxie knew as well as everyone else that it was strange to see the two teams interacting so closely. Even, almost, getting along.

Paper lanterns hung from rooftop to rooftop and colorful banners lined the town. The village had not only been expecting their arrival, but welcomed it.

“Very happy to see us,” Maxie remarked, noticing one of the banners with the words, WELCOME STORMBRINGERS, painted across it. Art on the banner depicted Kyogre bringing a deluge of rain down onto the map of Hoenn, while Groudon controlled volcanoes and magma that erupted into the sea—quite similar to the mural in Granite Cave, rendered in full color. “Stormbringers?” Maxie asked.

“Ah, yeah. See, there’s this legend—kinda like the Draconids have—people of the village call it the Ancient Storm. You know the myth. Kyogre n’Groudon battlin’ it out. But there was an old woman who lived a few generations back—she had a vision of Kyogre and Groudon reawakening and makin’ Hoenn again. Pacifidlog wants it t’happen ‘cause there’s this other legend of an island that appears and disappears because Kyogre and Groudon got locked in the sea before it was done bein’ made. But if they reawaken and bring back the ancient storm, we’ll be able t’find it.”

Maxie was floored. “You mean… reawaken. Like, Primal Reversion—?”

A light glowed in Archie’s eyes. “That’s right.” He laughed as he saw the awed mixture of shock and confusion written on Maxie’s face. “I know. Can you believe? It didn’t hit me at first either.”

“You mean to tell me that someone from your island generations ago predicted—Do you have any idea how useful that information would have—?” Maxie couldn’t get the words out fast enough. How could his research be lacking such a critical snapshot in culture and mythology…? What he would have paid to speakwith the woman who had seen the effects of Primal Reversion decades before it happened—!

“So,” Maxie said, refocusing himself. “I’m assuming they’re rooting for you to win?”

“What?”

“You’re from here, yes? Your goals are more closely aligned with their own?”

“Oh. No, they don’t think it’s about pickin’ sides, just like how it wasn’t about pickin’ sides when Kyogre and Groudon made the whole region,” Archie said. “We just believe destiny’ll awaken the right Pokémon. We’re equals in their eyes,” Archie smiled. And then, with another hopeful glimmer, he added, “Though, no offense Max, I do sure as fuck hope destiny thinks it’s mine.”

“So that’s why you’ve been treating me and my team so kindly these past few days?”

“Well… nah. I still think you’re a slimey son of a bitch n’your rock monster’s full of shit,” he said, a shadow in his eye giving his rival a mischievous shove. Maxie almost felt something like disappointment, but wasn’t really sure if, how, or why. Archie continued, “The world don’t need any more land than it’s already got. I did it because you asked me to. I did it ‘cause you said it was necessary, n’I agreed with you. I wanna see this thing out t’the end just as much as you do. And I stay true to my word.”

“Archie!”

Just then, a young woman approached them from the path they were walking on. As she moved closer, the boards began to sway. Maxie didn’t like how these logs moved every time you stepped. So much for dry land.

Maxie watched as Archie and the young woman exchanged a greeting. Each held their right hand over their heart and place their left hand on the shoulder of the other. They held this posture for only a moment, leaned in to touch their foreheads together, then let go. The young woman spoke up again, “It’s been so long! How have you been?”

“Y’know. Livin’ the dream.”

“It’s really gonna happen, huh?” she said. As she turned, the sight of Maxie almost startled her, but, in a knee-jerk, she brought her hand to her heart and reached out to him. Maxie jumped in surprise and at a sheer loss for if or how he was supposed to perform this tiny gesture. Seeing this, the woman stopped herself. “Oh, um, hi. I’m sorry. Um, hello, can I—?”

Maxie looked back to Archie.

“It’s no big deal Max, it’s just how we say hello.”

The young woman was already extending her hand for a handshake instead. “It’s ok if you just wanna shake hands.”

“No, it’s alright—I’ll—” Maxie tentatively placed his hand on his heart and extended his other hand, watching Archie closely for guidance.

“We don’t have to touch heads if you don’t want to.”

Maxie nodded. The young woman followed suit, and they stayed there for a moment, ending with a simple bow. She continued,

“My name is Anabel. I’m Archie’s younger cousin.”

“Pleasure to meet you. My name is—”

“You’re Dr. Maxie Matsubusa, aren’t you?”

“Why, yes,” Maxie said, pleasantly surprised she knew. It had been awhile since someone actually acknowledged that he had a PhD.

“I go to Mauville University. Studying ecology. You went to grad school there?”

“Ah. Yes.” That explained it.

“Leader of Team Magma,” she said, eyeing him up and down. He did certainly appear different than advertised. She had somehow pictured him a bit taller…?

“He’s not a lot to take, Archie. I’m sure you can handle him,” she laughed. Then she looked back to Maxie, “For serious though, we are beyond stoked to have both your teams here. We were expecting Team Aqua, but Team Magma—” she stopped again, this time just not entirely too sure what to think about all the red he was wearing.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Archie said.

“Crazy,” she agreed. The clothing was ridiculous.

“Anabel, Maxie n’I are headed over to Nonna’s. How’re preparations for the festival going?”

“Festival?” Maxie blurted out. “You said it was just a party!”

“It is. There’s a festival here the rest of the week. Well, I guess until the world changes,” Archie said, turning back to Anabel. “So how goes it?”

“We’re all good here, Archie. You don’t have to worry about anything but bringing your team.”

“Great. We’ll see you there then,” Archie said. “Alright, Max. Let’s go meet my grandma.” Maxie followed along, even though he knew he didn’t really have much of a choice. He might as well enjoy the warmth the village was extending. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Chapter Text

“You really put us admins in a tight spot, you know that punk?” Tabitha said to Isaac on the deck, where Courtney was still holding him. “There’s only two of us here, and now, instead of spending our time with Leader Maxie and preparing for our arrival at the Seafloor Cavern, we have to spend our time babysitting you.”

Isaac held his head low.

“And we… confiscated your belongings, so you really can’t leave our sight…. We’d have no way to… contact you if something were to happen….” Courtney’s statement was not forceful. It was much more quiet; almost like she was disappointed to have to say it.

“Now we’re in a bit of a predicament,” Tabitha said. “Because you see, Leader Maxie wants you to pack your things and step off right here. But we can’t exactly have you do that, because we’re already going to need everyone on board when we reach the cave. Either way, you’re getting your aid revoked, so kiss your degree and Mauville University goodbye and say hello to crippling amounts of student loan debt.”

“For ten years,” Courtney chimed in. “They have a forgiveness program now…”

“God I wish they didn’t.”

Courtney shot a snide glance to Tabitha, but said nothing else.

Tabitha continued, “So you’re lucky. For now. But what’s sure is, you’re not seeing that girl—what’s her godforsaken name again—?”

“Thea.”

“You’re not seeing Thea the rest of this trip. Hope it was worth getting the boot from the greatest organization in the world. I’m sure you two will enjoy yourselves when we finally take over.”

“So… we have some really… bad news…”

“What?” Isaac asked.

“…Protocol requires us to lock you in your cabin…”

“What?!”

“Chapter 19, paragraph 7. Emergency lockdown procedures,” Tabitha beamed. With every second he pushed Isaac further down, he floated ever upward. “So enjoy the night with us, because you won’t be seeing the sunlight again till we’re in the cave.”

“There won’t be any sunlight in the cave,” Isaac mumbled.

“What is this—?!”

“Tabitha,” Courtney said. He reigned it back.

“You’re lucky, because we’ve decided to give you your stupid little watch back,” Tabitha reached into his pocket and tossed it at him. “We’ve disabled the texting function. You can only receive alerts from Leader Maxie. And you can only respond when we give you access to do so. You’re turning it back in after this mission is complete, along with your Pokémon, and all your other things.”

“My Pokémon?!”

“Your Poochyena was given to you by Team Magma, was it not?”

“But Rainy and I have bonded so much—!”

“Aww, you gave her a nickname? Should have thought of that before you defied orders.”

“She does technically… belong to us…”

“You can’t do this! This is so—”

Tabitha leaned in closer. “You don’t have a say anymore, kid. This is protocol. And it’s clearly stated in the handbook, if you had actually bothered to read it.”

“Chapter 2… rights and ownership… Chapter 19… third-degree disciplinary action…”

“No!! Jesus Christ—!”

“Please don’t… yell…”

Isaac tried to tug away from Courtney, but Tabitha pulled him back. “Don’t do that. We’ll use force.” Isaac complied, suddenly concerned that this wasn’t already “force.”

“You’re lucky we’re even petitioning to let you stay at all,” Tabitha said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more important things to attend to with the actual members of our team.” And with that, Tabitha stomped his way off the deck. Courtney looked to Isaac.

“At least you might be out for the…. party tonight…”

Isaac sighed.

Meanwhile, just past one of the largest huts on the water, Archie and Maxie arrived at the door of a cozy-looking little cottage nestled on a small strip of dry land. Little pink and white flowers sat in a heart-shaped planter just outside, while a single vine climbed down the edge of the door. Archie knocked, and, after a moment, a sweet old lady who was just a wispy white hair over half of Archie’s size peeked out the door. Her bright eyes grew even brighter when she saw the face of her grandson.

“Oh it’s you~!”

Maxie looked on once again as Archie and his grandmother exchanged the greeting. Archie had to stoop down almost comically low to reach her forehead. She held him there longer, then pulled him in closer for a proper hug. When she released him, she took stock of the gaunt red man standing awkwardly behind them. “Oh, and who is this fine young man~?”

“Dr. Maximilian Matsubusa,” Maxie said. “Mrs—?”

“Aogiri,” she replied, already moving toward him with her hand on her heart. Maxie started in, still not as fluidly as he would have liked, and was taken aback when, instead of the courteous bow he was expecting, Archie’s grandmother pulled in closer and as if she wanted to press her forehead against his. Being polite, Maxie followed suit, and then she came in for a hug, just as she had for Archie.

“Sorry. I’m a hugger. I hope that was okay,” she said when she let go of him.

“It’s quite alright—”

“I have just heard so much about you.”

Maxie stopped. What did she mean—?

“Mostly bad things,” she said with a laugh. Ah. Of course. “But you are, just as rightfully, one of the Stormbringers. Just like my grandson. Oh, I am so proud of him.”

Archie gave an embarrassed smile.

“Oh, and look at you two! Even dressed for the part! Oh, isn’t that just darling. Just darling~! Why, it’s like you’re playing the role of the ancient Pokémon yourselves.”

Archie and Maxie looked at each other, suddenly becoming hyper-aware of their respective clothing choices. It suddenly became very awkward.

“Nonna,” Archie began. “Maxie and I need to get ready for the festival tonight. Is it alright if Maxie uses your bathroom n’stuff?”

“Why, of course! Anything for my boys. Come in, come in.”

Maxie blinked. Her boys—? But before he had time to dwell too much on that, Mrs. Aogiri was ushering them inside.

The furnishings were modest, but comfortable. It was certainly not anything that Maxie had grown accustomed to, but it reminded him something of his childhood home. A single square window with airy, cream colored curtains. A well-worn rug that appeared to have been pieced together from many different kinds of scrap. The mixture of colors and stripes and dots—reds, greens, oranges, blues—were arranged in a pattern that would seem haphazard, almost chaotic, but somehow flowed together in seamless harmony. The simple little couch with a quilted blanket. Ceramic figurines on the mantle. One particular figure—glassy, opalescent—caught Maxie’s eye amid all the others. He walked closer to examine it.

“Ah, yes. Corsola is a little bit of a town mascot, isn’t she?” Mrs. Aogiri said. “Well, bathroom is over there.”

“Thank you,” Maxie said, taking his bag into the next room.

Once Maxie had successfully groomed himself to his liking, he reemerged to discover that Archie was nowhere to be found. However, he stepped back for a second when, in Archie’s place, were Courtney and Tabitha—hunched over a board game with Archie’s grandmother. They were playing… Scrabble? Courtney was leaning inward, totally engrossed, but Tabitha looked up with an expression that made it very clear he was being held hostage. They both took notice of their leader and straightened up, giving him a quick salute from their seats.

“Oh hello dearie~ Your little friends stopped by, Mr. Matsubusa. And they are so delightful. So delightful.”

Courtney grinned. Tabitha rolled his eyes.

“Do you need anything? Coffee? Tea? I can fix you some tea…”

“That’s very kind of you but—”

It was too late. Mrs. Aogiri was already fetching the kettle. “I have some very delightful ginseng tea… and with just a little bit of honey… why it’s delightful. Just delightful.”

“Where is Archie—?” Maxie asked. It was a bit unsettling to be guests in the home of a woman he barely knew without the common denominator.

“Oh, Archie went out for a moment. Said he needed to pick up a few things. He should be back soon.”

“Oh, alright.”

There was a small beep from Courtney’s watch. She glanced down at it, carefully examining the monitor outside of Isaac’s door just in case he found a way to get out. All seemed clear. She swiped the image away and saw the notification from her mother. It was a picture of their Skitty back home in Lilycove. She had gotten into a box of her scarves. Adorable.

Mrs. Aogiri brought over a tea tray with three cups and a plate of biscuits. A reddish-looking jam was in a small dish at the center. She smiled at the intrigue written on Courtney’s face. “Pomegranate,” she said. Courtney’s eyes grew even wider.

“Oh… thank you so much—!!” Courtney squealed and snatched up a biscuit.

Team Magma sat in Mrs. Aogiri’s home, lightly chatting and enjoying their tea. Courtney and Tabitha were somewhat baffled to find themselves in a situation like this, but took their cue off Leader Maxie, who appeared strangely at ease.

Over her teacup and coveted pomegranate jam, Courtney surreptitiously analyzed Maxie’s behavior. Open voice, deeper breath, loosened neck… hand gestures that flowed organically from his speech rather than forcefully punctuated it—the way they usually did—as if he was trying to demonstrate his own syntax. This was a subtle, yet definitely perceptible shift in him. All elements pointed to one thing: was Maxie actually letting his guard down…? Dare she say it, enjoying himself? Courtney hadn’t seen him like this in years; not since the early days of Team Magma. And she had to admit, it was quite a refreshing change of pace. Almost as refreshing as this tea.

As she stared, she started to feel the ghost of something pulling down around her neck. “Analyzing…” she said, so inaudible that she herself did not even detect the words. She pressed her hand to her heart even though she knew nothing was there. It wasn’t coming into full view. Why did she feel like she should have found a necklace? Some kind of gem… radiating warmth… a single light in the darkness…

The sound of a door opening jolted her awake. She was back in Mrs. Aogiri’s living room, no longer rapt in the trance of the lilting darkness. Archie was standing on the other side of the door.

“Aye, you lot! See you’ve made yourselves right at home.”

“Everything is ready, then?” Mrs. Aogiri asked.

“Yep! All good t’go!”

“Why don’t you show these lovely folks around the village then, Archie dear? They’ve just finished their tea.”

“That really isn’t necessary—” Tabitha said, standing up, but was interrupted when Archie put his arm around him.

“Nah. My treat,” he said, pleased at any opportunity to irk Tabitha.

“Glorious…”

They thanked Mrs. Aogiri and, as Courtney snatched up the last of the biscuits for the road, they followed Archie’s lead back out onto the platforms of wood and stilts.

Members of both Team Aqua and Team Magma were milling about the little village—with Team Magma still visibly apprehensive about the central network rafts and planks, and keeping mostly to the rocks, beaches, and intermittent specks of dry land. Courtney and Tabitha made a desperate segue for the shore at the first opening they had, explaining to Maxie that they had more—business—to attend to elsewhere. The business of staying on dry land.

“I really like it here,” Courtney said, munching on another biscuit.

“Too much water,” Tabitha muttered.

“That’s… fair,” Courtney agreed. “I’d give it about a… 7.8 out of 10.”

“That’s far more generous than I would ever be.”

On the shore, a familiar gaggle of Aqua and Magma grunts conglomerated to discuss the best course of action.

“So no one’s seen Isaac since the meeting?”

“Nope,” said the Magma girl.

“He wasn’t even on deck for any of the morning duties…”

“He wasn’t?!”

“Oh they totally killed him.”

“Hush, I’m sure he’s fine.”

“They definitely committed homicide.”

“They wouldn’t do that.”

“They’re trying to awaken a super ancient super dangerous Pokémon and you’re saying they wouldn’t kill someone?”

“We revisited the handbook too,” the Magma girl said gravely, diverting attention away from her red companion.

“Oh no… what’s it say?”

“As a surprise to literally no one, he’s getting his financial aid revoked. He’s booted from Team Magma, all of his pay is halted as of the day of the infraction—”

“But this has been going on for months now!”

“Which means he might owe them back pay.”

“What?!”

“The jury’s still out on that one. We’re not sure if they’re legally allowed to do that. But I wouldn’t put it past them, honestly. They jump through more loopholes than an aerial circus.” A few of them laughed.

“If he did… we approximated he’d owe Team Magma over 1,000,000 pkd.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Eight months of pay at over minimum wage.”

“The thing is though… this handbook is massive. There’s a ton of tiny shit everywhere they could ding him for too if they wanted to be really nasty.”

“We just have no idea how nasty they feel like being.”

“Considering the enormous stick Maxie keeps up his ass, they’re probably not in the mood to be very forgiving.”

“Man sometimes I wish Courtney was running Team Magma…”

Thea went very silent as there was a lull in the conversation. Then, she spoke up. “Well. We’ll sort that out when we get to it. But how can we find out if he’s even still here?”

“We’re not sure. None of our phones can reach him.”

“Oh that’s bad…”

“He’s probably just on lockdown,” the Magma girl said. “Which means, theoretically, he’s still somewhere on the ship.”

“Should we go looking for him, then?”

They briefly scanned the area, catching no sign of Courtney or Tabitha, before they agreed to do so and made their way back up to the ship. Shelly, who was sitting on the pier, caught them on their way up.

“Hey,” she said. “Where’re you all going in such a hurry?”

“Oh. We um—” Team Magma stammered. Should they tattle?

“We’re looking for Isaac,” Thea said before the Magmas had time to confer. “He’s gone…”

“What do you mean ‘he’s gone—?’”

“He violated some pretty important code of Team Magma—primarily by going out with her…” the Magma girl indicated Thea. She couldn’t even believe this was coming out of her mouth, but it was too late now. She was probably already in trouble by proxy. “And we’re almost certain he’s being punished and held somewhere on the ship.”

“Punished?” Shelly said. “On our ship?! Behind Archie’s back?”

The group nodded. “Team Magma Code of Conduct.”

Shelly’s throat burned hot with fury. She knew Team Magma had been holding some kind of secret meetings in the mornings—that only made sense given Maxie was always waking up at the ass-crack of dawn. Those kind of little things were to be expected from the asshole. But this. That he would be so bold as to request passage on their ship, after spending years fighting them, spitting in their face, and slandering them in the local papers. Brazen enough to demand he be treated like an equal, and then arrogant enough to bypass Archie’s own authority every step of the way. Even though Team Aqua, upon Archie’s instruction, had done everything in their power to welcome Team Magma aboard, even past their own objections. To take such shameless advantage of Archie’s good faith while giving nothing but the middle finger to Archie and his entire crew, who were already bending over backwards for him when they owed absolutely nothing to the prick in the first place…

This had to stop. Now.

Shelly stood up, rather abruptly. She narrowed her gaze and put on her admin face. “Go see if you can find Isaac. But don’t worry about the rest. I’ll handle this,” she said. She already knew how to destroy him. She had known from the very beginning.

Chapter Text

Archie and Maxie stood on a different pier, looking out over the shallow currents. A few young villagers played in the choppy waters, swimming through them like it was nothing at all.

“And that,” Archie said, pointing to them, “is how I became such a strong swimmer.”

“I thought you grew up in Dewford.”

“Yeah. My dad was a sailor who lived there. But our roots are on this island. We’d visit my grandma and our cousins all the time. Come here for holidays n’stuff. It’s not the worst ride in the world. ”

Not the worst ride in the world, Maxie scoffed.

“C’mere, lemme show’ya somethin’.”

Without warning, Archie leapt off the pier. It wasn’t a far drop, but it startled Maxie, who was assuming Archie didn’t really want him to “come here” to whatever accursed thing it was that he wanted to show him. Maxie was not about to get in that water nope, no thank you.

After a moment or two, Archie’s head surfaced from under the waves. He held something up for Maxie to see. It looked like some kind of seashell—?

“This is from a Corsola. This whole village, it’s built on a colony of ‘em. When they die their shells pile up n’make these neat lil’ formations you can swim through and whole islands to build buildings on—”

“That’s horrifying.”

“The water’s so clean here, we’re one of the only places left in Hoenn they can survive. They need pure water ‘cause they filter it through their bodies—”

“Are you trying to guilt me into stopping again—?”

“Christ no Maxie just look at the coral,” Archie said. Maxie took it from him and examined it, trying to act interested as he possibly could. “Hold it up to the light.”

Per Archie’s instruction, Maxie held the coral up to the sun. To his surprise, it reflected the light in a rainbow, pastel sheen of colors. Somewhat of a pinkish, glassy, mother-of-pearl.

“They’re supposedly lucky. Not all of ‘em reflect like that. My cousins n’I would spend hours scourin’ the seas for these bad boys.”

“And you just leapt in and got one?”

“I got really good at finding ‘em.”

And with that, he was back in the sea. Maxie sat on the pier, careful to make sure his feet didn’t dangle into the water—these were custom shoes—as he continued to turn the coral in his hands. After a few more moments, movement on the surface revealed not Archie, but the round, pink head of a living Corsola.

“Cor—corsola!” the Pokémon beamed.

“Oh—hi there—” Maxie shrunk back. He felt cornered and awkward alone with the Water-type Pokémon. Especially while holding the butchered remains of one its long-dead relatives. “Is this… yours—?”

“Cor—?”

“Oh dear.”

Where was Archie? The Corsola continued to stare eagerly at him, like it wanted something. Maxie panicked. “Uh… do you—? Here,” he said, tossing the coral back into the sea. He refused to have blood on his hands.

Just then, Archie’s face reappeared in the water. He surfaced, cackling. “Why, I see you’ve made a friend! How’ya doin’ little girl” he said, tickling the Corsola. Then he stopped to look around, realizing something was amiss. “Why’d you throw that back in the ocean?”

“I thought she was threatening me.”

Archie let out a bellowing laugh. Maxie was unamused. Archie then made his way over to join the children playing in the currents. Maxie glanced around. Where were their parents? Lifeguards? Who just let them—? He looked on as they tossed and splashed about—some of them using Archie as a human jungle gym. He was picking them up and throwing them back in the water. They were swimming up and trying to tackle him. Maxie shook his head. This whole thing looked like one enormous liability.

It made sense though, he thought. As he watched Archie leap and dive almost as naturally as a water Pokémon himself, he could finally see Archie in his true element. The diving suit suddenly appeared quite fitting. It was no longer just, as Maxie had always assumed, a weird part of the pirate gimmick. Or some backwards way to gloat, to show off his muscles. Not that Maxie also wasn’t positively certain Archie was using the suit to show off. He absolutely was. How could he not be when he looked like that—?

Maxie looked out to the water, to the beach, and to the village, and wondered how the island would change when Groudon lowered the sea. He tried to picture how the huts would appear on bare stilts upon dry land. They’d seem rather gangly and awkward, wouldn’t they? Though, at least with Groudon, they’d still be standing. The village was almost sunken as it was. With the relentless flooding Kyogre would bring, there was no way it would survive. And how could they celebrate—hold an entire festival, even—to commemorate such an apocalyptic event? Perhaps, for their sake, he had better be successful.

“Archie!” Anabel came running out to the pier. “It’s almost time! You gotta get ready!”

“Just five more minutes!”

“No! Don’t keep your boyfriend waiting!”

Maxie flinched. “Excuse me?!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Anabel called out again. “NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND. NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND.”

“That was incredibly rude.”

She laughed. “I was only joking. I know you two are like, worst enemies or something.”

“Rivals, yes. Our goals are strictly opposed—”

“So why were you just sitting here then?”

Maxie stopped. Why had he just been sitting here? It was quite uncharacteristic of him. Only just a few days ago, he would have jumped at every opportunity to get away from Archie. With his enemy so easily distracted by the waves, this would have been the perfect escape. So why was he still here?

Archie was now approaching them from the water.

“Checking him out?” Anabel asked.

“You had better stop. I know all your professors.”

“That’s fair.” There was a pause, and, just before Archie was within hearing reach, she added, “He’s showing off for you, you know.”

“Wha—”

“Hey losers,” Archie said, ruffling his hair with his bandana to dry.

“Glad you decided to grace us landlubbers with your presence,” Anabel said. Archie pushed her. “The festival’s kicking off in an hour. You better get ready.”

“Alright, alright.” He turned to Maxie, “Is there anything’ya need from the ship?”

“What—?”

“Y’know like—I dunno. Hair gel? Party clothes? Any’a that shit you spend all your time groomin’ with?”

“I hadn’t anticipated that I would be attending any sort of formal gathering when I packed for this journey,” Maxie said, at least thankful that he regularly dressed as nicely as he did. Always better to be overdressed than under. Archie was almost chronically the latter.

“Oh it’s not formal. I just figured you’d wanna look nice. Or, y’know, nicer than’ya usually do. You always look nice…” Archie’s voice trailed off. Shit. This was awkward.

“Oh… thank you?”

Anabel giggled and raised her eyebrows at him. Maxie shot her a look. She was being facetious.

“Well, let’s go back to Nonna’s. I’ve got some stuff there.”

“I’ll meet you at the party, then.”

“Oh,” Archie said. Did he sound disappointed?

Maxie checked his watch. There was an unread message from Tabitha. “There are a few things I should probably attend to.”

“Okay,” Archie said. “I’ll come get you. I know you hate these dang logs n’you hardly know where you’re goin’.”

“It’s that big one with all the lights over there, isn’t it?”

“I’ll come get you,” Archie said again. “Go handle your shit. I’ll get ready.” He stormed off. Maxie looked to Anabel. She mouthed, “I told you” and drew a little heart in the air.

“If you do not cease this instant I will personally see to it that every professor at Mauville fails you.”

“Why? Does it bother you because it’s true?”

“Anabel. This is no way to speak to—”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” she said and threw her hands in the air. “I’ll see you tonight, Romeo.”

Maxie sighed. Archie—and apparently his entire family—were impossible. At least now he knew where he got it from.

Maxie returned to the ship, being extra careful to hold his balance as he crossed the wooden pathways. The logs were tied together with rope and, while sturdy enough to support a human being, demanded a fair level of expertise to navigate. A shifting balance with which he had grown hopelessly unfamiliar. Considering that there was only some rope and a few planks to separate him from an embarrassing tumble down into the water, there was little room for error. Maxie sucked in his breath and prayed there was something left of all those days he used to spend imitating Spinda as a child.

He found himself oddly relieved when he arrived at the ship; more relieved than he had ever envisioned himself being when approaching a sea vessel. But, compared to the flimsy array of swaying logs he had just done battle with, the ship felt almost as stable as dry land. Courtney and Tabitha were waiting for him on the deck.

“Where is he?”

“In his cabin,” Tabitha said.

“We put him on… lockdown, as protocol dictates.”

“Excellent. Then what is it you needed to convene with me about?”

“Leader Maxie, sir, as I am sure you are already aware, we need everyone on our team pulling their full weight once we reach the cavern,” Tabitha said. “It is of utmost importance that every job is accounted for. We already had to cut positions due the—transportation issues.”

“When Captain Stern learned enough to dismantle the parts due to your negligence, yes.”

Tabitha looked like he had just been slapped in the face with Maxie’s words. Mostly because he had. He should have known better than to think Maxie still wasn’t holding that against him.

“Like I have said, Leader Maxie, I am deeply sorry and—“

“It’s not important. It’s done. It’s over.”

But Tabitha knew it was very far from unimportant, even farther from done, and would never be over. Maxie was slow to forgive, and would never, ever forget.

At this point, Courtney stepped in to steer the conversation away from any further danger. Maxie looked as if he was sharpening his blade.

“What we mean to say, Leader Maxie, is that we are… concerned that sacrificing any more team members may… hinder our chances of success. We will be directly facing off against Team Aqua, after all….”

“Losing any more members may jeopardize our lead.”

“Losing members? We already lost him. Eight months ago when he decided to prioritize his own emotions over our team. And his future.”

“So you really want us to leave him here then?”

“Yes. I meant what I said. Didn’t you read my message?” Maxie asked Tabitha. “We can’t risk having him here. We can’t even trust he’d remain allegiant to us when we reach the cave. We can hardly say he has been allegiant to us at all.”

“That’s fair.”

“He is a security hazard and has been to our entire organization. I refuse to run the risk of keeping him here any longer. He is no longer a member of this team. Effective immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Show me to his cabin. We’ll collect his things.”

Courtney and Tabitha led Maxie down to cabin 146. While Isaac felt a quick jolt of hope when he heard Courtney’s security lock unlatch, his face turned pale when he saw his fearsome leader on the other side of the door. Out of habit, he saluted.

“Leader Maxie sir.”

“No need to address me as such I’m not your leader anymore.”

“Oh…”

“We’re here to collect your things. Turn in your watch. We’ve already confiscated your phone. You’ll also need to turn in your uniform and your sanctioned Pokémon to us.”

Even though he knew it was coming, Isaac’s heart sank. “My Pokémon…?”

“You read the rules, you know them. It’s clearly stated in Chapter 19. You would also know that those who leave Team Magma in good standing are permitted to keep their Pokémon. However, as I am sure you are aware, this little snafu puts you in very, very, very, abjectly poor standing.”

“I can’t petition to keep them at all?”

Maxie almost laughed. Almost. “Oh absolutely not.”

Isaac frowned. Tabitha grinned. “Them’s the rules, kid.”

With nothing left to lose, Isaac found himself ignited with a new spark of passion. A righteous sort of anger over how people who acted so upstanding could do something as wretched as this. “This is cruel! You have to know how people bond with their Pokémon—you can’t do this!“

“We can, and they’re ours,” Tabitha said.

“You had better watch what you say or we won’t even arrange for your ride back home,” Maxie said, gesturing to Courtney. She held out a sleek black case with the Team Magma “M” on it. Inside were six round slots to fit Pokéballs.

“Show us your Pokémon.”

Isaac reached into his bag and retrieved his Pokéballs. Three were a deep black, emblazoned with the red “M” to match the case. Two were the usual red and white.

“Tabitha, check the bag.”

Tabitha searched his bag and found no hidden Pokéballs. Courtney and Tabitha collected Team Magma’s, but when they reached for the last one, Isaac blurted out, “Wait!”

The three Magma leaders stared at him. All the confidence in the young man suddenly wavered.

“Can… can I at least say goodbye to her?”

Maxie paused. Courtney and Tabitha looked to him for an answer. He supposed it was the nicer thing to do in a situation where, otherwise, no niceties could be found. “Go on.”

Isaac let his Poochyena out of her Pokéball. She looked on at him, eagerly wagging her tail. He rubbed her head and she sneezed a little bit, grabbing at her snout with her front paws. Isaac thought he wouldn’t get this emotional, but when she started to nudge at him, jumping up at his chest to lick his face, he lost control. He gripped her tighter and trembled there, while she continued licking and wiggling like it was just another day to play. She was so young, she had no idea what was going on.

The three Magma leaders looked on solemnly. They would be lying if they said it was not difficult to hold their composure—and to even feel the slightest pang of guilt as they saw Isaac wither—but it was their duty to remain unattached. They had never had to do this before. But, she was ultimately their property, not his, and Maxie hardly thought Isaac had a right to keep her anymore. The rules were clearly written. They were only enforcing them.

When Isaac let his Poochyena go, she stopped and noticed the change in him. She tilted her head and whimpered, curiously, as one of her ears flopped to the side. Before the moment could go on too much longer—it was getting more difficult the more time passed—Isaac quietly said, “Goodbye, Rainy… I love you,” and returned her to her Pokéball. He rolled the ball aside and put his face in his hands. Courtney reached down to pick it up. No one said a word.

At this point, Maxie reached into his pocket and retrieved his own Pokéball, which he handed to Tabitha.

“Take this and carry him back home. Return it to me later this evening.”

Isaac thought it was strange to witness his boss—whom he never saw with his own Pokémon—making use of them now. Being reminded that Maxie did, in fact, have a Pokémon team like everyone else suddenly made these actions seem even colder. Very quickly, Isaac was beginning to sympathize with Team Aqua. Archie was a crook, sure, and had a completely backwards dream for the world, but he was nowhere near as cold, calculated, and impersonal as his red counterpart. That, at least, Team Aqua had gotten very, very right.

As Courtney collected Isaac’s uniform, Tabitha led him out the door and up to the deck. Maxie stopped them before they made their departure.

“I wish things could have been different. I really do,” he said to Isaac. “Reviewing your file, you seemed to demonstrate a fair amount of promise in your field. But you took an oath when you joined this team, and that oath was to uphold the virtues of Team Magma. Not only did you violate this oath, but you committed several egregious offenses that simply cannot be pardoned. You’ll receive your final paycheck in a week. Expect a formal notice in the mail regarding the revocation of your aid. Hope you’ve learned something here today. Farewell.”

And with that, Tabitha and Isaac went off. Courtney and Maxie watched on the deck as the two departed on Maxie’s Flygon. Once they had disappeared as a tiny speck in the clouds, Courtney turned to him and said,

“I don’t like that we had to do that…”

“It wasn’t the kind thing to do, no,” Maxie replied. “But the world is not run on kindness. It is run by rules, and by authority. As leaders, we owe it to our team to abide by our word. It is hardly about our own feelings.”

“I… suppose.”

“It’s the only way to remain as fair as possible. I hope, at least, the example has been made and the rest of our team now understands just how seriously we do take our code of conduct.”

“At least there’s a party…”

Maxie sighed. “Oh wondrous. At least.”

“After this mission is over, you’ll be less… stressed, right….?”

Maxie stopped, puzzled by her words. They seemed to come out of nowhere. “What do you mean by that? Of course—”

Courtney examined him, feeling her eyes begin to glaze over once more. “Sensors indicate that…” This time, she was able to reel herself back. “You’ve got a lot on your plate. Nevermind.”

“What—?”

“Nothing,” she said. “We should… enjoy ourselves tonight, Maxie. We have worked very… hard… it will take our minds off of everything. Maybe build rapport… after such… tumultuous events…”

“I suppose you’re right.”

She continued to feel the pull and shook it off to be polite. However, she felt the need to acknowledge that she had at least felt something. “Don’t let the stress… get to you. You need to relax…”

“I havent—”

“You know what it’s done to you in the past.”

Oh.

They both looked at each other. Maxie blinked, double-checking that she actually said what he thought she did.

“Oh no,” Courtney said. “I am… I’m sorry, Leader Maxie—I… I didn’t—mean—”

Maxie sighed. “No, no, it’s alright.” There was another pause. “You aren’t incorrect.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That was a long time ago. That is far past.” Another pause. “It got me through my degree, at least.”

“That’s… fair.”

“But, you’re right, Courtney,” Maxie said, looking out over the ocean and to the busy little village on the water. “Perhaps there may be a little bit of something here to enjoy.”

Chapter Text

Maxie checked his appearance once more in the pitiful excuse for a piece of glass that Archie called a mirror. He hoped that whatever was in store for them at the festival didn’t involve being in front of other people for too long. But, he had a sneaking suspicion that it would be quite the opposite. Courtney made her way step by meticulous step around the room, taking careful stock of the motley assortment of debris on Archie’s floor. Maxie’s things were mostly confined to the bookshelf and desk. But Archie had… trash… everywhere.

“Archie never… throws anything away, does he…?” Courtney asked, noting a torn page from the Hoenn Gazette that laid at her feet. Team Magma’s image was in black and white; Team Aqua could be seen making a getaway in the background.

“Doesn’t appear so.”

“It’s like he’s trying to… hold on to something…”

Maxie turned to her. Courtney stared back at him. Maxie’s eyes begged a question he couldn’t quite articulate, but her expression was nearly blank. Almost entirely vacant. After this exchange progressed—and the two of them had sufficiently endured a much longer silence than was probably necessary—Maxie shrugged, conceded, and went back to pretending to be busy. Courtney did this sometimes. Her observations often came out of nowhere, but were just as often eerily correct.

“I don’t know why we’re just sitting here wasting time—” Maxie said.

“Archie said he would… come get us.”

“This is pointless. We should just go. Or not go at all. Makes no difference to me. I didn’t even ask to go to this—”

“Maybe there’s something he’s getting.. I’m… sure there’s a reason for it.”

“It’s all quite silly. I feel like a child. Forget this, we should just go—”

Maxie started heading for the door. With all the fluttering about he was doing, it was no wonder he felt like a child. Courtney chased after him. “Maxie—”

Just then, the door to Archie’s cabin opened, almost hitting Maxie in the face. Maxie jumped. He and Archie were suddenly in very close proximity to one another. But as he withdrew, a small gust of wind brushed between them and he thought he smelled—something? Something that wasn’t horrible—?

“Oh hello—Archie—”

Maxie froze when he took the first full look at him. It had been years since they had encountered each other in anything but their respective team attire. While Maxie was in his usual red jacket, Archie had ditched the bandana and his diving suit for a black v-neck and a nice pair of black pants. Both admittedly quite tailored. The scent lingered in the air. It was warm, earthy. It took Maxie another few moments to put it together, but when he finally did, he choked up his disbelief long enough to blurt out,

“Are you wearing cologne?”

Archie let out a laugh. “What? So shocked I can actually clean up nice?”

Maxie blinked again. He felt his eyes gaping like two creatures taken by surprise. “No—I’m sorry. You just—You caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting—” What was that?

Courtney alternated her gaze between them, content to watch the next few moments unfold. Maxie continued to gawk. It wasn’t subtle.

“You good there?”

“Yes. Sorry. It’s just—uncharacteristic.”

“To you, maybe,” Archie said. “But I think you n’I have discovered that we see very little of each other outside this cozy little rivalry of ours.”

Little.

Cozy.

Archie shrugged. “It’s somethin’ I was hopin’ to change a little bit.”

There were a few more moments of silence. Thoughts could have been exchanged between them, but none were distinguishable from one another. After a beat or two, Archie broke the intensity of Maxie’s stare by saying, “Ready t’go then?”

Maxie, shaken back to earth and realizing just how foolish he must have appeared, glanced hastily around the room as if he had anything there that would beg forgetting. “Yes—yes—” Neither of the words felt like complete thoughts.

“Where’s Tabs?”

“He’ll be around—”

“He… had some other business to attend to first,” Courtney said. Maxie wondered why she hadn’t done anything to alleviate the debilitating silence of only a few moments prior. The way she usually did. “He will be joining us later…”

“Shame. He’ll miss out on the first bit of the fun.”

Oh dear.

Maxie followed Archie back out onto the deck and off the ship, Courtney trailing closely behind. Something about Maxie was different. The tone of his voice—his word choice, less formal. More relaxed. That was a good sign. But, Courtney pondered how there appeared now to be a different kind of tension in him…

The trio wove through the maze of rope and logs before they arrived at the colorfully decorated lodge. Wreaths of flowers and berries hung from the roof and doors, accompanied by small paper lanterns and another banner depicting Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Origami Pokémon were stranded like curtains on either side of the door. Anabel and another young woman were waiting for them.

“Greetings, welcome.”

The two women placed strings of beads and flowers around each of their necks. Courtney’s eyes lit up, thrilled to have received pink. Maxie again tried to appreciate it to the best of his ability, but felt totally, absolutely, and utterly out of place. Was there a proper way to do this—?

The inside of the hall was even more lavishly decorated than the out. There were large round tables spread with white tablecloths and centerpieces crafted out of fruits and berries. Colorful string lights hung from the rafters, dotting the ceiling in reds, blues, pinks, and yellows. A swath of people had already gathered to mingle inside, including many members from Team Aqua and Team Magma. While no one outwardly acknowledged it, it was clear there was a shift in energy when Archie and Maxie entered the room. Maxie was pleased to find that this ceiling, at least, was much higher than that of a storage hold.

Archie led Courtney and Maxie to a long table where seven seats were arranged, as if to preside over the others. An older man, with Archie’s general height and build, greeted them at the table.

“Hello hello,” he said, taking in the three of them, especially the two leaders. “It has certainly been a while.” Then he turned to Maxie and said, “And I have heard many things about you, sir.”

Oh good. The second time he was hearing this today. “Bad things, I presume?”

The man looked at him quizzically. “Just that you have proven to be a formidable opponent for our Archie. You, I have heard, are quite the force.”

Maxie glanced down, oddly flattered. He had never heard himself, or Team Magma as a whole, referred to as a “force.” He had to admit, it gave him a small sense of pride. Archie grinned.

“Max, this is Mr. Kinagi. He’s been the leader of this village for—well—longer than I been alive.”

Maxie gave a small bow. “Dr. Maximilian Matsubusa. Pleasure to meet you.”

Mr. Kinagi extended his hand to him. “May I?”

“Of course.”

Mr. Kinagi’s touch was similar to Mrs. Aogiri’s. It lingered. There was something in it that held this deeper sense of knowing; this ability to transgress a barrier Maxie didn’t fully realize he had up.

“Well, make yourself comfortable. We saved’ya a seat,” Archie said. He pulled out a chair next to his own, which was just to the right of center, where Mr. Kinagi sat. Maxie looked to the table and noticed the array of refreshments that were already set out for them. A model of both Groudon and Kyogre made out of fruit, an arrangement of nice looking bottles… Maxie stopped when he saw the one not far from his own seat. Pinot noir.

Archie noticed where Maxie’s eyes had landed. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure what all you’d like, so I figured—well, I knew one for sure.” He gave an awkward laugh. It wasn’t the cheap kind, either.

“Dr. Matsubusa,” Mr. Kinagi said. “We were planning on having a bit of a recognition ceremony before the festivities began. We would love it if you would be willing to participate.”

“Yes, that’s quite alright with me.”

Mr. Kinagi smiled. “Great. Because we already got your gift.”

“Oh—“

“Hey, Maxie, check this out,” Archie indicated a plate of dark-colored cookies on the table. He dug his fork into one, and molten chocolate came spilling out. “Lava cookies.” He laughed. “Thought you’d enjoy that.”

“Oh you’re hilarious.” The words, while sarcastic, were nowhere near as biting as they had been in the past. Archie took that as a minor success.

It wasn’t long before Matt and Shelly found their places at the table. That left one spot next to Matt for Tabitha, who would, of course, be arriving late. Courtney had already started nibbling her way through the strawberry Groudon—hoping she wouldn’t dismantle him entirely. But, by her calculations, continuing at this rate, there were already one too many toothpicks on her plate. Once more guests had filed in, and it appeared everyone was starting to settle, Mr. Kinagi stood and rang a small bell to get everyone’s attention. He began to speak.

“What a pleasure to see so many of you here,” he said. “Today is a truly historic day in our community. And we are honored to have distinguished guests from not one, but two opposing parties. Whatever must have possessed the legendary Team Magma to make this voyage all the way here on the water?”

There were a few laughs. Some members of Team Magma rolled their eyes, but most took it in stride.

“In all seriousness, Team Magma, Team Aqua, we are delighted to host the both of you here. As many of you know, Archie Aogiri is a member of our community—” Archie gave a small wave, “—and our bonds know not time nor distance. That is why we are pleased to welcome Team Magma aboard as honorary members of our village tonight.” There were a few claps. This all was starting to sound vaguely familiar…

“But, most of all, none of us would be here if it were not for two very important men. With two very different, but equally noble visions for our world. And Team Magma, Team Aqua, all of you have been there in some capacity to help them achieve it. You have dedicated your lives to the service of our planet, whether by land or by sea, and the fruits of that labor will all be coming to harvest in the next few days.”

Maxie nodded, surveying the ranks of his team dotted throughout the hall. It’s what he’d been saying for years now. Though, it was quite odd to hear someone else saying it. Even to have someone saying such things about him in his own presence.

“The awakening of Groudon and Kyogre. Rulers of land and sea. Two ancient, primordial Pokémon that shaped our very way of life. And then went into a slumber, much in the way the tide recedes back from the shore. But, like the tide, they too will rise, and the cycle will begin again. It is our history. It is the mystery of life. These two men—in some way or another—have been called to reawaken that legendary storm. They wish to shape our world today in the very way these ancient Pokémon shaped it all those years ago.”

Maxie had never quite thought about it like that. He and his rival were in a battle to reshape the world, weren’t they? He had been sparring with Archie in the very same way; wielding the very same weapons that Groudon and Kyogre had wielded at the beginning of time.

“We, of course, have our own share of legends about the land. In fact, we have a man who stands by his window each and every day waiting for the Mirage Island to appear. Where’ya at, Darryl?”

An older gentleman gave an enormous wave from his seat. More laughter from the crowd. “You crazy old bum,” Mr. Kinagi said. “But, he does have a point. He sits there and waits all day for a similar reason that these two men have traversed the globe on a quest to summon these Pokémon. This island—Mirage Island—and the region of Hoenn by extension—represent a hope and a history. And our legends, our history, tell us that when these great Pokémon reawaken, the fabled island will appear to us.”

“Many would say that there is a right and a wrong in this conflict. That there must be a winner and a loser. But not in a conflict as timeless as this. One may best the other, or neither, or both may rise the victor. No matter the outcome, it is about the creative life force that is born from within that exchange. For land and sea, water and fire, may appear to the undiscerning eye to be opposing forces. But the truth of the matter is that these things work in tandem to create a balance. A perfect kind of harmony—a cosmic duality—an ancient, primordial dance that helps our very way of life to exist. For our world is made up of paradoxes and mysteries. Matrices and contradictions. Light and dark, night and day, land and sea. One cannot exist without the complement of the other.”

Archie nudged Maxie. “Hey. That sounds familiar—”

“Hush.” Was Maxie actually interested in what the man had to say…?

Mr. Kinagi turned to them. “So with this in mind—as the descendants and keepers of this ancient mystery that you are—we would like to present each of you with a small token of our appreciation. They aren’t much, but hopefully they act as reminders of the important role each of you play as opposing forces in the world, and, on a much larger scale, in the greater balance of the universe. You two are representatives of something much greater than yourselves, only a small fraction of which is reflected in these Pokémon.”

He first nodded for Archie and Maxie to rise, then gestured for a man sitting near their table. The man procured a small wooden box and handed it to Mr. Kinagi. Mr. Kinagi then turned to Maxie, asking him to come forward. Maxie complied, somewhat bashfully, although his posture would never let it on. If anything in his thirty-two years of living, he had learned how to appear composed even at his most vulnerable. Mr. Kinagi took a small brooch from the box. It was a glass bead fashioned vaguely in the shape of the landmass of Hoenn. It swirled with different shades of greens and reds and browns—warm, earthen colors. There was even a smaller red bead fashioned within it that appeared to be Mt. Chimney.

“Maxie. Magma. Protector of fire, earth, land, and soil. Rigid. Slow. Sturdy, practical. Yet thunderous and deep. Dormant, blazing. Possessing within it a volatile fire that lies beneath the surface, holding it close to the heart, buried, concealed. When the time is right, the earth quakes, mountains tremble, and thunder booms not from the sky, but from below our very feet. It expands. Ignites the landscape, leaving no wake, destroying all that once was, and cutting back all that is no longer of use. Whether the tiniest grain of sand or the highest peak, the land’s power comes from its sturdiness, its immobility. It stands tall against the elements, provides us with stable footing, and nurtures the very food we eat. We hope that you accept this token of your nature, of earth and of fire. Of patience, dignity, structure, intensity, and hidden power.”

He pinned the brooch on Maxie’s jacket, just next to the “M” on the lapel. As Team Magma led the crowd in a courteous—but nonetheless genuine—round of applause, Mr. Kinagi gestured to Archie, who approached in the same way Maxie had. Mr. Kinagi retrieved the second pin—a deep, sapphire blue dotted with the small islands that populated Hoenn. A porous, glass bead made to look like Sootopolis City was perhaps its largest feature.

“Archie. Aqua. Defender of water, rain, rivers, and the sea. Quick, flowing, mutable, effervescent. Waking, bellowing. Constantly mobile, quick to strike, holding nothing back as the waves stir themselves higher and higher, storms whipping through the air at sea. Whether a relentless downpour or a gentle rain, the ocean’s power comes from its ability to change. To see depths. To be shaken and moved by the winds, to ebb and flow with the forces it encounters. And yet, just as easily as it is shaken, it shapes. It crashes on relentlessly against the shore, bending to no one’s will, molding canyons and rivers in the landscape for more things to travel and grow. We hope that you accept this token of your nature, of wind and sea. Of sureness, ferocity, adaptability, and raging, unabashed spirit.”

While Mr. Kinagi pinned the brooch on Archie, Team Aqua erupted into a thunderous bellow. Howls, whistles, cheers—the kind of applause you might hear at a sports game, or a Pokémon tournament. Everything that seemed almost jarring in direct contrast to the fervent golf clap Maxie received only moments ago. Perhaps even more of a testament to the contrasting nature of their two forces. Once the applause had died down, Maxie and Archie headed back over to their seats, but Archie remained standing.

“If’ya don’t mind, before we chow down, I’d like t’say a few words.”

“Of course.”

Archie thanked him and took a moment to assess the crowd. He made eye contact with several members of his team, and a smile spread up from his heart, making him look very much like a proud father. Team Aqua was, after all, part of his family, and this was his own family’s first home.

“I just want everyone t’take a good look at themselves, and take a good look around. Soak it all up. This is a really rare moment, one I definit’ly never imagined we’d see. Think of how far we’ve come—all the work both of us have put into this. Yeah, we’ve fought. We’ve had some bad words n’our fair share of black eyes exchanged. But here, for these last few days, we’ve all been able t’live and work together in harmony. I think that’s a pretty great accomplishment, and y’all should be damn proud of yourselves. It’s been an honor to have Team Magma aboard my ship, and I gotta admit, it’s gonna be kinda hard to kick you fuckers t’the ground when we finally do hit the cave,” he laughed. A few others in Team Aqua laughed as well. Team Magma was definitely not laughing.

“But when all is said and done, I hope we can appreciate the journey we’ve had, whether good or bad, or if it all comes to bust. Because like Mr. Kinagi said, in some strange way, Team Magma, we couldnt’ve done it without’ya. You helped make Team Aqua a proper team by givin’ us somebody to fight against. So raise your glass, and let’s toast to the times we’ve had, mates. T’the families we’ve built. Whether good, or bad, or somewhere in-between. Let’s celebrate our bitter rivalry, our little game of tug-of-war. And know that, once this thing’s all over, you can consider your second home here in Team Aqua. And when we finally hit land, well, may the best man win.”

“Here here,” Shelly said, taking her cue to lead the rest of them in the toast.

“Max, d’ya wanna say anything?”

Maxie looked at Archie in surprise, but instinctively rose. “Oh, um, alright.” For all the public speaking he did, he was still, admittedly, not very good at giving a speech on the fly. “Team Magma… you have worked tirelessly for years to achieve this goal. A dream that originated as a seed in my head many, many years ago. You have been the fulfillment of my life’s work. I hope that you understand how deeply I do truly recognize and appreciate you, and I can never express to you enough my sincerest gratitude for your service. I hope that after the unraveling of the next few days’ events, you will continue to consider Team Magma part of your history and your home.”

He paused, realizing he probably needed to say something nice about Team Aqua as well. Although he hesitated, he tried to make the transition as seamless as possible. “Team Aqua—you have—provided quite the opponent for our organization to campaign against. As Archie said, it, at the very least, helped to hold us accountable, and to strive even harder to perform at our fullest potential each and every day. You have consistently proven, if anything else, fierce, passionate, and hardworking. And for that, in the event that Team Magma does succeed in our plans for the coming days, I would be open to accepting your applications.”

A few brief moments passed in silence. As even more baffled looks were passed between Team Aqua, Courtney raised her glass and said,

“…Cheers!!”

“Thank you Courtney,” Maxie said, tapping his glass to hers. Why did these kinds of things never go as planned?

Chapter Text

The evening was now in full swing. While some had finished their plates and were now up and roaming about—dancing, singing, mixing in with other tables—others continued to enjoy the lavish array of food and drink. Anabel and a few other townspeople—dressed up in colorful, richly patterned festival clothes—circulated the hall passing out treats and filling up glasses to ensure there wasn’t a single moment when anyone was without food.

The same band of Team Aqua members had pulled out their instruments, now accompanied by an even larger gang of town musicians. The warm and spiraling notes of a fiddle wove around the lighter, airier tones of the wind instruments, accentuated by the percussive clangor of not only drums and tambourine, but the bell-like rattle of glasses, plates, and silverware. In the meantime, Tabitha had slipped in, largely unnoticed, and was not too keen on all the singing. Or the on the fact that Matt was already chatting him up.

Across the room, Thea and her new friends sat miserably at their table, their discontent concealed by the merry-making all around them. They tried to eat, but their emotional cocktail of sadness, defeat, frustration, and anger made it impossible to focus on anything else.

“This fucking sucks,” the male Magma said eventually.

“There’s nothing we could do.”

“Yeah but this is bullshit!” the Magma boy was surprisingly impassioned for an event that only tangentially involved him. “Archie and Maxie are gonna sit here fucking celebrating and acting like the rest of us are supposed to be happy when they know damn well Maxie just kicked someone off the ship!”

“Oh I promise Archie had nothing to do with it.”

“That makes it fucking worse.”

The female Magma could only sort of nod in agreement. It wasn’t admirable behavior, she had to admit, but behavior that was nonetheless quite on-brand for their iron-fisted ruler.

“After this week, after I get out of school, I’m fucking done. Fuck this organization. Maxie’s a fucking snake. He’s helping pay for my college but hot damn I can’t take this anymore.”

“It wasn’t that bad until this week.”

“Yeah and then we all had to interact with him.”

The female Magma stopped, having really nothing of use to say. She was sure there were some redeemable qualities in the man. After all, they had joined Team Magma for some reason or another, and Maxie was a high-profile member of society. Even if they had to hold their noses and bite their tongues, staying on his good side could mean good things down the road. He had money. And connections. Not to mention a good chunk of their college tuition covered.

“I mean… I’m not saying it’s not all completely unfair. It is. But it is technically all in the handbook…”

“His 300-page manifesto—“

“Well, you can’t dock him for not being thorough.”

“Don’t you fucking get it, it’s the principle. Maxie and Archie themselves said at the beginning of the week we’re in a truce. There are no teams. And yet he continues waving his 300 fucking page fucking dick everywhere—“

“Oh come on.”

“It’s the hypocrisy—“

“After this week. It’ll be done. It’ll be over. We won’t have to put up with him like this again.”

“No it won’t be because I’ll be stuck here till I graduate knowing that I’m working for the biggest asshole on the face of the planet—“

“Oh come on, you already knew that. We knew. We know he’s not always the greatest person but—there are—“

“‘Recognize and appreciate’ my ass. We’re all just fucking pawns to him. He even ended that speech with a fucking business promo. At least Archie acts like a fucking human being—“

“He did seem kind of—“

“And fucking look at this. He gets a fucking medal and he and Tabitha and Courtney are up there acting like nothing ever happened. Fucking celebrating the fact they just kicked someone off the ship and stole his Pokémon—“

“They aren’t celebrating that—“

“All this fucking shit over Isaac and Team Aqua when he’s fucking sharing a room with Archie, I mean can you imagine—“

“Oh please—“

“I mean really fucking imagine. He and Archie could be fucking for all we know and he’d be carrying on like everything’s fine—“

“You think Maxie would be Archie’s type?”

“I’m just saying they spend a lot of time talking about each other, and Maxie is throwing a pretty big fit about this, all things considered.”

“It’s all just in the handbook.”

“Could all just be projecting too…”

“You talk a lot of shit for someone who says they want to keep their scholarship.”

The male Magma slammed his hand down on the table. “God damnit, see?! This is what I’m fucking talking about! He’s got us in a chokehold so none of us can even do anything without putting ourselves on the line!”

“I really wish more could be done. But there isn’t. We can’t. We unfortunately just have to wait it out and see if it’s worth staying on Team Magma after this mission. Or after we graduate.”

Since this had once again devolved into a Magma feud, Thea had fallen silent and looked out over the crowd. She hadn’t said anything about this to most other Aquas; she didn’t want to dampen the spirit. Still, Thea already knew it was too late, and Isaac had been booted from the ship. They had heard every word of Team Magma’s conversation with him when they had gone looking, and watched him fly away with Tabitha on Maxie’s Flygon.

The female Magma, feeling the lull in the conversation with the spat from her companion, took notice of Thea’s distance. She touched her on the arm lightly. “I’m sorry. Are you doing okay?”

Thea couldn’t explain it, but upon hearing the words from her friend, she realized for the first time how upset she really was. Her eyes began to well up, but she shook her head and scrunched up her face, fighting back the tears as they came. After she took a deep breath, she said, “As fine as I could be. I hope Shelly handles this. I wish there was something we could do…”

“Well, look at it this way, after this week, at least you won’t have to worry about hiding it anymore…”

“That’s true,” Thea said. “But somehow I still can’t help feeling like all of this is my fault.”

“Thea…”

“He’s losing his scholarship. He already lost his Pokémon. He’s gonna have to go to a new school entirely and this wouldn’t have even happened if—“

She couldn’t finish the thought. She didn’t want to. She almost wished they hadn’t met that day on Mt. Chimney. Everything would have been simpler. So easy. But she also couldn’t say she wished she had never met him. She found herself caught at this impasse as she stared outward into the crowd, where other members of her team were leading Team Magma in song and dance. Jaunty, cheery little tunes that normally would have brought her so much joy. But now, it all just felt empty. And off.

At the presiding table, Courtney stood next to Maxie. Tabitha stood even further off to the side, surveying the crowd to ensure that no one was falling too far out of line—exactly like a chaperone at a high school dance. Because that is what he was. Courtney continued to nibble on all the various snacks arrayed out in front of them, currently making her way through a Spheal-shaped cake pop. Maxie had settled down once again to reading. Although, Courtney had been watching the steady outgoing progress of the wine bottle near him. The poor bottle.

In order to more accurately determine the outflow, Courtney scooted closer and began pouring a glass of her own. Oh god. It was so empty. As she raised the glass to her lips, she continued to examine him. Maxie did not pay her much mind; he was much too absorbed in his own reading to care. How was he able to so successfully block out any sort of distractions? It was so noisy in here, given all the—

“DrinkMotherfuckerDrinkMotherfuckerDrink!”

Singing. Maybe he was just trying to pretend he wasn’t there? Should she say something..?

“This is a really… wonderful party,” she said finally. Maxie paused and looked up at her.

“I agree. It was quite generous of them to arrange all this.”

Well that was new.

Before Courtney could say anything else, Shelly approached them with a drink in her hand. Some of the punch from the table, with one of those little umbrellas.

“Always the life of the party aren’t you?”

Maxie stopped, put his thumb in his book, and looked at her. “You have your idea of celebrating, I have mine.”

“You did seem to find your way through the wine Archie bought though, didn’t you?”

Maxie looked to the bottle, and then to his glass. “I suppose.”

“You’ve all just been sitting here for a while, and I wanted to invite you nerds over to partake in a little bit more of the fun.”

“We’re good here, thank you.”

“Figured. Guess Team Aqua’s been right about you all along. Dry, boring, stick in the mud. Destined to shrivel up and die all alone. You really don’t know how to have a good time, do you?”

“I do plenty of things for fun like—“

“What? Read? Do your taxes? Drink by yourself in the middle of the night while you—“

Maxie stood up, slamming his book down on the table. He narrowed his eyes so furiously at her that they almost twitched. Courtney’s eyes widened. Did Shelly know she just hit a nerve—?

“Maxie…” Courtney said, quietly.

“I can have fun.”

Shelly raised her eyebrows. Courtney hung on a thread.

“Fine. Watch me. Watch me have fun. Watch me be social. Watch me.”

“Maxie—“

Maxie fumbled to put the novella back in his pocket and downed the last of his wine. Shelly grinned, tickled at his sudden lack of coordination. Part pride, part anger, and two parts alcohol. Courtney and Shelly watched him scuttle off to somewhere that it was very clear he hadn’t quite determined, but he eventually found his way over to Matt and Archie.

“You really upset him.”

“I know. I honestly wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction.”

Courtney looked at her in frustration. “You told him he was going to… die alone…”

They stared at one another. Silent moments passed as Courtney read the fluctuating expression on Shelly’s face.

“We say that kind of shit about him in Team Aqua all the time. We all talk like that. It’s not a big deal.”

“I… understand we are enemies. But can’t we just… enjoy ourselves?”

“I will once your fearless leader actually treats us like equals instead of running by his own rules on our ship.”

Courtney hesitated. “What do you… mean by that…?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

She knew exactly what Shelly meant.

“It isn’t… up to me. I am just… following orders.”

“Still trying to impress your boss?”

“Maxie is my friend,” Courtney said with conviction. Her sudden fervor, yet earnestness, caught Shelly off-guard. This was much less passive than Shelly had ever seen her be.

“I know to you he is just… a name. An enemy. A… face you see from time to time. But he is a real… person behind the mask. He is my boss. But he was my cohort first, and a… dear friend soon after. I’m sure you… know what that’s like with Archie…“

“What you all did was totally out of line, and you know it.”

“It isn’t… up to me.”

“And what kind of friend do you feel like you can’t call out when he does something wrong? What kind of friend treats you like garbage? He acts like these kids are disposable.”

“He’s paying for their college,” Courtney said. “Almost all of them… He’s gotten some help to do so, but that was his idea… he’s not… perfect, but he cares. In a different way.”

“He disrespected my leader, and I can’t let that stand.”

“You disrespected my leader, and I won’t… stand for that, either.”

They stared at each other again. After a moment, Courtney glanced over to Maxie. He appeared to be doing… okay? For the time being. She turned back to Shelly. “I want to… get along with you. I do not want to make this trip… unbearable. I want to enjoy myself at this party. But I… need to look after my friend now. Goodbye.”

Courtney picked up her little plate full of chips and cookies and walked off toward Maxie. She did not directly approach him, and tried to make it appear natural, but Shelly noticed how Courtney’s attention—even when not looking straight at him—was locked dead on her leader. Like she was monitoring him, almost with machinelike precision.

She had to hand it to Team Magma. They were pretty ride-or-die for someone so excruciating to put up with. She certainly wouldn’t be able to do it. But Courtney did seem pretty alarmed at Maxie’s reaction. She wondered if something might’ve happened once. Shelly continued to watch Courtney. Perhaps there was something here she could find.

Archie was overjoyed to see Maxie up and moving about the crowd.

“Well look who came out t’say hello!”

“Yes… indeed. Hello… hello…”

“Maxie bro!! So good to see’ya!” Matt picked Maxie up and squeezed him. Maxie coughed. “Oh yeah. Sorry.” He put the Magma leader down gently.

“Have’ya tried any of this yet, Max? Real good stuff,” Archie indicated the large bowl on the table, filled to the brim with fruits and some reddish pink liquid.

“We have these too,” Matt delicately picked up a homemade ice pop with a little cherry in the middle. It looked infinitesimally small in his hands, but he handled it with a tender dexterity as he popped it in his mouth.

“If you’re feelin’ really adventurous you can try ‘em both at the same time,” Archie said as he managed to slide a few of the ice cubes off of their sticks and into his drink. He laughed.

“Thank you,” Maxie rather passively obliged. He seemed a bit spaced out. However, he caught himself drifting and slid back into reality. Keeping conversation would help. “This is quite a… lively party for an event that could upend their entire way of life.”

“That’s it though,” Archie said. “Like Mr. Kinagi said, it’s just about… life n’death and balance n’shit. This party… it’s kinda like a fresh start, y’know? Or like.. the end of somethin’. I dunno. Like, the world could be endin’ tomorrow and now’s the time t’just let go n’enjoy what’ya had. Things’ya did. Things’ya didn’t do. Things’ya shouldnt’ve done but did, things’ya didn’t do and regretted—”

Archie’s train of thought had passed, but Maxie was caught for a moment, staring at him. As Maxie studied his face, the words lingered—was there something living behind them? A subtlety or an inflection that brushed a deeper meaning? Archie did not seem to notice the vacant intensity of his rival’s stare.

“We’ve got this too,” Matt procured a bottle of whiskey. Archie nudged Maxie.

“The nice stuff.”

“Oh I know. I’m familiar.”

Archie looked at Maxie. There was something in Maxie’s words. But maybe Archie was just a little drunk himself and getting everything wrong. He passed a glass to Maxie.

“Whaddaya say, Maxie? For old times’ sake?”

“Old times?”

“Y’know. ASPEN. All those wild n’crazy parties’ya went to. Almost gettin’ roped into Team Rocket like dumbasses—”

“‘Almost?’”

Archie laughed. “Okay, ya got me. All that fuckin’ bullshit.”

Maxie smiled. “All that fucking bullshit.” Archie lit up. Matt filled the glass.

“When you had a ponytail~”

“Oh, Christ…”

Shelly carefully examined Courtney as she watched Maxie take the glass from Archie’s hand. She saw Courtney tighten, only slightly, narrow her focus even more, and then cringe as they did the first shot together. She almost stepped forward, but stopped herself. Courtney stared intensely at Archie’s face—she couldn’t get a full view of Maxie at this angle. Archie looked—a bit surprised?

“For some reason I thoughtcha’d pussy out.”

“Like I said. Not cheap. I can hold my liquor.”

“I’ll bite.”

“How do you think I know so much about hangovers?”

Archie laughed, and Maxie did too, although he was being kind of serious “Either way, it’s not that difficult. And I don’t even get them anymore.”

“Wha—how?”

Maxie grinned. “Trade secret.”

“Well who woulda thunk. Maybe the ol’ sand rascal really does know how’ta have a good time.”

Oh if only Shelly could hear that. Did you hear that Shelly? Did you hear that Shelly?!

“I can splurge on occasion.”

“You really have gotten up’ta some trouble since I dropped out, aint’cha?”

“Grad school does things to you.”

The smell of Archie’s cologne still wafted between them, and Maxie still couldn’t figure out what it was. Bergamont…? Cedar…? What was that…?

“Shame I couldn’t be there for that”

“Enjoy it now. It won’t happen again.”

Maxie took another shot. Courtney stepped forward. She fluttered over to the table and lightly put her hand on Maxie’s arm. “Hello there, Archie~”

“Courtney! D’ya want any’a this?” Archie raised the bottle.

“Uhm… no… thank you…”

“It’s fine Courtney I can handle this.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Courtney.”

“Archie—!!” Courtney spoke over her leader. She started walking with Maxie, steering the whole group away from the drinks table. “I saw people sending up… lanterns outside—”

“Courtney I know my limits.”

“Ahhhh yeah! The lanterns! People light ‘em up with wishes n’stuff.” Archie was getting further and further onboard, no matter how oblivious to Courtney’s true intentions he was.

“Courtney do not police me.”

“That sounds so… cool! I have always… wanted to do something like that. Why don’t you show us~?”

“Courtney I will put this on your record.”

“Maxie if you so much as fucking dare—”

It took a moment for Maxie to even react to the words, and by the time he had processed them, Archie, Matt, and Courtney were sweeping him off to the other side of the room. Did Courtney just—?

“This is a very… wonderful party, Archie. I am glad the town was so willing to host us… your… enemies.”

“I hope we don’t consider ourselves that any more. At least, not after I awaken Kyogre,” he laughed.

Courtney, Archie, and Maxie moved around to the outside of the lodge, down to another platform where a small group of people were lighting lanterns. Maxie hung back in the doorway while Courtney quickly became absorbed in the light and the water. Archie helped her attach a small token to a lantern and began to light it.

“Make a wish,” he said. Courtney looked back at Maxie and gestured for him to come closer.

“I’m good here… thank you…”

“Aw, c’mon Maxie. Don’t be that way. Have some fun.”

God damnit.

Maxie steadily made his way over from the deck—where there was a sturdy railing—to where Archie and Courtney stood—where there was not a sturdy railing. It made him very nervous. They all held the lantern together. The spark from the fire emitted the tiniest bit of heat that kissed their bodies. Maxie stared blankly at Archie’s face as it was illuminated by the lantern’s glow. He could have been caught, engulfed, consumed by its aura, but quickly remembered it was impolite to stare. The drinks were getting to him. He could blame it on that.

“Everyone got their wish?”

Courtney nodded. Maxie shrugged. He could think of absolutely nothing to wish for at this moment. For Groudon to awaken… he supposed? That was as close as he was getting tonight.

But he glanced at Archie again. There was a sort of magic in that luminance, an enchantment in the scent that weaved through the air. Fir? Teakwood? What was that—?

“Alright then. Let ‘er go. T’new times, to old times, t’new dreams, and new beginnings.” This time, as all three of them released the lantern, Archie did meet Maxie’s eye. Maxie stared back up at the glowing light, getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller already. Archie’s face was no longer illuminated, but there was a light that remained.

Courtney bounced on her toes as the lantern ascended. “It’s so pretty~!”

“Yeah. One’a my fav’rite things about the holidays.”

“This is a holiday—?” Maxie asked.

Archie smiled. “It is now.” There was a brief pause, and then Archie started making his way back to the lodge. “Well, whaddaya say we get back t’the action? Can’t let my team go be havin’ too much fun without me.”

Courtney trailed close behind Maxie, who followed Archie back to the hall. Maxie swayed once, as if he was going to lose his footing, but Courtney quickly steadied him. Archie was already re-distracting himself with all the bustle inside. Courtney saw Tabitha frowning and hanging by the perimeter and she approached him. With Maxie successfully pried away from the immediacy of consuming alcohol, she figured he would be fine for the time being.

“Watch Maxie… killjoy. I want to party,” she said to Tabitha and headed over to the bar to procure herself another drink.

“What am I supposed to watch for—?”

Tabitha huffed. What was she talking about? Maxie seemed fine. Why would they need to babysit their leader? Of all potential liabilities in the dance hall? The very notion of it was absurd. Why was all the work constantly getting pushed back to him? What would Maxie think if he knew she’d said such a thing? He watched disdainfully as Courtney greedily popped another piece of fruit in her mouth, then retrieved a cute little glass with an umbrella in it. Slacker.

He scanned the room once more. Most of Team Magma was behaving themselves. Even those who were treading a little bit closer to debauchery maintained the properly-allotted eight-and-a-half inches. By the look of it, most of them were hanging around ten or eleven, including those swept up in whatever godforsaken nonsense Team Aqua was up to. Jumping on tables, playing instruments, singing, dancing, clapping. Roguish pirate things. And Archie at the very center of it.

His gaze returned to the table near the edge of the room, where Thea—the girl he recognized from the photos—and two Team Magma grunts sat. They were the three that needed close attention; surely they already knew about Isaac’s punishment.

Maxie stood to the side—not disinterested, just bad at being social—as he watched the song and dance progress. Archie, ring-leader, danced with an abandon that Maxie almost envied—and admittedly, somewhat yearned for—as he seamlessly wove between Team Aqua and Magma alike. Most of Team Magma didn’t know what to make of their own leader standing so close to them at a party, and Team Aqua could make even less. They were keeping at least five times the amount of space allotted. And Maxie had nothing to say to them, so he just continued to smile, feel awkward, and watch.

God, this was like high school all over again, wasn’t it? Except now he was—oh god was the floor moving? He jumped, thinking on his horrible experience earlier this morning. Oh god—that was today, wasn’t it? He’d lost track of time entirely. Time. What time was it? He glanced at his watch. It took him longer than he’d liked to focus his eyes and read the numbers. One—oh god it was already one am?! Suddenly, his head felt significantly heavier than it already did. How—?

The floor swayed again. Oh wait that wasn’t the floor. That was him. The room was starting to spin. Oh god oh geez hahaha… this was fine. This was all fine. He just needed to get some fresh air. Keeping as much composure as humanly possible—which he was very good at, by the way—he maneuvered through the crowd and found his way outside. Excluding all the noise coming from the inside, it was a quiet, peaceful night. If not for the swaying—which Maxie could not tell was coming from the water or from his own mind—he might have even said that it was beautiful. At least, the night air—comparatively colder to the increasing temperatures inside—could help ground him. Funny now how he found himself wanting to move away from any trace of warmth. His jacket was more than enough.

Chapter Text

Outside, there was no one. The twinkle of the lantern lights moved across the water, leaping from one wave to the next. Maxie wandered farther and farther down the path. His head was still spinning, but it was no longer totally unpleasant. It was like a dance—a song that was almost familiar to him from so long ago. He thought for a moment he might be getting the hang of it again. And far enough away from the lodge, with only a few stray lights coming from one or two homes, it was as if he owned something. He was the only living thing between the light, the moon, the stars, and the sea.

Still staring up at the dark sky, then admiring the glow of the water, he rested his hand on the railing. It gave. Because it was a rope.

The instant was harsh and cold on impact, giving a cumbersome whoosh as the water crashed against him. Maxie stood, spitting and coughing. Of course. He should have known better than to trust in a dance. But when he regained his posture—the jolting wake-up quickly bringing him back to his senses—he reached up and felt his face. His clothes were drenched and heavy. His glasses? Gone.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Shit—”

He frantically dug his hands through the water, as if it would move aside like anything he could possibly be rummaging through on dry land. It didn’t.

“Maxie?”

Maxie turned to see the silhouette of a man standing on the pier. A trace of the lantern light caught the side of his face. Thick eyebrows, sea-swept hair, neatly-trimmed beard. It was Archie.

“Oh dear god—”

“Got yourself in a little bit of a pickle, didnt’cha there, Max?” He started walking toward him. “What were you doin’ all the way over here?”

“Clearing my head—”

Archie swung himself over the side of the rope and sat down on the edge of the log, letting his legs dangle freely in the water. “Well, did’ja gain any clarity?”

“What—”

“Insights? Revelations?”

“I lost my glasses…”

“Oh, shit—” Archie said. He slid himself off the planks and down into the water. “Lemme help you.”

Even through the inebriation of his current state, Maxie remained struck at Archie’s total lack of inhibition when it came to the sea. It was cold and dark; the water was nigh impossible to see through at this hour. And even though he wasn’t currently in his suit, Archie held no reservations about diving straight in. Maxie watched him slink fully into the shadow, felt him swim past as he searched for the glasses, and hung silently on as he waited for the man to return. There was stillness, and then Archie surfaced from behind him. Maxie turned.

“Got ‘em,” Archie said, holding the glasses out to him. Maxie did not move. The moon hung directly above them. He could still smell—what was that?

“Found this for’ya, too.”

It looked like a stone, a bit smaller than the palm of his hand, but it was incredibly smooth. And it shone, even in the moonlight, with a rainbow of vibrant colors. Lights from the hanging lanterns reflected off of it, dotted like a tiny galaxy in his hand. Archie handed it to him.

“Don’t throw this one away, okay?”

Maxie was staring at him, and there was no way to hide it anymore. He held onto the stone, but did not take it fully away from Archie’s hand. Archie did not move. What was that? Maxie no longer felt the weight of his clothing, drenched as it was, nor the chill of the air surrounding him. There was a deeper pulse, a magnetic warmth that drew them together. They stood there suspended, hanging in-between instants, maybe seconds, in stretches that felt like minutes. Hours. Infinities.

The town was quiet. There was no one. No one but the lights and the moon and the stars and the sea. What was that? Amber? No, floral. No. Patchouli..? Not necessarily…

Then, everything began to twist and distort itself. Slowing down, speeding up, growing and blurring altogether all at once.

It started with a glimmer. A breath. A rush. A moment. Old times, new beginnings—old dreams, new times—What was that, Maxie kept repeating to himself. His mind now spun around them, jabbering with nonsense. What was that? Things you did. Things you didn’t do. Things you shouldn’t have done but did. Things you didn’t do and regretted. What was that? All mimsy. Mimsy were the borogoves. What was that? ‘Twas brillig. Something in the lantern in his eyes. Something in the light outgrabe. What was that? Closing the distance, seizing the inches, gimbling there in the watery wabe. The hours, the years, the minutes, the seconds. Spindaling like a twillistering ballet. What was that? Frumious, mimsy, wocky all nonsense, Spindaling like a twillistering—What was that? Frabjous day! Callooh, callay. Light and dark, night and day, land and sea… What was that? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! To chortle there in exurious joy. To chortle there in exurious—

Vetiver. Sage. Lavender.

Archie stared back at Maxie, wondering at the tiny millions of ineffable thoughts he could see pulsing through the man’s head. But just as quickly, Maxie’s grip tightened around him, as if propelled by a luring gravity. Archie felt a hand make contact at the base of his skull. Fingers entwined themselves in his hair. A forceful tug on the collar of his shirt. His rival pulled his face to his.

Maxie’s lips were on his own.

For a moment, Archie stood frozen there, breathless. His eyes, still open, provided the first shred of evidence that this was real. Was this real—? He could see it. He could feel Maxie pulling him. It was undoubtedly physical, nothing dreamlike about it. And yet, it was as if he was standing outside time and space.

In the next moment, Archie closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the intoxicating pull of the rising tide. He held Maxie in return. Maxie’s grip became softer as his hand slid from the back of Archie’s neck and cradled his jaw, holding him there for a moment more as they both sank, submitted, submerged—Maxie remained, his breath telling them both for an instant how he wanted to swim further, sink deeper…

But then his eyes opened. And Maxie’s lungs seized up, suffocating the air to make it heavy, rapid, and uneven. The exhilarated wonder, the dancing glimmer that Archie had seen in him only moments ago now shattered in terror.

“Oh god—”

“Maxie—”

“Oh no… oh god oh god oh god… oh dear God—!!”

“Maxie it’s okay—”

“I’m sorry,” Maxie pulled further away, nonetheless having difficulty moving through the water. “Archie, I—” wrong words. “That was incredibly rude of me. I’m terribly sorry—I have to go—”

“Maxie.” It was too late. He was already running down the pier.

“You forgot your glasses—”

Archie stood alone in the water, watching his longtime rival stumble farther and farther away from him. He held Maxie’s frames in his hands and looked down at them, emptily. Just as quickly as the tide had come in, it had recoiled and receded. Not very much like the tide at all. Maxie disappeared from view. Archie hoped he didn’t fall again.

From all the noise and bustle of the lodge, a lone pair of eyes had wandered out to get a breath of fresh air. Though they were distant, the pair of eyes stared, mystified, at the two converging shadows in the water. They stayed locked on the one who trembled and fell away after the embrace. There was no mistaking the shape of those shoes, or the cut of that jacket.

Chapter Text

The ship was dead silent. Maxie slowly came awake. His eyes could hardly lift themselves from their slumber—why was his brain even up…? He felt frozen, and heavy. Wait—where was he? He looked around. Archie’s couch. How did he get here—and why? A few blankets had been placed on top of him. His jacket was thrown hastily on the ground—his boots tossed to the side not far from here. That was quite unlike him. Though, he was in such a state last night; he must not have made it to his room.

He had an eerie dream, one that he could only faintly recall at the same time that he could not dispel it from his mind. The feeling clung to him like thick mud. He replayed it over and over again, trying to make any sense of it at all. Water, darkness, damp, cold… warmth, heat, a pulse, a light. Nothing about it quite tangible or discernible, nothing fully understood. His head still pounded. A splash of cool water. Thick black hair. Everything fading into darkness accompanied by the intoxicating weight of sinking into someone’s arms…

What was that? Was that real…? No. It couldn’t be. How terrifying. And ridiculous. Nonetheless, haunting. He was shivering, freezing. Why was he so cold?

And then he felt his clothes. Although dried significantly, they were still unmistakably damp. Well, that would be why he was so—

Wait. Oh god.

That was real.

Maxie sat up, pulling the blankets closer to his body. God damnit. He tried not to dwell on it. Surely that was a mistake. A freak accident. Something they both would forget. Yet, even though he was wrapped in several layers of thick fabric, he felt desperate, cold, and alone.

Sound of a doorknob turning. Archie, in sweatpants, appeared on the other side of the door. Maxie turned, saw him, and stood up like he was about to say something. But when he could not find the words, he turned away and sat back down. Archie silently walked past the couch and set Maxie’s glasses on the table. He continued to the bookshelf, where his white undershirt hung off the side of the chair. He pulled it over his head. After a moment, he looked back to Maxie, who was still huddled and withdrawn on the couch.

He didn’t know what, but something needed to be said. At last, he broke the anguished silence with,

“So, do you wanna talk about that, or…?”

Maxie stood up, pile of blankets in tow. “No. No I do not.” He started shuffling toward the bedroom, where he knew at least he could procure a fresh set of clothes. “It’s done. It’s over.”

So they’d be talking about it.

While Maxie fumbled around in the next room, Archie looked at the bookshelf. It had never been so full before. Why did he carry all this shit around with him? Pokémon evolution, geology, volcanology—most of them non-fiction. Almost textbooks. But a few, he noticed, were not like the others. A book on sailing, one about the sea—

Maxie reemerged from the room, stopping in the doorway. Something in his eyes burned with puritanical anger. Archie’s eyes were already cool with a preemptive sense of defeat. He was carrying a bag with all his things.

“I would like to forget about that entirely, and I am no longer comfortable with us living in such close proximity to one another. For the remaining duration I formally request that we interact as little as possible except strictly in matters of business. This is your ship. I am merely a passenger. You govern your team, I govern mine. Nothing about that has changed. Not because of some—foolish—”

For as well-rehearsed as the beginning of that speech was, his last words fell awkward, flat, and short.

“Alright, Maxie. That’s fine by me. But just know that Team Magma’s always welcome aboard my ship, and I still consider them part of my crew.”

“That’s fine…”

Another heavy, pounding silence. After a beat or two,

“Is there another room I can stay in?”

“What?”

“I do not wish to be here any longer. Is there another room I can occupy for the remainder of our travel?”

Archie shook his head. “Not one with any good provisions. I know you like your space.”

“Please, Archie. I am begging you. Anything.”

“It’s a closet. I know you’re not gonna like it.”

“Please. That’s fine. We only have a day or so left. I can handle it as long as it means we maintain decorum.”

“No, sunshine. I know you’re not equipped for sea life and I know you’re not used to roughin’ it out like this,” Archie said. “You’re my guest aboard this ship, and it’s my job to make you feel welcome and comfortable. If my presence here makes you uncomfortable, I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”

“That’s completely unnecessary, this is your—”

“It’s my ship and I want you to have the room,” he said again. “Captain’s orders. Enjoy yourself here, Max. I won’t come back in here, n’I won’t bother’ya a bit.”

Maxie stared at him. He didn’t know exactly what to say. Archie moved to the door. “Just lemme grab some shit.”

Maxie watched as Archie haphazardly threw some of his belongings in a crate that held nothing but a few old books. Mostly clothes, a toothbrush. Archie walked past Maxie without another word, and Maxie continued staring as Archie closed the door. He stood there agape, like there was something he should have said, something he should have done, but he was completely at a loss for what that could be. The air around him grew dense and sank as the pressing loneliness breathed its cold, shallow breath into him. It was never supposed to be this way. And yet…

Maxie sat back down on the couch, taking in the newfound emptiness of Archie’s room. Well, it wasn’t empty. It was so stuffed full of crumpled papers, wrappers, empty bottles, and clothing that it required a fair measure of dexterity to move anywhere around at all. And yet, with him sitting alone in the dead stillness, surrounded by the cluttered remnants of Archie’s presence, the place was eerie. Almost foreboding. As if something had once lived and died in there. Almost, but not quite.

Maxie brought his forehead to his hands and felt the pounding of the blood in his temples. He couldn’t tell if he was hungover or just filled with dread. Perhaps a little bit of both. He only took solace in the fact that this had happened when they were perfectly alone. Far enough away from the bustle of the party, dark enough in the water that no one could have seen it transpire. This thing could die silently, and painlessly, as long as neither of them dared to speak of it. And once this mission was complete, he would never have to face it again. It would be done. It would be over. Nothing more to think on it, nothing more to be said.

And yet, it was like a door had been opened that could not fully be closed. Because once something has been done, it cannot be undone. It had happened, and because of that fact, it would exist forever. It was in their shared consciousness; written in the chronological history of things that had occurred between them. That was the thing that could not be eradicated: the fact itself. Silent words and even memories could be erased to the point that they were so infinitesimally small that it would be as if they never existed. But facts? History? Time? Not so much. And that was the thing that perturbed Maxie more.

But what to do in the immediate present? How to proceed from this dreamlike suspension back into practical reality? Perhaps just to carry on. He was there for a reason, after all, and at the beginning of the week, this was all done while holding his nose, crossing his fingers behind his back. Out of complete and absolute necessity. Nothing else.

He could not allow such a trite interference to sabotage his ultimate goal. Not when he was so close, nearly on the brink of achieving it. All the years he had worked and studied and coordinated would not be upended by one minute of senseless abandon. These remaining feelings, questions, thoughts, traces—they could all be easily murdered in a few days’ time. After all, come tomorrow, he would have more important things to worry about. Like rebuilding the entire world.

Perhaps he should be grateful for the blunder. It was a warning shot, a grim reminder to double down and refocus on the importance of his mission, else relinquish it entirely. For the good of humanity, he must return to stasis. Business as usual. Business as history. Business as it was at the start of this week.

But it was much later than normal when Team Magma received an alert on their phones. Meeting in fifteen minutes. All typical procedures apply -M. Some of them stared dumbfounded at their screens. It was nine-thirty.

In fifteen minutes, the grunts trickled out onto the deck with Courtney and Tabitha checking off names as they appeared. Their leader stood resolutely on the deck above. Oh no. He looked pissed. Or, maybe not pissed. Just—determined? It was difficult to tell from here, and even more difficult given Maxie’s posture, but a few more discerning eyes noted something off about his coat. Was it hanging oddly, a bit discolored? Was it—damp?

“There has been a minor change in plans,” Maxie said. “Archie and I have spoken privately and we have determined that, as we are rapidly approaching the cavern, it is in the best interest of both of our parties if, from here out, we proceed as we were before. I deeply apologize for such short notice, and for our decision to retract an agreement we had settled at the beginning of this week. There are two teams now, as there were before, and as there always have been. This is Team Aqua’s ship, we are merely passengers. For the good of humanity, we must keep in mind that despite the proceedings of this week, we are, and always have been, the strictest of enemies. I appreciate your compliance and will now take questions on the matter, and allow Courtney and Tabitha to answer any other questions individually.”

Team Magma looked around to one another, but there weren’t many whispers. It was a surprised, bewildered kind of silence. Tentatively, a few hands rose up. Courtney indicated for the first to speak.

“So what are we supposed to do if they need us to do something?”

“Assist as need be for the sake of the vessel.”

Another hand. “Are we all still eating together?”

“As that is mostly of necessity, light interaction will still be permissible, but all social exchanges will be much more closely monitored than they have been of recent. I would advocate strongly against going out of your way to dine or converse with a member of the opposing team.”

Just then, Archie, Shelly, and a few other members of Team Aqua appeared on the deck. Team Magma turned to look at them.

“Christ, you all again?”

“Uhh—whatcha doin’ Max?”

Maxie looked down over at Archie from above. “This is a private meeting for Team Magma only, and we were just discussing the conclusion you and I reached yesterday, Archibald.”

Oh Christ. He hadn’t called him “Archibald” in awhile. Shit was going down.

Archie stood, scratching his head in confusion as he searched for what Maxie could possibly be on about. But as Archie stared, another hundred or so words passed between them, of which Archie briefly caught something along the lines of “If you so much dare as question what I just said I will systematically and methodically destroy you.” And that was enough for Archie to hold his tongue.

“Alright, well, I hope you’re all done, your majesty, because the rest of us have got to set sail,” Shelly called out to him. “There’s work to be done.”

“Alright then, you heard them,” Maxie said. “Meeting dismissed. Proceed as cautioned.” With that, Maxie made his exit to somewhere else on the deck—at least to get out of the immediate sight of his underlings. Shelly turned back to Archie.

“What ‘conclusion’ is he talking about?”

Archie glanced back up to where Maxie had disappeared. “I uhh—well if I’m bein’ honest, I ain’t quite sure.”

Shelly looked up to where Archie was staring. Did Maxie realize there was absolutely nowhere to hide up there?

Business as usual proceeded on the ship, with Team Magma helping Team Aqua where needed, but with a definite sense of reticence. There was little time left on this voyage, and they feared the consequences Maxie would lay out if they disobeyed. Courtney and Tabitha were hovering meticulously on the deck, and considering they had already booted one member from the ship…

Team Aqua noticed the change in Team Magma almost immediately.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” a girl Aqua accompanying Thea and the other male asked.

The Magma pair stared at them, the male with much less reserve than his female counterpart. Their reaction seemed to cringe as if to say, “Wait why are you still talking to us?”

“Uhh—“

“Well. We’re… fine I guess?”

A few awkward moments passed.

“So… what’d Maxie have to say?”

“You know, just the same thing Archie talked to you guys about.”

The three Aquas looked to each other, checking to see if any of them had any idea what Team Magma was referring to. When none of them could find an answer, the girl asked,

“What do you mean by that?”

The two Magmas looked to each other, alarmed. Finally, the girl spoke up. “You know, how we’re enemies again?”

Team Aquas’ eyes widened and their consulting became much more intense. Faster than before.

“He said what?”

“What do you mean—?”

“Archie hasn’t said anything about that!!”

Oh shit. Now they were all frantically consulting with one another. Something was really up.

“Bastard!!”

The girl Magma slapped her male counterpart on the arm. He was still stuck on his rant from last night.

“Hey. Scholarship.”

“For fuck’s sake I’m done with this team!”

“That’s bad. That’s really bad, something’s up.”

“He’s so far up his fucking handbook and yet he keeps going back on his own fucking word—“

“I mean, we are approaching the cavern—“

At this point, the male and female Aqua began cackling. Thea continued to go pale.

“Oh no way, that’s fucking rich. This is fucking golden—“

“Oh my god I can’t believe this. What if this means—“

“Oh yes that’s exactly what this means.”

The fear and concern in the two Magma’s faces was growing. “What? What is it—?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear?”

“Of course they didn’t hear…”

“Hear what?”

The male Aqua looked the Magma girl dead in the eyes. “Maxie kissed Archie at the party last night.”

“He what?!”

The noise that escaped the Magma grunts’ mouths—the sheer, unadulterated shock—was perhaps one of the most uncontrolled and reflexive sounds they had ever made in their lives. The Magma girl followed it up with a much more quiet, although undoubtedly shaken,

“You can’t be serious.”

But the smug looks on Team Aqua’s faces—with the exclusion of Thea, who was now almost constantly in a state of looking as if this nightmare could not possibly get any worse—told them they were, in fact, quite serious.

The male Aqua burst into laughter. “And not just a little kiss, either! A full-on smmmoooooooch!”

“They totally made out.”

“That’s just a rumor…” Thea said, quietly.

“Rumor my ass. Someone said they saw it!”

“Wait wait wait, slow down,” the Magma girl said. “What happened?!”

“Maxie left the party early last night and Archie did later. But then Archie came back by himself.”

“I heard Maxie fell in the water. Archie jumped in to help him”

“When Archie came back he had new clothes.”

“Oh my god…” the Magma girl said, quietly. “Maxie’s coat did seem a little… damp… this morning.”

“Oh my GOD they’re FUCK—“

“Shhh,” the Magma girl slapped her companion for like the third time this morning. “They are not fucking—!”

But all five grew quiet when they saw Tabitha approach.

“Well, what seems to be the problem over here?”

The two Magmas saluted. “Nothing, Tabitha, sir.” They prayed to all the gods and Arceus that Tabitha had not overheard what they said.

“You all seem to have gotten pretty cozy with each other this week, hm?” Tabitha said. “I think it’s about time you stopped, or I’ll have to put it on your record.”

The two Magmas looked at the three Aquas remorsefully. It appeared that this was the end of the line for them. They nodded a solemn goodbye as Tabitha started herding them away.

“Carter. Emily. You have more important matters to attend to on this ship than dealing with the likes of them.” At least, it seemed, he hadn’t overheard them. Or if he did, he wasn’t letting on. Carter and Emily scurried off with Tabitha, not at all excited by the recent turn of events.

Chapter Text

Matt rang the bell for breakfast and Team Aqua and Team Magma both filed into the galley; Aqua in their more organic human clumps, Magma split off into lines monitored closely by Tabitha and Courtney. Maxie was nowhere to be found.

Because it was naturally crowded on the ship, especially with the addition of their red-hooded guests, it was inevitable that some members of Team Magma wound up sitting with members of Team Aqua. Shelly, too, however, noted the change in their behavior, and especially how Courtney and Tabitha weaved circles through the crowd like two vultures closing in on dead prey. She approached them.

“Why so serious today? I mean, not that you all aren’t already bubbling rays of sunshine, but—“

“Mind your own business, Shelly. Perhaps your team just doesn’t have the necessary discipline—“

Oh that was the wrong thing to say. “Discipline? You wanna talk about discipline—?!”

“We were… commanded not to engage with you. Please… allow us to carry on,” Courtney said, bypassing any chance of an altercation in favor of continuing to press forward.

“Discipline? And you’re going around kicking people off our ship? In a truce?”

Courtney and Tabitha turned back to look at her.

“We aren’t in a truce anymore.”

Oh this just kept getting better and better, didn’t it? But Shelly knew she had to resist her urge to kick their shit in right there. She was better than that. There were other ways they had their karma coming.

Shelly slid over to a table of Aqua grunts. They had been mingling with the Magma grunts all morning. Surely they knew what was up.

“So what’s with them?”

“Apparently Maxie told them they aren’t in a truce anymore.”

She almost slammed her fist down on the table. For fuck’s sake.

“And told them that Archie said the same thing.”

Oh so now he had stooped to just flat-out lying. She supposed that this was the “conclusion” he mentioned earlier. That was low. Even for him. Except to save his own face, Maxie didn’t really strike her as the lying kind. Most of the press releases about him were just inflated truths. Why the sudden change? She could at least kind of understand the thing with Isaac. No matter how big of a dick move it was, it was still written in his stupid little handbook. But that was over now, wasn’t it? So what was left?

“And get this get this get this,” one of the boys continued. “This is gonna fuck him over majorly. We heard that someone saw Archie and Maxie kissing last night.”

Shelly blinked. Momentarily, she thought as though she might have been ripped out of her body. There were any number of things she could have said, but one of the more polite, and the one that came out, was: “Oh that’s fucking precious.”

“Mhmm,” another Aqua grunt said, face full of food. “Everybody’s like, getting super pissed.”

Shelly stood up. She had to talk to Archie. As strange and—kind of nauseating—as it was, this was perhaps one of the better things that could have happened to them. Whether true or not, looked like she wasn’t even going to have to work to bring on Maxie’s descent. He was already on his way down.

By midday, the vessel was in full sail. The weather seemed calm, but Matt and Shelly could see the puffy white clouds growing larger and larger as they climbed into the sky. It would most likely be raining later that evening. Maxie had not re-emerged from wherever he shut himself off to, and Courtney had walked by earlier with a plate of leftover food. And even though Tabitha and Courtney kept an even closer lock on their team—draining the life and morale out of each and every member—it was, all things considered, a relatively peaceful leg of the journey.

But deep beneath the beauty, the tranquil simplicity of the day at sea, something was brewing. A quiet storm bubbling up from the calmest and most beautiful of the waters. It began in a whisper, snatched in-between the moments when Courtney or Tabitha would pace by. First it was one. The another, then another. It swirled in and out of their minds like an elaborate heist, a conspiracy of muffled words passed between the ship’s passengers. A slow, silent, but noxious cloud began forming, whirling through the air with a yet undetected, but soon-to-be deadly symphony:

I heard Archie kissed Maxie at the party last night. No it was definitely Maxie who kissed him. Did you see the way they looked at each other? Y’know, I heard he’s gay. They used to be on a team together. High school, college, some kind of fraternity. Some kind of team. I wonder what could have possibly happened to make the two of them enemies? Maxie’s been gone all morning. They fight like an old married couple. Maxie keeps a pirate ship in his office. I haven’t seen it, but it’s true. Archie and Maxie sittin’ in a tree… I knew he was gay. He has a book on sailing. I saw him do like five shots with him. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. That’s not the face of a straight man. Yeah right. It wasn’t five, it was more like two. But still, you saw it. Good old liquid courage. First comes love, then comes marriage… Maxie fell in the water. Archie jumped in to save him. Then comes baby in a baby carriage! His clothes were damp. They kissed, they made out, they totally fucking made out and they’re fucking. Oh my god they’re tooooootalllyy fucking. Cupcake, sweetheart, darling, princess. F-U-C-K-I-N-G. No way. They can’t be. Are you kidding me, they’re sharing a room! No, Maxie kicked him out of the room. Maxie kicked him out of the room?! I saw Archie walk out with a crate from the room. Where even is Maxie? The way he reacted… He did what to who? Over a relationship? Is this projecting? Is he projecting? He’s taking it out on him. He’s totally fucking taking it out on him. Somebody say “repression…” Fuck this team he’s a fucking snake. If I wasn’t here on a scholarship… How do you think Archie took it? Someone ask him how he feels. Archie’s the one who would know the truth. Would Archie lie to us? He’s just standing over there. You ask him. No, you.

Oh my god it’s totally true. Oh my god. It’s totally true.

As quiet as the whispers were, the sheer number of them made it inevitable that they broke off into fragments, carried by the wind until they found themselves passing through the ears of Courtney and Tabitha. While the two did their best to quell the gossip, their efforts were much like shining a beam of light into a thick fog. It might have momentarily cut through the haze to clarity, but it often amplified more than it dispelled.

“This is getting… unmanageable…” Courtney said as they caught a short break from hovering around the deck. “There are two of us and… two hundred of them…”

“We will punish such insolence. This foolhardy—”

“All at once?”

Tabitha stared back at Courtney, but Courtney knew the hoops they had to jump through to punish even one member on this ship. What would happen at 50? 70? 100?

“That is for Maxie to decide.”

“Then…. we should at least… notify him,” Courtney said. Tabitha nodded coldly in agreement. They tightened their posture and sucked in their breath. They knew this would not sit well with him. Perhaps the least well of anything that ever sat with him. But that meant it was time to double, triple, and quadruple down, and to stand by their leader no matter what. It was for the good of the vessel and for the good of their team.

From her post, Shelly watched the whispers swell. She caught them as she passed orders to the crew, and heard them as she circulated the ship. Top deck, lower deck, in the kitchen, in the halls, in the bedrooms and the break rooms and from the mouths of Team Magma themselves. Once the door had been opened, the water rushed in. Flooding them with words. This influx would drown him. Guarantee Maxie’s own defeat. It looked like they would finally win this thing after all, and it might just be because Archie wasn’t a complete asshole to the rest of his team.

It payed to be kind.

Shelly wandered over to Archie, who was sitting by himself on the deck. While it was unusual for him not to be up and talking with his crew, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to just catch him staring longingly out onto the sea.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Archie?”

“What, the sea?”

“Well, yes,” she said, looking up to the forming clouds. It would almost definitely rain this evening. “And the storm that’s brewing here as well.”

“Yeah it might put us back a day, won’t it?”

“But that won’t really be a problem, will it?”

“Nah,” Archie shook his head. “Not like we’re racin’ t’get anywhere at this point.”

“No, and I don’t think we’ll have to race to victory, either.”

Archie stopped. “Whaddaya mean by that?”

“Haven’t you heard what’s been going on?”

“What? All the nonsense the kids are goin’ on about? I’m just tryin’ not t’get involved.”

“Yes, and well, Maxie straight-up lied to them.”

“I know.”

“He went back on his word.”

“I know.”

“Doesn’t that upset you? He can’t treat us like dirt, Archie. He treats actual dirt better than us, honestly…”

“And ain’t that the way he always treated us?”

“Well yes, but—“

“Then nothin’s really different. Everything’s been stayin’ the same. We shouldnt’ve expected it t’go any other way.”

“Archie, you two shook on an agreement. And you have been true to your word—more than true—this entire time. Maxie on the other hand? He has gone behind your back and manipulated you every step of the way.”

“Manipulated might be a bit strong.”

“Christ are you defending him!?”

Archie shrugged. “No. There ain’t no excuses for him. The boy ain’t actin’ right. Not at all. I’ve done my best to make him and his crew feel welcome—“

“Which was much more than we ever agreed to anyway.”

“He’s just dead-set in his ways, and he won’t let neither hell nor high water sway him. Ya gotta hand it to ‘im, the boy’s true to his convictions.”

“But he’s not true to his word. At least, not his word to us. He’ll bend over backwards for that damn rule book of his. And you—our entire crew—deserve better than this. Team Magma’s been—horrendous“

“D’ya mean Team Magma or just Maxie?”

“Well, Courtney and Tabitha too. But Maxie, I guess.”

“Well, whatve’ya got against him?”

“Are you kidding me, Archie? You’re enemies. He’s systematically trying to ruin our team. Everything we’ve worked for—everything he’s ever done has been to defeat us—to destroy you and your dream.”

“Well, don’t most’a that fall back t’me then?”

“I suppose.”

“Then this is a personal matter between me and him. We’ll settle it personally.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that everything he’s ever done was to destroy us.”

“No, Shelly, there’s a lotta things that if he ain’t done, we wouldn’t be here,” Archie said. It was like he was confessing something for the first time. “You n’I both know we been ridin’ that man’s coattails for years. And if I was constantly gettin’ chased and stolen from, I’d be pretty upset too.”

“I can’t believe after all these years… after everything. You’re defending him.”

“I just learned t’see a little bit more through his eyes. Don’t mean I agree with him.”

“Then why don’t you say something?”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Look around, Archie. A storm is brewing on this ship. All these kids are talking about these rumors. And you’re in the perfect position to drive the final nail in the coffin. His whole team is even in on it—“

“We’re in a truce, Shelly.”

“Not according to him.”

“Well, I still intend to keep up my end of the bargain.”

“Archie, if you said something, if you did something—it would guarantee his defeat. His whole team would fall apart. We’d win. Kyogre would be free. Why don’t you say something?”

“Because I love him, Shelly.”

Shelly stared at him aghast, blood slowly draining from her face. Archie looked back at her with an earnest sense of defeat. Surrender. “I might’a always have. I dunno. I been chasin’ him for so long and—I dunno—I think somewhere along the line I kinda grew to admire ‘im.”

“Admire him?! Archie, he wants to destroy you. He always has.”

“No, he hasn’t always.”

“He doesn’t care about you, Archie. He hates you. Look at the way he’s acting.”

“I know. But I seen something diff’rent in him this week, Shelly. There’s somethin’ in him that he hides deep down. It’s a lotta hurt, a lotta anger, and a lotta frustration. And I been the cause of a great deal of it. But he opened up to me. At least a little bit. I’ve only seen some of what’s locked up in there—but it was enough t’know.”

“So it’s true then, isn’t it?”

Archie said nothing.

“Archie it’s true?!”

“I can’t do anything to ruin him. Not now. Not like that. I still want Kyogre to win. But that’s it. That’s the only reason I got t’hold a thing against him. After all this, there’s no tellin’ what’ll happen to him, or me, or us. And I wouldn’t have a good conscience knowin’ I took somethin’ away from him. Somethin’ that wasn’t his stupid Groudon,” Archie said. “I wanna respect his privacy. I won’t destroy him. Not over somethin’ as little as that.”

Shelly paused, at first not quite sure what to say. Of all things to come out today, that her leader—one of her closest friends—had fallen in love with his enemy. Maxie could never be reasoned with, and it was foolish of him to think otherwise. This could never end well. All she hoped for was that it would do as little damage to him as possible. She looked into her leader’s—her friend’s—eyes and told him, sternly, “Then you will sit back and watch him destroy himself.”

Archie held his breath. He had a sinking feeling she was correct. He could feel the storm brewing. And it was more raging—and colder—than any that could possibly be outside.

Chapter Text

Maxie had confined himself to the cabin all day. He had resolved to drive his feet into the ground, precisely where he stood, as the ship sailed diligently onward to the cave. Free of distractions. Without losing momentum. He would lie dormant, though no less alive, until the seal to the cavern was opened. And then he would rush forward like a pyroclast—unpausing, relentlessly—until Groudon was awakened and Kyogre was subdued. That was the only way it was ever meant to be.

As he stood in the room—and then sat—and then stood again—milling about, arranging, counting, alphabetizing, and rearranging anything he could get his hands on—there was a knock on the door.

“Maxie,” the voice was Courtney’s. “We… need to… talk to you…”

“Is it urgent?”

“Very.”

Maxie’s instinct was to choke, although he knew there was no reason to do so yet. This could be far less worrisome than he was making it out to be. He proceeded to the door, despite how his heart began to pound—quite irrationally—and he opened it. Courtney and Tabitha stepped inside. He sat down, but they remained standing. A few moments passed. By the way they stood, he knew they were apprehensive. Perhaps there was reason for alarm.

“Well, what is it?”

Courtney began, slowly, deliberately. “There is a… situation… we think you should know about.”

The last time he had heard this, it hadn’t been good. Dare he repeat the cycle? He kept his voice low.

“What do you mean ‘a situation?’”

Courtney and Tabitha consulted with one another, faces pale. Courtney looked as if it was Tabitha’s turn to say something, but Tabitha refused to speak.

“There is more… dissonance on the ship.”

“What do you mean?”

“This morning after you left… we were made aware of some… some…” Courtney didn’t quite know how to phrase it. They were getting to the bad part.

“There are some pretty crass rumors being spread about you,” Tabitha said. Courtney breathed an air of relief. Long enough for her to add in,

“…Slander…”

Millions of thoughts rushed through Maxie’s head, as they had many times before. This time, more rampant. Pounding. He tried to reel them in, but he knew the gate was about to open. He was standing up at this point. “Who—what? Who started it? What are they saying—?”

“We don’t know who started it… but…”

“They aren’t very kind.”

“Well I know that,” he started to snap, but resisted, no matter how his blood began to simmer. “But what is it? What are they saying?”

“It’s about you and Archie.”

Oh no.

“What about him—?”

“All kinds of… things…”

Maxie started to scan frantically for the answers in his two admin’s faces. But they were closed off. Neither of them totally willing to say. He silently begged and pried them to come forward, until at last, they both spoke.

“The first…”

“They say you kissed him.”

Maxie blinked. The world spun around him. He didn’t really feel himself making the words, but they came out one by one under his breath. “They—say—what.”

“They say you… kissed… Archie at the party last night…”

He heard right. Maxie threw his hands up to his face. One locked around his mouth. The other pulled his hair so tightly that he might rip it all out. Courtney and Tabitha flinched. They had never seen him react so violently. At least, not with any emotion that wasn’t outright anger. They couldn’t get a read on this. Maxie slid his other hand to his hair and turned away from the two of them. He threw his glasses onto the desk. They could see his breath pounding.

“Maxie—”

“Damn it!!”

Now there was no stopping it. The thoughts spun through his mind and threatened to drown him. Over and over and over again. The waves. The ocean. The moon. The sea. The thought. The words. The water. The light. Frumious, mimsy, wocky all nonsense. Back to business. Back to business. Back to business…

He kicked the bottom of the bookshelf. The sound was not nearly as satisfying as he had hoped.

“Courtney, Tabitha, I—”

When he spun around, his disheveled hair made him appear feral. Unhinged. He recoiled so hard he had drawn blood from his lip. His mouth hung open as if he wanted to say something, but he could not find the words. He could not say what he was about to have said. His breath was heavy. Eyes either desperate or bloodthirsty.

“Say something!!” he nearly yelled.

“We don’t know…”

“What do you want us to say—?!”

“Anything. Please. I—” Maxie caught his hands on the back of the chair. He hung there and tried to breathe. It was humiliating for them to see him like this. For him to have reacted so strongly—

Courtney watched her leader as he began shaking, head hung low. That trembling—although she had seen it on him only ever once, it was unmistakable. Were tears welling—?

“We know they are filthy, unfathomable lies—”

“Maxie…”

Neither Courtney nor Tabitha could find the words to say, especially not now. They had anticipated anger. But not this confusing influx, so many thoughts and feelings pouring out from him all at once. None of them fully articulated, nor even distinguishable from one another.

“Tabitha. Courtney…” It was the only thing Maxie could bring himself to say. Maybe the only words he knew. The taste of iron laid heavy in his mouth; he thought it might poison him like lead.

Although neither of the admins had moved from their place in the doorway, Courtney kept calm and tried to bring him back down to earth.

“What would you like us to do…?”

“It’s very many of them, sir. It’s not just one or two. And they’re all saying ridiculous things—”

“Team Aqua is only fanning the flames…”

“Has Archie said anything?!”

That was somewhat of an odd thing to say. “He… seems to be uninvolved…”

At least. At least.

“What do you want us to do?”

Maxie looked up to them, composure slowly returning. “To be honest… I am not completely sure. As I’m sure you’re both aware, nothing like this has ever happened before—”

“No… never…”

“Not to this scale.”

“So what are we to do?”

The three of them did nothing but look at each other. In this exchange, they finally felt together with each other again. Not just as admins, as colleagues, as professionals. There was a pretense that had been slashed open by this raw sense of need. Making Maxie seem, for the first time in months—perhaps even years—incredibly, incredibly human.

“We don’t know, Maxie.”

“We were hoping you would…”

Maxie forced the gears in his head back into motion. There had to be something… anything. He was desperate to get this damn taste out of his mouth. “How many are there? How many of them are spreading this—”

“Nearly… all of them…”

“Essentially the entire vessel.”

“Do you need us to do anything for you…?”

The gentleness in Courtney’s voice made it clear that she was asking this not as an admin. It was not about his professional needs. At this point, how could it be? It was about his emotional ones.

“No, no,” Maxie held his forehead as he wandered over to the window. Endless ocean. What else was he expecting to see? “How bad is it—how much—fuss is this causing?”

“That is… variable.”

“Some members are closing their lips. But others, it is clear, are more excitable.”

“We are concerned about the… implications this will have for our morale. And for the success of our… mission once we reach the cavern…”

“That is my primary concern as well, ” Maxie said.

“We only have a day or so left until we land,” Courtney said. “It is not… optimal… but perhaps it would be best if these rumors were to remain temporarily… unaddressed?”

“We understand that they are vulgar and untrue, but they are innumerous—”

“It is the sheer number of them I am worried about,” Maxie said. He turned and met them with a helpless sort of disbelief. “It’s really everyone? All of them?”

“It appears so.”

“Even if not… word spreads. Everyone at least has… heard it.”

Maxie paused, wiping the blood off his lip. This was no time to falter. To shrink. To shy away. He needed to carry on, more determined, resolutely…

“These slanderous lies,” he said, plan slowly formulating. “I am sure Team Aqua is the culprit. We are quickly approaching the cavern. How convenient of a time to stir dissonance in our crew…”

Did Maxie just call Team Magma a crew?

“Give me some time to think on it. But we cannot afford to let this hideous rumor to go unaddressed. If our team is so easily swayed—if they bend so easily to Team Aqua’s will—”

Courtney and Tabitha nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Anything else you… need us to do for you?”

“Leave me be. I will convene with you when it’s time,” Maxie said. “In the meantime, double down. Make a list, gather data on every individual who is engaging in this mutiny. Take names, take numbers, take note of everything. We must not leave any loose thread unattended.”

Courtney and Tabitha saluted. “Yes sir.”

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You are dismissed.”

Courtney and Tabitha closed the door behind them. The ship was relatively quiet, for now. But the damage had already been done and the echoes of the voices lingered.

“Well, that wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

“Not nearly…”

“Let’s get started on that list, then.”

Courtney nodded, and she and Tabitha set off in opposite directions. As she made her way to the lower deck, Courtney spotted Archie sitting alone on the ship, facing out to the sea. His posture had changed. She stopped there for a moment to analyze him. Shoulders hunched forward, chin in his hands—chest sunken in. His slow, listless movement indicated defeat. Rather than setting off to begin the list—they would have time for that later—she made a beeline for her cabin. She needed to check on something.

While Courtney and Tabitha had been gone, small pockets of Aquas and Magmas had gathered in the corners and crevices of the ship. Now, the talk became more organized. Wind had hit the entire vessel of what Maxie had done to Isaac, and no one was very pleased about it.

“Can you believe what happened?”

“Absolutely not. This is a fucking outrage.”

“We need to get him back.”

“#FreeIsaac.”

“But how are we going to get him back? Tabitha took him away.”

“We can’t get him back on the ship, but we can torture Maxie until he caves.”

“Too bad we can’t even find him.”

“He locked himself in Archie’s room because it’s true.”

While Tabitha was working double-time to herd the masses, like holding up plastic bags to chase away the wind, he could do nothing about Team Aqua but slap the wrists of Team Magma. However, with each wrist slapped, another name went down on the list. And each name on the list was a note that sang his justice; his shot at redeeming himself in the eyes of his leader, who only continued to grow colder and more unforgiving.

In the meantime, Courtney had torn open her luggage. Binders, papers, articles, and photographs strewn across her bed and the floor. Maxie, Maxie, Maxie, Maxie, Maxie. Pictures of him, pictures of Tabitha, pictures of the three of them together. She lifted one closer to her face. He was younger—ponytail—taking notes at a library desk. Pressing his glasses back up his nose. Neutral. A side view—not ideal—but she knew his neutral well enough. Next. She sifted deeper through the stack of photos. One from a party, later that year. A selfie she had taken with Maxie and another man, a grad student from a different department who eventually dropped out.

There it was. While he was smiling, and everyone in the photo was at least mildly intoxicated—which was, in this situation, perhaps the better—his expression was forced. The crease of his eyes did not match the width of his smile. He leaned in toward her, not only as a way to fit in the frame but, as she recalled, to use her as a crutch in social situations. Mostly because—she looked to the man: leaning into Maxie, hand on his shoulder—that man had taken an interest in him. Maxie drank to relax. He drank to open up. And yet, he refused to connect. Mostly, she thought, this avoidance was to shirk the unrelenting power of his mind, a refusal to surmount his own anxieties. And while that was still true, now, she began to perceive something else.

She placed this photo next to one of the three of them—Maxie, Tabitha, and herself—standing outside the Team Magma base on its inaugural day. There it was. The beaming pride on his face—his freshly-cut, marginally shorter hair. Maxie at his graduation—freedom. Relief. Maxie in his office surrounded by notes from the grunts—her idea—somewhat embarrassed, but nonetheless genuine. Not a single hair in these photos matched the order of expressions he fabricated in the other.

The contrast when he drank. The emptiness that came bleeding through, immortalized in the photographs. She held the drinking photo beside his neutral one. This defeat even spilled into his waking life in tiny, worn microexpressions on his face—fine creases around his eyes and lips. This is how she had always known him; how his neutral had become by the time they met. She knew he was capable of flight. She had seen the weightless potential bubbling through him on his better days. But he killed it and buried it again and again until only his worn, half-dead countenance remained. He knew better than to act like this. He knew better than to be like this. This lifelessness originated from somewhere. When had it started? How she wished she could have known him in his undergraduate years…

Next. She threw aside binders on the grunts—not relevant—and came to the one on Team Aqua. More relevant. How could she have missed this? Could all of her records really have such innumerable gaps…?

Archie. Where was Archie? Did she really not have any neutrals of him…? Unacceptable. She dumped another box out onto the floor. As the pages fluttered to the ground, her eyes glazed over. “Downloading…” she said, once again so undetectable even for herself to hear.

Images and words in her notes lifted themselves from the floor and spun around her, forming networks of connected dots and hidden lines of information. She stood at the center, taking careful stock of the moments that rushed by, even as the voices in them spilled together into a senseless, roaring cacophony. While she could not distinguish the voices from one another, the words did not matter as much as what was behind them. Maxie and Archie at Slateport, Maxie and Archie at the Weather Institute… the eyes, the voices, the eyes… every encounter over the last seven years. Maxie’s low, venomous hiss pressing against Archie’s booming laughter. Archie’s banter—always alive, almost giddy. Maxie’s scowl—always worn, almost bitter.

Then the images froze—all the speaking became silence—as her eyes fell on a newspaper article from last year. There he was. While only one singular photograph—in black ink, nonetheless—something in Archie’s eyes goaded Maxie onward. A creature that leapt and bounded and crashed in and out of plummeting fire and tumbling waves. Like it was dancing, or playing a game. To Archie, it was always a game. She started to reach for the photo, but as soon as she did, she was sitting at a desk. A stack of books on the table, a pair of red, long-sleeved arms scribbling something across from her. The hand slid a paper to her, and a light almost seemed to open up from within. A spark ignited, a match lit, a sense of purpose giving birth to this very creature…

The Archie in the photo taunted Maxie with a swaggering grin. But the fire in his eyes was not just one that teased Maxie’s ire, delighted in his misfortune—there was something else lurking behind it. A shapeless being in Archie’s eyes prodding relentlessly on at the formless shadow in Maxie’s own.

Archie. Maxie. Archie. Maxie. The eyes, the mural, the eyes, the books, the drinks, the table, the eyes… a heartbeat. A slammed door, a pounding chest. A frenzy of pages torn from notebooks falling to the ground. Anxious breath, a spinning head. A decimated, overturned desk drawer. A stolen book. A journal. A map. The pulling of one’s own hair, the beating of one’s own chest, the taste of one’s own blood. A throbbing head, a kick to a bookshelf. An overturned desk drawer. A journal. A map. The lifeless weight of ten, twelve, fifteen passed years… a beat. A beat. A beat.

A singular thread hung around a pale neck, and the warm hand that held it.

An alert on her watch sent her plummeting back into cold reality. It was Maxie, addressed to the whole team: Meeting in 5 minutes. Attendance is vital, and absolutely mandatory. He hadn’t even bothered to sign it.

Chapter Text

Team Magma gathered on the deck for the second time that day. But now Team Aqua lingered behind them. In spite of his audience, Maxie stood resolutely on the quarter deck while Courtney and Tabitha took attendance. As everyone filed in, Maxie approached them.

“Have you begun compiling the list?”

“Yes, of course sir.”

“Good. I will need a copy of it sent to me at once.”

“Already on it, sir.”

Maxie looked to his tablet and pulled out the list Tabitha had just sent to him. “Excellent. Keep everyone on tight lock. We aren’t messing around anymore.”

That was kind of a weird thing for him to say?

Maxie walked back up to the upper deck as his team waited in a mixture of confusion and terror. Team Aqua kept their distance, but sustained their role as quiet observers, looking apprehensively on to the spectacle that was about to unfold. Archie saw the red hoods conglomerating on the deck and Maxie hovering over them. He did not move from his spot, but kept his eyes dead set on the Magma leader, tracing his every littlest movement. Shelly took a place next to Archie. “This oughtta be good.”

“I am sure you already know why I called you here,” Maxie said. “It would appear that only in a few short hours, the vast majority of you have disregarded my word.”

Courtney locked her eyes on him. There was something encrypted in his posture. Living there. Photographs, photographs, photographs…

“I expressly advised you not to collude with members of the other team and now… now look at what has transpired.”

A few stray whispers fluttered through the deck: “He sure is ‘colluding’ with members of the other team.” Giggling.

“We have devolved into mayhem. Where are your manners? Where are all the values you have worked so diligently to uphold? Don’t tell me now that you will allow a few stray words from Team Aqua shake your moral high ground. We are above that level of vulgarity—”

Was he really going to talk like that right in front of Team Aqua themselves?!

“Hey, watch your mouth!”

Maxie glared out to the area where the voice had originated, but could not pinpoint its exact location. “This does not concern you. This is about my team,” he said. He addressed Team Magma again, “There is a reason you joined Team Magma, and it was because you cared about your future. Because you had morals, class—”

“Are you fucking serious right now?!”

“Silence!”

“Do you hear this guy?! Team Magma, don’t—”

“Archie!” Maxie roared. “Control your team!”

Archie stared back at him, but could not move. He could not make a sound. Both teams stared at him. The lack of motion made them fall silent. Maxie regained his composure. Courtney narrowed her gaze: breathing shallowly, scrunching in his shoulders…

“You were selected for this assignment because you excelled in your respective fields. You were selected because I believed you demonstrated the level of intelligence and discipline necessary to bring our plan to its ultimate fulfillment. It is a privilege to be on this mission. It was a gesture of my trust and good faith in you. Do not betray this good faith by proliferating these kinds of falsehoods,” Maxie said. “Please recall all that I have given you over the years. Your livelihoods, your education, your future. I ask very little of you in return except that you adhere to my word. I do not believe what I ask of you is unreasonable. All I have given you—and all you now take for granted—is in your hands. I will revoke it all in an instant if you do not rectify your behavior. And you will have only done it to yourselves, as it is written very clearly in our code of conduct.”

There was an expectant silence. A quiet wind blew through the ship, carrying one, perhaps inaudible, “‘Rectify.’” A snicker.

“I do not wish for it to come to that. I do not want to jeopardize your future. I truly do want for you to succeed. But I will follow protocol to every last dot of an ‘i’ and cross of a ‘t’ in our handbook if that is what I must do. It is the least that I owe to you as your leader. This slander poses a vital security risk; it is fabricated by Team Aqua in order to drive a wrench in our goal just at the brink of our achieving it. It is a conspiracy against me, and against our entire organization. Can’t you see that?”

“This is bullshit,” a voice from Team Aqua yelled.

“He’s fucking lying to you.”

Courtney noticed how Maxie almost flinched, but covered well enough to appear indifferent. There was something in him. The locking of his spine, the tightening of his ribcage… his entire chest was closed, even though he pulled his shoulders back to appear menacing. She could almost feel his heart rate fluctuating. But he was locking it all in to tighten his grip on the thing that she could see, that came burbling its way to break through…

Maxie flipped through the list. “For those of you who have been caught perpetuating this nonsense—yes, do not believe for one moment that Courtney and Tabitha did not take note—I have in my hands an itemized list of your names, aid status, and the kind of speech you were engaging in. Those whose names I list here, you are being put on probation with a one-strike policy. Utter this foolishness again, and you will face a similar fate to those who engage in any other form of mutiny. Additionally, if this does not cease at once, I will discipline every team member on this ship after our mission is complete. Guilty or not.”

As Maxie began to read off the names, the voices swelled.

“This a public execution.”

“Damn, y’all live like this?”

Maxie raised his voice over the shouting and pressed forward, finding deeper refuge in his litany of heretics.

“Carter Cifarelli.”

Carter had been expecting it.

“Emily Summerland.”

“Emily!?”

Guilty by association.

“Ebony Amari.”

One much braver voice boomed from the crowd: “Free Isaac!!”

Maxie froze. This time, he located the offender immediately. “What did you just say?”

The male Aqua stared back up at him, undaunted. “I said free Isaac. Give him his Pokémon back, you bastard!”

“What did you just say to me.” The deadpan in Maxie’s tone made it very clear to Team Magma that the next few moments would not be pretty. Did Team Aqua know what sleeping monster they had just awakened—?

Meanwhile, more whispers grew on the deck. “He took his Pokémon? Dear god I didn’t think it was true…” Now emboldened, more Aquas called out in protest.

“I said give him his Pokémon back!” “Free Isaac!” “Free Isaac!”

The fire in Maxie’s voice was welling. Courtney watched it rise from his chest, seeping through veins, pressurizing its vapors against the cap. “You would so much as dare question the authority I have over my own team?!”

“He’s fucking lying to you!” “We didn’t do this!” “He did it to himself!” And the final, more boisterous: “Maxie FUCKED Archie!!”

That was it.

Archie locked up. Team Magma cringed. By the time everyone could make their next movement, Maxie had already reacted. Team Magma scampered to either side as they saw Maxie reach into his pocket and hurl out a Pokéball. Metagross came out with a thunderous roar, shaking the deck as it hit the ground. Everyone swayed to keep their balance. None of them had ever seen it before. What kind of Pokémon did Maxie even have..?

Maxie, in blistering flame, lifted his hand to his glasses and activated his keystone. Metagross burst into a brilliant white light as it took its Mega form. Maxie stared directly down at the offender and gave a low, venomous hiss.

“You dare to challenge me?”

Shelly bolted from her place on the deck. “This is fucking bullshit,” she yelled, reaching for her bag. “You dare threaten a fucking kid?! You asshole!” She threw out her own Pokémon, and a hulking Walrein appeared opposite the Metagross. Team Aqua’s voices rose, jeering the fight on. Team Magma followed suit—although, not quite sure who to root for. Archie jumped up and placed himself in between the two Pokémon.

“No. No! We’re not doing this. We’re not fucking doing this!!”

“Archie. Move out of the way.”

Archie turned back to him. “Maxie, stop.”

“Archie. Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Shelly, put your Pokémon away.”

“Archie, control your team.”

“Maxie put the Pokémon away.”

“You’re in my way, Archibald.”

“We aren’t doing this,” he looked out to the sea of widened eyes. They were only children. “Not now. Not on my goddamn ship. Go on. Get. The lot’a ya. We’re in a truce.” He started to swat Team Aqua and Team Magma away, but many of them were too petrified to move. Courtney and Tabitha tried their best to help Archie herd them.

“Your team has grossly disrespected me, Archibald.”

“And you’ve grossly disrespected every honor we have aboard this ship,” Archie said to him. He then turned to Shelly. “Put your Pokémon away. We’re not doing this.”

“Archie, you’re defending him.”

Ignoring Shelly, Archie again called out to his team, who couldn’t help themselves but to continue to stare. “Get. Not another bloody peep about this from any’a ya. This is done. Over. Captain’s orders. Get! The lot’a ya. Get!”

Team Aqua hurried away. Team Magma followed. Shelly retrieved her Pokémon, but Maxie’s remained.

“Get away, Shelly,” Archie said. She grudgingly obliged, giving her leader a stern side-eye as she passed.

“You’re going to regret this.”

“That’s for me to decide.”

As all parties scattered to the wind, Maxie saw that it was clear and put his Pokémon away. He started to retreat back to the room, but Archie beat him to the doorway.

“We need to talk.”

“I don’t need to talk to you at all,” Maxie said. He attempted to push past and open the door, but Archie caught it. Archie was twice as strong as him.

“Maxie. I am dead serious.”

“No!” Maxie’s voice was quaking. “I don’t need to talk to the likes of you! I don’t owe anything to you! I never have!!”

Then Maxie saw that Courtney and Tabitha were still standing on the deck. Watching him. “Courtney. Tabitha. Leave.” They obliged without question. Archie held on to the door. There was no use in trying to overpower him. Maxie loosened his grip, allowing Archie room to enter.

“Alright,” he said. “What do you want…?”

“What do I want?” Archie said. He watched Maxie limp over to the couch like a wounded animal. “What do I want?! Ain’t that fuckin’ obvious?”

“Please. You are torturing me.”

“Me? Torturing you? Really?”

“Archie, I can’t take this anymore,” he crumpled and pulled his head into his sweater. There was something so defeated, so desperate, so terrified in him that Archie had never seen before. “It’s all too much. It’s all too much…”

“Maxie, ya’gotta calm down. You’re driving yourself insane.”

“It’s all just as I feared… after all this time… all this time… it’s all going to fall apart… slip right through my very hands…”

“Maxie. You can’t act like this. You’re threatenin’ people on my ship all ‘cause’a some stupid little rumors—”

“Rumors that are true!” Maxie looked up at him. Tears were streaming down his face. It was something Archie had never seen in him before, and he, in a panic, said the first thing that came to mind.

“Oh, come on. We haven’t f—” okay wait that was the wrong thing to say.

“This can’t happen. This can’t happen. This can’t happen…” Maxie moved away from the couch and started pacing around, trying desperately to distract himself from anything and everything going on both inside and outside his head.

“Maxie. You’re not actin’ right. Are you okay? What’s wrong—?”

“You know full well what’s wrong!!”

Of course he did. But he didn’t know exactly what to say. Maxie said he didn’t want to talk about it. Clearly, they needed to. “Maxie. It’s all okay. It ain’t a big deal. Shit happens.”

When Maxie continued muttering to himself, too involved with whatever was going on his mind to hear what Archie had to say, Archie continued speaking. Soft and low.

“Maxie. You gotta lighten up. You gotta let this go. Look at what’s happenin’ ‘round the ship. They’re all rising up against you. Your own goddamn team. You gotta do something. Let the boy go. All he did was fall in love.”

“No. That’s in the handbook. That’s in the handbook. He disobeyed, disrespected—”

“Maxie, if you don’t loosen the reins you’re going to ruin yourself. And I don’t wanna sit back and watch that happen.”

Maxie stopped. There was a flitting moment of truthfulness, a passing breath of sincerity that moved between the two of them. But, once again, just as quickly as it happened, Maxie shook it away with, “No. No. This can’t happen. I can’t let this happen…”

“Maxie it’s already happening! Ya gotta do something! Somethin’ besides being a raging asshole and killin’ every single part of yourself that feels human—”

“No. I’m above this. I run my team how I please. Nothing is different between us. How could I even let something so foolish happen in the first place? I’m above this I’m above this I’m above this—”

“Above what?! Emotion? Vulnerability? Being a fucking human being?”

“Above scandal. Above losing control. Letting my emotionality overwhelm my rational thought. My ultimate goals—becoming so negligent at such a critical point in my mission—”

“Maxie, what are you saying—?”

“I’m above this. I’m above—whatever is happening. I’m above this I’m above this I’m above—”

“Above what? Above what?”

“Allowing myself to fall for you.”

All the pounding noises in the room ceased. They once again stood suspended together. A piercing kind of suspension where each stared through the other like glass. Now it was said. And Maxie knew nothing else to say. Archie broke the silence, although only tentatively.

“Are you saying…?”

“I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

“Wait. Maxie. What are you saying?” Archie’s pulse began to soar. Had he heard correctly? Maxie continued to mutter to himself, unintelligible, pacing around the room even more frantically. Archie pressed forward. “Fall for me? Maxie when did that happen—? When was that—?!”

“This will all be over by tomorrow. It will be nothing. It will be dust. I shouldn’t have let my guard down over something so frivolous. My circumstances, my goals, my vision… they won’t allow for this.”

“Maxie. It’s okay to feel things. I don’t mind. Actually, I—” Maxie stopped him, either totally unaware or completely aware of where Archie was going with that.

“Please. Archie. We need to maintain decorum. We are the leaders here. We must exercise discipline. They are watching our every move. We can’t do this. We can’t have them thinking of us like this. I can’t show any sign of weakness. Not now. The fact that I let myself develop feelingsfor someone like you—”

The way he spat those words seared like venom brandished on a knife. Archie knew exactly what they meant. And to think he had been ready to take this in a different direction entirely.

“Someone like me?”

Oh that had sounded bad. Maxie shrank. “Well no, not like that—I didn’t—I just meant that our circumstances will not allow for—”

“I think it was pretty clear what you meant, Maxie,” Archie said. He almost laughed, but only out of the grim sort of amusement found in sickening denial. “Not that I should be surprised, with the way you talk.” Maxie followed Archie with his eyes as he circled the room.

“You know? On this trip, I was startin’ to think that maybe… I thought maybe you had changed. That something had finally gotten through t’ya. I could finally see’ya as a fuckin’ human being again. But no. You don’t accept any form of kindness. You don’t accept any form of criticism. You just wanna sit up there atop your arrogant high mountain and never come down. Not for me, not for anyone. You drive everyone who loves you away from you, you know that? Everyone who’s just tryin’ t’do their best for you. You need to open up. You need to say something. You need to loosen up and fucking live.”

Maxie saw something in Archie that had the vaguest sense of hope, and he almost began to understand wholly what Archie meant. But he reminded himself of his mission. He wasn’t here to make friends. And he especially wasn’t here to make friends with Archie. Free talk had already condemned him once, long ago. He would not allow it to do so again. He spun back around and meticulously, systematically hissed the four words that had been spinning in his mind for hours, days, months, weeks, years.

“Loose. Lips. Sink. Ships.”

Archie stared back in disbelief. With Maxie standing so close to him, spitting the words directly in his face, he knew it was of no use. Archie stepped back and shook his head.

“You have problems, Maxie. Seriously. Terrible, fucked up problems that you won’t let anybody else help. You don’t listen to no one. So why in the hell would you listen to me? You have the right to live however you want but… actin’ like you’re better than everyone? Draggin’ around all this shit from your past? It ain’t healthy. And all it’s gonna make you do is end up alone.”

“Just the way I like it.”

“Maxie.”

“Don’t pretend you care about me!” Maxie nearly shouted. “Don’t pretend you’re doing me some kind of favor by forcing me out of comfort zone, by coaxing me and teasing me and telling me to open up. Don’t pretend our rivalry was some kind of sick little game to make me grow! This sudden wave of kindness from you does not negate the past fifteen years of our lives. It does not erase how you and your party treated me when I was younger. It does not erase the day that you took my ideas and ran. It will not erase the fact that you hopped on the back of all my research, copied the designs of my machines, and none of what has gone on recently will erase the fact that you are still my enemy and our goals for the world are completely opposite!”

Archie was silent. Maxie was right. They had never been very kind to one another, had they? Not very recently, and not until now. Once, briefly. But that time was long gone—almost like a dream.

“You’re right, Maxie,” Archie said. “I can’t make up for any’a that. Not at all. I got no excuses for myself. When you needed me most… when I could’a stepped in and did something… I kicked you down further. That much is true. I was weak, and I was an ass to you. And I ain’t sayin’ it’s right. But I was young and I was a fuckin’ idiot back then. I didn’t know what the hell I was doin’. And if I had known, I never would’a done it to you. But I was hopin’ we could grow outta all that… that we could forgive and forget. And for a while, I thought we did—”

“That was brief. That was nothing.”

“Well, I guess I thought we were forgettin’ again.”

“Nothing you can do… nothing you can say… can erase what you have done in the past.”

“You’re right. And it can’t erase the fact that you kissed me.”

Maxie was silent. Archie was right. He couldn’t run from that fact, either. It was the nightmare he had woken up to this morning. He lowered his head, “Like I said… that was a mistake…”

“Alright then, I’ll bite. Then it won’t change the fact that I enjoyed it.”

Maxie looked up. His eyes widened. There was no way this was happening. He shook his head. “It doesn’t change anything.”

“Y’know Maxie, all that shit you mentioned—it ain’t right, lookin’ back—but I did half that shit—stole your books, stole your plans—well, it’s kinda messed up, but I think I did it ‘cause I admired you.”

“You did all this because you admired me?! That’s quite a backwards way of showing it.”

“I didn’t say it was right. But you built dreams in me, Maxie. Dreams I never knew I could have. Before I met you—well, before we started really talkin’, I guess—I had no dreams in life. None but to just kinda drift. I was headed for the fuckin’ gutter. But you reminded me of somethin’ that I loved, and you showed me a way I could get it. Your vision gave me a vision. And that’s why I dropped outta school to build a crew and chase that dream—a dream I could give back to somebody else someday—”

“So you decided to live out your dreams by hijacking mine. Yes. I see. What a glorious way to show your appreciation for someone.”

“God damnit Maxie! I was tryin’ t’be honest here. You were right all along. My team wouldn’t be nothing without you. And hell, I wouldn’t either.”

“Glad you finally acknowledge it.”

“But… if the land and sea are so symbiotic… like we been sayin’. Exactly like we were sayin’ yesterday… then what are you without me?”

It was Archie’s last lifeline. And for a moment, Maxie wanted to say something else. He wanted to be honest. He wanted to try saying something he had never said before, although at the same time he had no idea what that would be. He momentarily glimpsed the heavenly light, the possibility of infinities in him. But as he again felt the pull—the comforting weight he felt in the water—he remembered that it was this very magnetism that had compelled him to sin. Perhaps eternally damned him, unless he could claw his way up out of hell by tomorrow. Archie was his enemy, and the beauty he now saw in him—this desire he now felt—was placed in him for torture and torment. To lead him to forsake his own life, his dreams, his vision, his afterlife. The light he saw in this man was not that of an angel. It was of the very devil.

It was in this state of revelation that he knew he must shun the guise of heaven to escape the pit of hell and that he reasserted the reality he had always lived in. This was not a man who was ever kind to him. This was the man who had bullied him as a child. This was the man who had stolen his things and abandoned him. This was the man whom he had sworn to be his enemy for the rest of his life. In a sane world, this choice would have been easy. He must cut through the alluring shadow, this flitting, nonsensical illusion to clarity. For his own good. For the good of humanity. What was he without Archie?

“Exactly the way I’ve always been.”

There was nothing left. As Maxie twisted the blade, something unseeable in Archie’s eyes died. It was a silent, painless death—not blazing and violent like he would have imagined, considering the way that Maxie wielded his word-like swords.

“You’re right. What was I thinking?” Archie said. “No words are strong enough to move a mountain. And you can’t breathe life into a dead sea.” Archie reached into his pocket and set something down beside him. A beautiful silver chain left his hand and sat like a corpse on the table. “I won’t bother you again.”

Chapter Text

The evening passed quietly, rather uneventfully. The whispering on the ship had died down—while many were not truly satisfied, they had gotten a rise out of Maxie, and that was really what most of them had wanted. After all, his extreme behavior—and Archie’s sudden listlessness—all but outright confirmed their suspicions.

“Maxie is a fucking hypocrite.” “We’ll get Isaac’s Pokémon back if we have to steal them.” “I hope Kyogre kills him.”

As daylight carried on toward sunset, the clouds began to huddle together, creating deep pockets of gray and blue. Shelly briefed the crew to prepare for the worst—it was unlikely to be too terrible, mostly just a heavy rain—but it was always better to be over-prepared than under. Doors were latched down, weights carried to and fro—looked like this would be their stopping point for the night.

Courtney wandered on the deck in the late evening, continuing to assure that nothing was getting out of hand. Although, most groups had scattered to the wind. Her watch blipped. She looked down at it: Courtney, may I speak with you privately? -M

While it was odd for Maxie to request to speak with her alone, in the absence of Tabitha, Courtney quickly made her way across the deck. The wind was picking up. Archie was still staring out into the sea. Throwing rocks or something.

Almost as soon as Courtney knocked on the door, Maxie opened it. He looked tired and worn down. Like something was rotting in him from the inside out.

“What is it… Leader Maxie sir..?”

“Courtney, you don’t need to be so formal. It’s nearly midnight. This isn’t a typical meeting.”

“….Oh.”

Maxie sat down on the couch. The air was thoughtful and heavy. “Courtney, you asked if there was anything you could do for me. Now, I believe there is.”

“Yes, of course, sir.” Saying ‘sir’ was really more out of habit than anything. Even though everything was visually the same, Courtney was beginning to detect a shift. He was playing with a silver chain in his hands.

“You have known me much longer than Tabitha, and seen me in many more different contexts than he has.”

She looked to him somewhat puzzled. While it was true he was working as a grad student in her lab while she was an undergraduate—and they had developed a friendship from there—it had been such a long time since he addressed her just as a friend.

“You know more of what I have suffered through—subjected myself to—and you were one of the only people who stayed around to witness it.”

She nodded. His graduate school years had been riddled with stress and pain and terrible, terrible coping mechanisms, despite the success he met and the face he put on. It was more like one long breakdown riddled with momentary intermissions of relative peace. He had gotten much better since then. Or, so it appeared.

“You have seen me at my worst. My weakest. And yet you not only stayed with me, but agreed to join my team,” he said. She nodded again. “Why did you do that?”

The question was so simple she was almost surprised he asked.

“What do you… mean…?”

“Why did you stay here with me even after you witnessed me falter and fail and make a foolish mess out of myself in every possible way?”

Maxie and Courtney stared at one another. She read the expression on his face. It was one of weakness. Defeat. “Because I care about you, Maxie,” she said. “Tabitha does too.”

--

Archie sat alone on the deck. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there, but he almost had a mind in him to sit there forever. Christ. Why had this happened? Why didn’t anything make any damn sense anymore?

The rain first began in tiny droplets. Archie closed his eyes and let the water to run down his face, slowly pressing its cold weight more and more down his shoulders and neck. He knew it was wrong to try to change people, but it was still difficult—even after being at odds with him for so long—to see Maxie systematically destroy himself. But maybe Maxie was right, maybe he didn’t need anything else. Maybe he was happy that way. Although, he certainly didn’t seem like it…

Archie needed something to get this off his damn mind. He looked around—a few loose chips of wood, some stones they used as weights. They didn’t need all these. Or, if they did, he was sure they could spare a few. He unwrapped one of the weights—just a cloth with some stones inside—and grabbed the first one. He looked back at the closed door, then out to the water. He hurled the rock toward the blackened horizon and into the sea. One.

The rain picked up. He grabbed another. For an instant, it felt like a smooth, silver chain in his hands. A flash of terrified gray eyes pouring tears that pierced him, that pleaded for him not to break it. Best he fucking forget about that. He hurled the rock in the sea. Two.

He picked up another. The spindly hand writing at a desk. His command of a pen. The intelligence and fervor with which he spoke. A laughing conspiracy kept between the two of them. He threw the rock in the sea. Three.

He threw another. And another. And another. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Archie hurled stone after stone into the water without caring where they might land. The books, the maps, the books, the maps. Dirt on pale fingertips, freckles on his sunburnt cheeks. A stone in the palm of his hand. Quiet midnights. Reading lights. A shabby treehouse and an infinite expanse of cloudy stars. A lean figure rising before dawn, stealing away on his own—leaping, twisting, spiraling, bounding—playing with movement, imitating his Pokémon, contorting his form in a hall of mirrors. Dancing his secrets in the morning sun…

He didn’t do that anymore, did he? Though he still rose before daylight, all the music was gone. All that remained were the ghosts of the words from down that old, abandoned hall. Words that asked who are you, really? Where are you going? Other that prayed to hold on, not let go… who are you really? Where are you going? Hold on to me. Who are you?

Archie had never thought anything of the words. They were just something that echoed before dawn when the man thought he was perfectly alone. They were just a song to sing. Music to dance to. But now, looking back, was there ever something more? It was perhaps just another part of the man that had died. A part that Archie feared he himself might have killed.

Archie continued relentlessly on as the rain plummeted down and engulfed him. God damnit. God damnit. God damnit. The man and the sea. The man and the sea. The man and the sea.

--

“You are our leader… but we both… admired you as a person before that.”

“But I haven’t been quite a very good person back, have I?”

Courtney frowned. “Not necessarily… of recent… But that doesn’t mean you are all bad…”

“Courtney, be completely, totally honest with me. I need to know the truth. Am I being unreasonable?”

“Well, yes.”

He wasn’t surprised, but her quickness to reply still hurt. “And you follow me regardless?”

“We trust you. We will follow you wherever you need… because we want to. Because we believe you know what’s… best for our team.”

“I don’t always.”

This took Courtney by surprise. For him to admit to err, to be human… he continued to weave his fingers in and out of the chain. Like it was distracting him. Or, perhaps, entrancing him further.

“Do I drive everyone away from me?”

Courtney stared back at her leader—no, her friend—as he looked to her at a complete loss. The Maxie she hadn’t seen for years—the Maxie who was alone and afraid and unsure of what to do—came out as his eyes wavered back and forth, almost glassy. He had never outgrown this piece of himself. He had simply buried him deep in the ground, choked him and suffocated him and lacerated him into tiny pieces with hundreds of words and swords so that he would not have to risk coming forward again. Courtney wasn’t sure what to say, but she knew she needed to tell the truth.

“You do make it very… difficult… to get along with you sometimes…”

“I figured as much,” he said. “As a leader, I know it isn’t always about being agreeable, but as a person, well…” he stopped, looking back down at the chain. “Well, it’s quite hard for me, you know. To be a person.”

“But that means those who do stay, they do truly… care…”

“And not many have.”

“I will,” Courtney said, sternly. “Tabitha will too. And I think… I think there would be many others… if…”

She started to drift as her eyes locked on the chain. It was new. She could sense his heart beating… beating… beating. Steadily, but with purpose. His breath: slow, heavy.

“For the sake of our mission, I need to be strong,” he said. “I need to carry on, as I always have. But suddenly everything seems so confusing. For my own peace of mind, I wish…”

“It’s just the stress,” Courtney said. “This is the most… important time in your life. And things haven’t really… gone according to plan…”

“Things haven’t gone at all according to plan. That’s just it,” Maxie said. “I feel that can’t afford to fail. It’s not just for me, but for humanity. And yet I believe that in my pursuit for humanity I may have forsaken my own.”

“I would… call that a fair assessment…”

Of course.

“Science, technology, facts, progress… these are things I put my faith in. These are things to be trusted. They are concrete. Knowable. Everything else in the world is uncertain. Only a theory. And yet… this model does not feel complete.”

“Maxie,” Courtney said. “Then you should know as well as I do that… science asks nothing but questions. It is built on nothing but theories. It may help us to understand… to explain things that happen in the world… but it does not explain away the world.” Maxie looked to her. “Furthermore… there are some things on the earth… science has no place to understand.”

Maxie stopped. Courtney was right. This misplaced obsession with facts, with knowledge, with progress, with things that could only be known and observed… it was perhaps a way for him to hide from something deeper.

“Courtney, there are so many things going on that I wish I could tell you.”

“You can.”

Maxie shook his head. “I’m not ready.”

“I have faith in you,” Courtney said. “We will always… be here for your either way.” The sound of the rain grew outside. Thunder rumbled. They both looked to the window. “Now I should be… going…”

“Yes, yes. Thank you, Courtney.”

“Thank you, Maxie.”

“For what?”

She stopped again to study him. His breath, his chest, his heart, his spine—open. Stable. Nearing weightless. Approaching flight. “For being honest,” she said.

--

When Courtney re-emerged from the room, Archie was still sitting on the deck, despite how the rain had picked up. It really didn’t bother him, but he had run out of rocks to throw.

The sea swayed with an unceremonious lilt. Hardly any light reflected off the water; nothing but the hundreds and thousands of tiny dots that poured down to the surface and drowned themselves in the sea. The stones were far below them now. He wished the water could say something to him, but she looked on silently. Tilting back and forth with a resigned sense of understanding. Maybe that was enough.

He imagined the stones sinking deeper and deeper. But it was not an endless expanse they would meet. They would fall and fall until they found themselves at the very bottom, resting on a bed of sand, mud, stone. And there, unless carried by fish, the current, or wild Pokémon, they would remain forever. No matter how they moved, everything, everything always returned to the earth. Even the waves kiss the shore again and again and again…

All his life he had never known the words to say. He had carried on laughing without a care in the world. He thought he never had any cares at all. But he could see things now that he hadn’t seen back then, and he knew there were things he hadn’t realized how deeply he needed. If he had known back then just how radically his life would have changed because of this… How he himself would have been molded by this pursuit of his rival, by the movement of the earth and sea and sky.

Just when he had come to know these things—how profoundly he had changed, and how deeply he cared—any words he could possibly form were formed much too late. So now he could only hope that the words might take their rest in the wind or the waves or the earth, if they would only otherwise be met with the bitter, cold, and darkening scorn of the man they were meant for. At least, he hoped, they could rest in the earth.

By tomorrow it would be over. It would be dust. But for tonight, he couldn’t get the man off his mind.

--

Maxie was alone in the room again. The silence he so longed for now greatly disturbed him. He needed to do something to busy himself. Reading would put him too far into his own mind, and, even though it was late, trying to sleep would take him even further down to a place he did not want to go.

He glanced around at his surroundings. Papers, books, clothes, bottles, garbage littered about everywhere. Ah. Perfect. He could clean.

He lifted the chain in his hands and examined it once more. It looked almost identical to the original, although he knew the original was long gone. Although, it seemed stronger. He inspected it closer. Was it made of real silver? No. It couldn’t be. Well, he couldn’t tell.

He reached into his collar and removed the necklace from around his neck. The mangled old cord did seem—beaten. And heavy. A weight he had carried around since his adolescence and managed to guard with his life and never damage again. Carefully, he undid the knot and took the gem off its string. He strung it through the new chain. That looked much better.

Maxie started on his way sorting out the mess that was Archie’s room. He grabbed another empty crate—there were a few of those—and gathered up all the loose clothing strewn out here and there. He placed them in a corner of the bedroom. Archie could deal with that later. Then he straightened some of the picture frames—some of Archie, Shelly, and Matt, others of the whole team, some of Archie and his friends in college—and wiped the dust off a shabby little clock that didn’t even seem to be working correctly.

As he gathered up the old papers, he realized that many—not all—had stories of Team Aqua invading somewhere or robbing this or that. Courtney was right. It was like he was trying to hold on to something. Why did he want to keep all this junk? Unsure of what to do—and to be more polite than simply throwing them away—Maxie folded them up neatly and went to place them in a drawer by the desk.

But when made his way around to the desk, he started to pick up on some of the finer details. Archie had a few notebooks—rather used looking—stacked up in the corner. An old map of Hoenn, with potential locations of the cavern circled…

Wait. He had seen that before.

This was his map.

Maxie turned the paper around, and, sure enough, his name was written there in red ink. Dated from twelve years ago. This was the map that Archie had stolen, along with some of his other books, when he had resolved to drop out. To finally see it again after all these years was surreal, to say the least.

And wait… was that—? Maxie reached for one of the more familiar-looking journals. His field notebook. He had gotten reprimanded for misplacing this, but he had sworn it had been stolen. Twelve years later and, sure enough, it had. Maxie opened it up and flipped through. There were some notes from their class trip to the desert on Route 111—records of fossils and rock formations that Maxie theorized had been linked to Groudon. Those were the notes he kept to himself, of course, rather than anything that had to do with coursework.

But Maxie noted some things that had been circled and underlined, things he certainly hadn’t done. He came to a particular passage regarding Groudon and Kyogre—more of a stream-of-consciousness-type rant he had gone on than anything substantial. But it appeared Archie had underlined a paragraph—regarding Kyogre and Groudon fighting over the region and shaping the desert and how it developed to the way it was presently formed—and written, simply: “This is really smart.”

Before he caught himself getting too sentimental, Maxie opened the desk drawer and placed the papers inside. But when he saw what was already in the drawer, his heart nearly stopped.

Inside was a handful of papers and clippings, not just of Team Aqua, but—more overwhelmingly—of Team Magma. Articles not just from the paper about their research accomplishments, awards, endowments, but even their promotional materials. Posters, flyers, brochures they gave out at schools… almost everything Maxie could think of they had ever put into print. Why was he keeping all this…?

One particular clipping was from several years ago—when Maxie had been featured in Hoenn’s 30 under 30 with—Christ—Steven Stone. To have to suffer through such a wonderful honor alongside the spoiled son of Devon’s president, nonetheless—but why did Archie care about this? Perhaps it was true. Maybe Archie had always admired him. Still, it made up for nothing, and he had a terrible way of showing it…

But when Maxie reached for the article, something else caught his eye. A large piece of feldspar in the corner was sitting atop a few more loose papers. Why was he keeping such an enormous—and dare he say it, beautiful—specimen tucked away so deep down in a drawer? Where did Archie even get such a—wait. That was his too. For Christ’s sake. How many of his belongings did Archie actually have—?

Maxie dug his hand deeper into the drawer, expecting to be met with a sea of more clippings and advertisements. But he quickly made contact with a hardcover book, and a glint of gold lettering shone through. No. It couldn’t be. Maxie pushed aside the other papers and read the title. The Encyclopedia of Hoennian Myth. His chest trembled—to see it again after so many years. A gift from his mother that his rival had so thoughtlessly taken…

Maxie reached for it, but quickly noticed two pieces of paper tucked neatly on the inside. They appeared to be addressed to him.

Dear Maxie—if you’re reading this, it means you’ve finally done it. Groudon went and dried up all the land…

Dear Maxie—if you’re reading this, it means Kyogre made us all a big new beautiful sea…

--

In the dark, the clouds were hardly distinguishable from one another. And now, after the stones had undoubtedly reached the bottom of the sea, Archie noted how the dismal skies conspired with the water in a conversation that seemed to be about him, not to him. The ship swayed in return, pervaded with a sense of emptiness as the rest of the crew slept warm and dry in their cabins below. He could go down and stay dry, of course. It was getting cold out here alone. But to move from where he was—outside the view of the door—was almost too much.

A hooded figure appeared on the deck. At first, the horns made her appear quite like the devil. The grim reaper herself. Of course, Archie thought. What else would be left for tonight? But her small frame—precise gait—communicated a machinelike focus. As she glided closer, Archie realized it was Courtney.

“Courtney—?”

“Hello, Archie.”

There was purpose in her voice. Urgency. Before Archie could even ask why she was here—why she had ventured so far back out into the rain—she reached out from her cloak to hand something to him. It was a small piece of glossy paper… a photograph?

“I think you should have this.”

“Wha—?”

“Goodbye.”

She had already turned and was halfway across to the lower deck. Archie looked down to the paper in his hands.

--

Maxie had to do a double take. The just-legible chicken-scratch—how the letters bled into one another into a kind of pseudo-cursive—the speed and weight with which the characters were drafted indicated these were definitely written in Archie’s hand. Feeling rather hopeful, Maxie drew his attention to the Groudon letter first.

Congratulations, my boy! You got what you always wanted. And I gotta hand it to ya, you put up one hell of a fight gettin’ there. No one deserves it more than you.

The truth is, I’ve always been chasing behind you. Ever since day one. And I mighta done some downright crooked things to you in the past, but I owe a lot of what I have to you. The day you taught me that Groudon and Kyogre weren’t just myths - but that it was very possible they were still alive in our world - well, boy, my world changed too.

I don’t know what I’m tryin’ to say here, if I have any sense in even sendin’ this letter, or even if you’ll read it, but you worked your whole life for this, and while I might not always be the happiest about it, I know you are. And that lets me rest easy. I guess I just gotta sit back and watch what you do next. It’s been an honor to fight you, old scamp. And it’ll be an even bigger honor to see what kind of world you build. So now I guess it’s time to finally give this back to you. I sure as fuck don’t need it anymore.

I hope that someday you can look back and think of me not just an enemy. But as somebody who looks up to you, and even, maybe, if you’d like, a friend. That might be too much to ask you at this point - you got much more important shit to do, and all I’ve been doin’ is fightin’ you this whole time - but I just thought I’d ask. Probably sound rambling mad at this point. That’s fair. I ain’t got a lot of sense in me anyways. Just know I’ll still always be plain old regular Archie, and I’ll always find another sea to sail. You’ll always be the smartest man I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Hate to say it, but I might even miss you some. Good luck, Maxie. I’m proud of ya. Always have been.

The Kyogre letter was much more brief:

Sorry things didn’t work out for you. I know you probably hate me. But just know you put up one hell of a fight. It’s fair you might never forgive me - I wouldn’t expect you to. So I might seem rambling crazy even sending this to you - if you get far enough to read it - but I just wanted to let you know I never hated you. In fact, I owe a lot of what I have to you.

It’s been an honor to fight you. You showed me nothing but strength and determination - somethin’ I even kind of grew to admire in you. And now that it’s all said and done, it might be askin’ a lot - especially since now you know me as the man who stole all your hopes and dreams - I would hope you can remember me not just as a rival, but as a friend.

I hope you’ll forgive me someday, if you decide I deserve forgiveness. I ain’t askin’ you to - but if you do, I’d be honored to get to know you better, Max. Deep down, I think you are a remarkable person, and I’d like to be there for you whenever you need. Because even though I feel like king of the world now, I’ll still always be plain old regular Archie, and you’ll always be the smartest man I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Maxie looked back into the drawer. Beneath the spot where the book and letters were, he saw more. And more. Partial drafts, hastily ripped out of notebooks and scrawled on bits of scrap paper—words scratched out, blotted ink, sentences started and restarted over and over and over again:

I’d love to - I’d be honored to - get to know you better - Sorry things didn’t work out… - Hate that I had to do this to you - I’m sorry. - I hope that someday you’ll forgive me - Thank you for building dreams in me - I always admired - over the years… I think I learned to look up to you - I think you are an incredible - I think you are remarkable - you are an admirable person - Dear Maxie… - Dear Max - Maxie - Maximilian - Fuck no… - Maxie - Max - Dear Maxie - Christ, what do I call you?

Tears started welling in Maxie’s eyes. The fact that Archie would be so thoughtful as to prepare a letter, whether he won or lost—and to painstakingly dwell on each word—well, there was something in it that was deeply moving. Archie hadn’t been the kindest. Ever. But he had never been outright cruel. Not except only once, many years ago, when he was pressured into breaking the chain of Maxie’s necklace by his peers.

A chain that he had since gone out of his way to replace.

Maxie began to think that perhaps it was him who had been unfair. After all, he had been fully prepared to abandon Archie after this week. To leave and never say another word, after over fifteen years of knowing him. While Archie was so honorable as to say thank you, as to even offer to build something new with him. That Maxie never had it in his mind to do these things, even though there was still one thing he held on to, one thing no matter how many times he tried, he could never justify getting rid of.

--

Archie traced the outline of the image with his thumb. That was undoubtedly the Magma base; the iconic “M” hung on a tapestry in the corner. The red and black furniture, the table, the chairs—sleek colors and shapes that reeked of Maxie’s taste. But, just as unmistakable as it was that the image was taken in the Magma base, just as unmistakable was the model ship on the shelf. Particularly, a ship he had given to Maxie after Maxie had talked to him about Groudon and Kyogre for the first time…

As Archie continued to stare, trying to keep it dry as best he could, another figure appeared in the darkness. Archie turned to look at it. The silhouette threw him, but the frame was familiar. Gaunt, thin, kind of clumsy-looking, especially without the jacket—wait. That was Maxie. Archie stood up.

“Maxie?”

“Yes, Archie,” Maxie said, almost breathlessly. The rain had already drenched him—he must have abandoned his coat for fear of getting it wet again. His hair hung limp and thin against his forehead, framing his face in watery threads. “It’s me…”

“What in the hell are you—”

“I’m sorry,” he said, as if the words could not escape his mouth fast enough. They both stood there with each other as the rain continued to pour. “My behavior toward you has been abhorrent. You have shown me nothing but kindness and I have returned it with bitterness and hatred.”

Archie looked on to him, baffled. Maxie dug his feet in where he stood, for fear of falling backwards into hell.

“All this week I have grappled with my better judgment, struggled against what I know to be true in the world, reiterated to myself the importance of technology and discipline and progress and focus—”

“Maxie I don’t understand…”

“All this week I have battled with and against these things I have used for years to bring myself a sense of propriety. A sense of safety and assuredness that logic and reason will always prevail. And although it has always been incredibly easy for me to prioritize these things above my own needs, there is something within me that cannot be silenced nor explained away.”

“What the—?”

“I am confessing my love to you,” the words ran together into almost one. “I don’t know where along the line it happened. But my mind is haunted by you, and no matter how many times I have tried to quell it, I am still drawn to you against my better judgment, against my will, against all law and reason—”

Oh. For a moment Archie thought this would have gone differently. “Against your better judgement?”

“I mean—it is not rational. But—”

“See there it is again. All you do is talk down to me. Talkin’ about how you’re ‘above this’ and ‘too good’ for that. You love me against your will? Where’d the fuck you think that one was gonna get’cha? That supposed to be a bloody compliment or something? Kind of a shit-fucking one if you’re askin’ me—”

“I’m sorry—” Maxie said. “I wishI had a better way to say this to you. But I do not, because I’m that lost. I’m that lost and confused and everything I say and do keeps making everything worse—”

“Do you want me to feel bad for you?”

“Archie I read your letter,” Maxie blurted out, still desperate to claw his way back up out of hell. Archie stopped. “Both of them. I’m sure I wasn’t supposed to find them… I don’t even know if you intended to send them. But I needed to get my mind off of things and—”

“And you dug through my stuff—?”

“A lot of it was my stuff, actually, so don’t pretend you’re totally blameless here.”

Ok, fair.

“But I saw all my old papers, writings, books. Posters, letters, flyers—things from Team Magma. Things you kept. Why? Why did you keep them?”

“I told you. I admired you.”

“And I have wholly misunderstood you.”

Another silence. Maxie picked it up. His heart and lungs coiled—he couldn’t risk standing still.

“It’s true you stole my things. You plagiarized all of my work. We’ve established that. But I held a grudge against you. I held it for ten—fifteen years if we’re including our youth. Some of it earned, much of it not. But your actions and words of late have made me realize that you care deeply—”

“Fine time to realize.”

“—and you are, without a doubt, a kinder, braver, and much more honorable person than I am.”

This caught Archie’s attention.

“I have hidden all my life behind facts and figures to protect myself from harm. This was not always the correct thing to do. Very rarely, actually. I was wholly prepared to abandon you after this journey ran its course—”

“Of course.”

“—while at the same time continuing to hold on to the one thing I have left to remind me that there was ever a good time between us. However brief—”

“Eight months.”

“Meanwhile you were totally willing to offer your hand to me, regardless of who won or lost. And that is when I realized that that is how it’s always been. Our goals may be diametrically opposed, yes, and we have hundreds of reasons not to think very keenly on one another other. Yet, this has never prevented you from extending your generosity to me, so much so as to welcome my entire team aboard your ship when you very easily could have refused. Had I been in your position, I would have denied you outright.”

“Of course.”

“But don’t you see Archie? That’s because you’re a bigger person than me. No matter how I treated you, no matter what I said, you always met me with honor and respect. Not always—direct honor, no… you—well, you said a lot of crass and disrespectful things to me, actually—but there was still a deeper level of—you always—well. You still—” this was going poorly.

“I get it.”

Did he really get it?

Archie shrugged. At least Maxie was trying.

“Regardless—I continued to turn a blind eye to you. But there continued to be something in me I could not explain away. So I attempted to kill it. Again. And again. And again. Holding long dead grudges over my head that I wrongly projected onto you.”

“I mean, I did cause a fair amount of your pain.”

“Not nearly the amount of pain that I caused myself in dragging it all out to spite you.” This was a revelation Maxie hadn’t fully formed until he said it.

“I’ll bite.”

“I think I did it because I was afraid of what would be left without it. We exchanged no words. You disappeared and became my enemy just when I felt comfortable enough to open up to you. Left with my books, my records, my research, and my dreams. A dream that I had confided in you about. I had nothing left of you but a grudge.”

Archie nodded. “I can see that now, and it wasn’t right of me.”

“If I did not hold it against you, I would perhaps have to face something within myself that I was using the grudge to conceal.”

“And that is—?”

“That I still cared about you,” Maxie said. “And now, that I love you. Deeply. I don’t know when along the line it became so. But to care so profoundly for someone that by all logic and reason I should be fully resigned to hate—well—it doesn’t make much sense. But there are some things in life that shouldn’t make sense. There are questions and mysteries in our world that science cannot and should not try to understand. I see it now. Every puzzle, every challenge, every question, every mystery you threw at me—I meticulously and systematically tried to destroy. In the name of science. In the name of petty logic and faulty reason. For some pretense I was hiding behind. And that’s not only hateful, it’s bad science.”

There was a heartfelt pause. For the first time in perhaps decades, they had maybe reached an understanding.

“I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. But you do not owe me that. Not with the way I have behaved. I just needed to come clean, once and for all. Because in the face of everything around me, this feeling is so deep and pervasive that no amount of logic and reason or scientific awards and recognition would ever be able to quell it. It speaks louder within me than any other voice I have ever heard. Even above my own.”

The rain continued to fall as Maxie stood awaiting his reply. Archie took a moment just to witness it—the rain pouring down his face—his drenched clothing, the water, the cold—and the pale, silver chain that hung around his neck. There was something in him, in this moment, that was nothing but beautiful. But Maxie, in his current state, having just thrown himself entirely off a cliff, continued scrambling and clawing at anything that might spare him from damnation.

“I know I am a dead sea. There is little to no life left in me. And for it, there is such an emptiness… such a need… I have wronged you, wholly, and it is something for which I am not sure any apology could ever mend.”

Archie approached him.

“Well, I think we’ve both done our fair share of tormenting one another, so we’ll call that one even,” he said. “We both deserved what we got comin’ at us,” he gave a laugh. His hand stopped at the necklace. “May I?” Maxie nodded. Archie took the necklace in his hand.

“But what are we to do now?”

Archie looked at him, confused. Maxie said again, “What’s next—?”

“Well,” Archie said, pressing his thumb against the chain. The red scale appeared duller in the rain water, despite how the silver gleamed. “First things first, we get you out of this rain. You look absolutely miserable.”

“There would be more than one reason for that, currently.”

“Then,” Archie placed his hands on Maxie’s shoulders, “you get some rest. Think about Groudon tomorrow.”

“Yes, what are we going to do about—?”

“We’ll go on the way we have for now. We owe it to both of our teams. They’ve worked hard for us,” Archie said. He started to walk Maxie back to the door.

“Yes, of course.”

“But I’m sure you already know, I won’t be the most beat-up in the world if I lose the race I was already runnin’ behind in,” Archie said. There was a smile in his eyes, that old sense of friendly combat that Maxie had recently taken to gunfire.

“How kind…”

“Hey.”

“Hey. I kind of meant that.”

“Kind of,” Archie laughed. “I still hate your stupid little rock monster. Don’t think that changes that. So we’ll finish this fight, fair. And from there, we’ll see where the wind blows.”

“Thank you…”

“For what?”

“I’m not sure. For listening? For not outright rejecting me and mocking me entirely?”

They were standing in the doorway now.

“No problem,” Archie paused. He might as well say it. “Hey, Maxie. Do you think we were like… fated?”

“What—?”

“To summon Groudon and Kyogre?” he said. “I mean, lookit us. We wear their costumes. We dance their dance. You grew up by the mountains. I grew up at sea. We’ve been in this ridiculous war with each other—somethin’ so small that blew up to massive proportions—do you think we were destined to make this thing happen from the get-go?”

Maxie shook his head. “I wish I could believe in something like that. But it’s all a mess right now. Nothing seems right or clear, and I have a hard time believing this could be anything but a natural disaster.”

“Well, anyway, I’m glad it happened,” Archie said. Maxie wasn’t quite sure what to say. After a brief pause, Archie shook it away with, “Alright, well, get some sleep. We’ll see what happens when this is all over.”

Archie started to head back toward the lower deck, but Maxie stopped him.

“Archie—?” he asked. “You aren’t going to stay here—?”

“I said I’d give you your space. You need it.”

“It’s really alright.”

Archie stopped to get a better look at him. There was something in the man that looked back at him with a coy sense of need. A subtlety in his expression that asked something more. If anything else, it was blatantly obvious the lack of sleep was getting to him. “Maxie, you’re the only natural disaster I see ‘round here right now,” Archie said. “Sleep in the damn room.”

“I—”

“You went from loving me to hating me to threatening a kid to hating me to loving me in less than 24 hours. Get some fucking rest. See how’ya feel when this is all over.”

“It’s your—”

“Sleep. In the damn. Room.”

“Alright, alright.”

Before he left, Archie brushed the chain on Maxie’s chest once more. “This looks really good, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Maxie said. “It was a gift from someone very special to me.”

Chapter Text

Morning broke quietly as the rain died down. No alert went off on Team Magma’s phones. At ten am, the sun was slowly, but surely, re-emerging from the clouds, and it was Maxie, not Archie, who found the whole of the crew awake on the deck.

“Well would you look at that,” Shelly said, walking over to him. “Look who finally decided to sleep in.”

“Um… thank you.”

What?

Maxie seemed quieter. All the rage boiling in him yesterday was strangely dispelled. Still, the damage had been done. They’d see how today went. Archie sauntered over to the two of them. He glanced at Maxie perhaps a beat longer than he normally would have. Maxie gave him a small, shy nod hello. Shelly noticed.

“We gotta make one last stop in Sootopolis before we can reach the cavern,” Archie said.

“Wait.. why?”

“That’s where our submarine is,” Shelly told him.

Oh yes. Maxie supposed they needed one of those. That… that had been the entire point of this voyage, hadn’t it?

“It’s just outside the city, ‘round back in another cave we found near the island,” Archie said. “And we’ll probably need all your fancy lil’ maps and calculations in order t’find it.”

“Are you telling me… are you saying you don’t know the precise location of the cavern..?”

“Well, no…”

“We know where it is, Jesus Christ, Archie.”

“But you all have it down to the decimal, dont’cha?” Archie said to Maxie. He looked back to Shelly. “Besides, we cheated off him anyway.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“You would’a beaten us there,” Archie told him with a wink. Shelly rolled her eyes..

“…Charming?”

“Well, let’s get all our things in order, get ready to shove off!”

Archie made a brief announcement to the rest of the crew, then Team Aqua and Team Magma went on their way to complete the chores. Team Magma kept their heads low. Courtney and Tabitha headed off to chase them, but Maxie stopped them.

“Courtney, Tabitha, it’s quite alright. Let them complete their duties in peace.”

“Yes, Maxie sir,” they said. Though, they did kind of wish the relentless flip-flopping would cease. Courtney heard the ease in his voice. His posture was not locked into place as if he must project his own force. She examined Archie. His weightlessness mirrored Maxie’s own. She grinned.

Now left with a relative measure of free time, at least for the next half-hour, Courtney approached Shelly.

“Good morning, Shelly…”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk to me.”

“We are not… quite sure of that at the time being…”

“Fearless leader still can’t make up his damn mind, can he?”

Courtney decided to ignore that. It wasn’t really about Maxie right now. “I wanted to… thank you…”

Her words took Shelly off-guard. “For what?”

“You were right…” she said. “Maxie is my friend… and I should be allowed to call him out when he is… wrong… I would be a very terrible friend if I did not.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“Additionally…” Courtney noted how Shelly’s shoulders had scrunched in when she mentioned Maxie. The slightest strain of apprehension in her vocal chords. “I know how you feel about Archie. He is someone for whom you care deeply… perhaps even took a romantic interest in early on… but realized it was for the better if things did not progress. It is for this reason you still feel the need to be his protector… In your time on this team with him, you have seen again and again how Archie… faces the world with a fair amount of innocence that you… admire. And therefore, wish to preserve… This observation is accurate…. Archie faces life with a fearlessness and abandon that is not often… demonstrated in most people. It is something truly… remarkable in him, and something that deeply contrasts with Maxie’s own… callousness and reserve. I also understand that this therefore causes you a fair amount of… anxiety when it comes to Archie’s relations with our leader, especially as they have been… evolving of recent…”

“Hey—What?!”

“All of your fears are… justified based on the behavior demonstrated on Maxie’s part. I will not make excuses for him… his actions have spoken loud enough on their own… But I did want to say that I understand you… very much so. Perhaps moreso than you know… And I do hope that you do not… hold any grudges about us moving forward… as I… intend to hold no grudges against you…”

“Excuse me?” the words were not so much out of anger as they were pure shock.

“Maxie is not all bad,” she said. “I do believe he wants to… change… but your fears, your need to protect the heart of your friend… these are all very… rational things. We will tell by Maxie’s actions in the coming weeks as to whether or not he will… stay true to his own humanity.”

“Hey. Courtney… what the fuck?!”

Courtney pulled out her phone. “Maxie can be… fun to be around… Do you want to see some… pictures of him in college…?”

“Um…?”

Courtney was already scrolling through her phone and lifting the screen up for Shelly to see. Shelly was still reeling from Courtney’s analysis—and its terrifying accuracy to a level she hadn’t even been fully conscious of—but when she saw the little red ponytail coming off of young Maxie’s head, she burst out into laughter.

“Ponytail?! I didn’t know he had a ponytail…!”

“I have all… sorts of things I could show you…”

“I bet.”

“Look… here is another…” Courtney said. It was a selfie of her and Maxie in the desert on Route 111—ponytail and sunburn to match. Maxie was in the background–apparently unaware the photo was being taken–hunched over to examine a large boulder. But, upon closer view, he clearly was sticking his tongue out and holding a piece of rock to it. Courtney, in the foreground, was making a devilish winking grin, holding her tongue out to a rock as well. “We do that to tell certain minerals apart…” she explained. “They have different tastes…" She swiped to reveal another photo. It was clearly of the moment when Maxie caught her taking candids. Shelly laughed.

Courtney continued, “I really… wish we had more time to stop in Sootopolis…. There is a lovely little… cafe I found there on vacation that sells all sorts of yummy sandwiches… and little… cookies shaped like Zigzagoons… and cupcakes shaped like… coffee cups…”

This was the most Courtney had ever said to her. Shelly wondered if it was the most Courtney had ever spoken…? She was now rattling off about the sweets and food in Sootopolis—a city Shelly had nonetheless been to more than once—and scrolling through more pictures of her leader on her phone. It was, in all honesty, kind of creepy, but twice as adorable.

Just then, an alert sounded on Courtney’s watch. She snatched the phone away before Shelly could glimpse at the notification that appeared. Courtney read it over. “Deepest… apologies,” she said. “I must be going….” Before she left, she turned back around to Shelly and said, “I do… hope that we can spend some more time together… in the near future…”

“Uhm. Okay—?”

Once everything was set for sailing, all the grunts gathered on deck to listen to Archie’s instructions. Archie updated them on the stop in Sootopolis, and then, before Archie could give the okay, Maxie stepped in.

“Archie if you don’t mind, I would like to say something.”

Archie made way for him to speak. More grumbling came from Team Aqua. Archie hushed them.

“I understand matters were a little unnecessarily heated yesterday—“

“A little—?”

“Free Isaac!”

“I’m getting to that,” Maxie almost lashed out again, but reeled it back. “Christ won’t any of you let me speak—?” He shook it away. “Well, what I was going to do was express my sincerest apologies for the events of yesterday. Much of it was wrong of me, and quite undeserved. As your leader, it was unfair to go back on my word so abruptly. You are correct.”

Both Team Aqua and Team Magma looked to each other, and then back up to him in a daze. Was he actually apologizing?

“I set a very poor example, and I understand that I likely lost a fair amount of your respect. And as I do not wish to sacrifice the integrity of our mission—as today marks the dawning of our most ambitious pursuit—I will extend the offer for those of you who no longer wish to work under me to immediately resign from our team, and from the mission, with no consequence. Those of you on scholarship will be paid out in full for the remainder of the academic year.”

Awed stammering from Team Magma. Team Aqua couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “What a circus this has been.” “Truly a three-part extravaganza.”

Shelly nudged Archie. “Well who would’a thunk.”

“You could even join Team Aqua if you were so inclined,” Maxie said. “At this point, it wouldn’t be all that difficult, would it?” Was that humor or passive aggression?

“What about Isaac?”

“Once again, if you will let me finish—“

“You’ve talked enough—“

“Hey,” Archie said. “Knock it off. We’re still in a truce. He’s still your co-captain.”

“Boooooyfriend!”

“Hey don’t y’all wanna see this?” Archie said again. “Get a load of the big man actually stoopin’ down and apologizing to you. After all these years. Hush up. Let ‘im make his little scene. Enjoy the moment, ‘cause you sure as hell know it ain’t ever happenin’ again. Get’yer phones out. Take a video for all I care. Just shut up n’let the poor man speak.”

Maxie looked over in concern at “take a video,” but knew it was better not to cause an issue. While there weren’t many takers, a handful of Team Magma grunts started reaching for their pockets.

“Put the phones away,” Tabitha barked.

“No no, it’s quite alright…..” What was the use in fighting at this point? “This might as well happen…”

He straightened up, now even more aware of the grunts, who were watching his every move. “All I ask is that for those of you who stay, you keep in mind all the work we have put in over the years—all we have done as a team, and why you joined. Remember that once we reach the Seafloor Cavern, the truce is expired. Both of our teams have vital—and opposed—missions to complete.”

Solemn nods. Despite what they had said about him earlier, no one in Team Magma seemed particularly enthused about abandoning the mission.

“Because of the fuss, I am deleting the records of what transpired yesterday, all of you are free from worrying about disciplinary action in that regard. Let’s all proceed with a clean slate and do our best to pretend this never happened, hm?”

“Thank fuck.” That sounded like Carter.

“Now, Courtney, if you would.”

Courtney appeared from the crowd carrying the black and red box with the Magma “M” on it. Maxie stepped down from the higher deck to meet her and the grunts at eye-level.

“Thea? Where is Thea?”

Team Aqua looked around. A few nudged her forward as she tentatively came out of the shadows. Courtney opened the box to present it to her.

“These are Isaac’s Pokémon,” Maxie said to her. “Assuming that we all emerge from this endeavor unscathed, I trust that you will deliver these to him safely. You may also inform him that his position in Team Magma is always open to him should he choose, and I will pay out his scholarship in full.”

Thea accepted the Pokéballs, giving him a thankful nod before scampering back into the crowd. Team Aqua began to cheer. Some whistled and clapped, and Team Magma, once again, was not entirely sure what to do. “Free Isaac!” “Isaac is free!!” “That’ll show you, you rat bastard!”

Archie and Maxie both looked to where the voice had come from, but could not pinpoint its exact location. Maxie said, quietly, “Please don’t say those kinds of things I was trying to have a moment…”

“Ha! Gaaaayyyy—”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant—”

“Aight, that’s enough kids,” Archie said, seeing it was high time for him to take the reins before things went south. “You done with all that sentimental crap, Max?”

“I plainly wouldn’t refer to it as such, but yes. I am, in fact, finished ‘with all that sentimental crap.’”

Laughing. A few more claps. No one could really believe their eyes, but they certainly were enjoying the show.

“We’re pushin’ off toward the cavern, then,” Archie said to the crew. “This is the last leg of the trip. Come tonight, one of us would’a won, the others lost. But win or lose, till we reach the cave, we’re in this together. And when we get there, well, may the best man win.” He extended his hand to Maxie. The two looked at each other with a new sense of understanding. Courtney witnessed the mimsy and frumious creatures in both of their eyes that met each other as they made contact.

Wait. Mimsy—? Frumious—? What kind of nonsense—?

Compared to the teetering uncertainty of the last few days, everything was at last calm on the ship. Serene. Things were going so well, in fact, that everyone knew it would be quite difficult to pry the two teams away from one another in only a few hours’ time. But everyone—for once—accepted it for what it was, and trusted that when the time came, it would happen.

Archie, Maxie, and the other admins sat together to eat. Maxie, while still far from a social butterfly, was no longer disconnected. Was he even smiling—? Shelly continued to throw suspicious glances at him, but saw how Maxie did not appear to be hiding something anymore. A force or weight had almost visibly lifted itself from his shoulders, and she decided to just let it go. Maybe it was a pleasant turn of the tide. Even if it did mean they’d have to work a little bit harder to take this asshole down.

But then Maxie received an alert on his phone. Courtney and Tabitha’s watches pinged as well—but the grunts’ did not. Oh. This was important. Seeing the name on the alert, Maxie hurried away to take the call.

“What was that—?” Shelly asked.

“It’s… Blaise,” Courtney said, looking down at the message. He was one of the only admins left to guard the base while she and Tabitha—higher-ranking officials—had accompanied Maxie on the mission. Archie, Shelly, Courtney, Tabitha, and Matt looked over to Maxie pacing back and forth, talking frantically into the phone. He was facing away from them, so none of them could even begin to make out the frenzied words. After a minute or two, Maxie returned to the table.

“What is our ETA to the cavern,” he asked.

“Uh—”

Courtney’s eyes glazed over as she flipped through the navigator on her watch. “Two hours, fifty-five minutes, approximately 27 seconds…”

“How does she do that—?”

“Why? Maxie what is it?”

Maxie inhaled and gave Archie an exasperated but knowing sort of look. He let out the words with an irritated sigh, “It appears as if we’re going to have two meddlesome teenagers and one wealthy professional eavesdropper joining us at the cavern—”

“What do you mean—?”

Maxie looked to Courtney and Tabitha. “The children raided the base. They discovered one of our maps. Now, it is written in code, thank Christ, but knowing Steven Stone—”

“He’ll get it.”

Maxie sighed again, disgusted that he even had to utter the words. “He’ll get it.”

Archie burst out into laughter. “Ha! Ya’gotta hand it to ‘em! The kids’ve got spunk!”

“I’m sure it’s just Steven manipulating them…”

“Looks like it’s really gonna be a party when we arrive! The more the merrier, huh?”

“Quite. Merry…” Maxie slunk back down into his seat. “I can’t believe after fifteen years my mission is about to be hijacked by Steven Stone and two twelve year old children who think they’re saving the world.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re sixteen.”

“That isn’t better.”

Nothing could be done in the present moment. All they could do was reach the cavern and pray they got there before Steven Stone. Maxie briefed the two teams—with most emphasis on his own—on the urgency of the task before them. If Brendan, May, and Steven showed up at the cavern, it was absolutely vital to take them down before they reached Groudon. Or, uh, Kyogre too.

Chapter Text

Maxie stood on the ship looking up at the sky. The sun was bright—nearly cloudless. There was a light breeze. He wondered how much brighter, more intense, the sun would become if Groudon awakened. Aqua and Magma grunts meandered on the deck. The storm of whispers had passed, and now there was nothing left but the expectant silence found in a fast-approaching change; like the end of a play, or the early hours before a graduation.

Tabitha happened to pass by—perhaps trying to get away from Matt, who had been talking his ear off for the last hour or so—and Maxie caught him.

“Tabitha, I would like a word with you.”

Tabitha froze. His stomach dropped. What could this possibly be about?

“Yes—of course. Uh… yes, Maxie sir.”

Had Courtney told him about the tracking—?

Maxie seemed different. The two appeared, for once, to be almost at eye-level. “You were perhaps one of the first people I owed an apology to.”

“…What?”

“Earlier this week I treated you quite unfairly,” Maxie said. “Abhorrently, actually. I allowed my anger to get the best of me, and I continued to hold it against you. While it was somewhat justified—the boy had escaped, our plans were upended—” Oh this was going poorly. “Well. It was ultimately a trivial mistake on your part—tardiness nonetheless—and had you not been tardy, perhaps—well. Well that is something we can never know.”

Tabitha stood in an openness that could only spell utmost confusion.

“Either way. I reacted poorly, and I now realize the gravity of my error, and for that I would like to sincerely apologize.”

“Oh,” Tabitha said. “Thank you, Maxie sir.”

“I do truly appreciate what you and Courtney do for me and I have rarely expressed that. I have grossly taken for granted your work and your dedication to me and this team. I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me.”

The words were long-coming. In fact, he had never heard them before. In that moment, Tabitha saw Maxie as himself again. Not the cold superior he had become.

“Of course I do, Maxie.”

“You will always be my right hand, and I look forward to our work together in the coming years.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

As Tabitha walked away, he felt as if he might have even grown a couple inches taller in the exchange. Had there really been that much pressure on him to live up to Maxie’s expectations? Maybe after a while, he had just grown numb to it. But the weight that had been suddenly—and quite mysteriously—lifted from Maxie gave him permission to feel weightless as well.

In a few hours’ time, the ship rounded the giant dome of Sootopolis city—approaching from far enough away that any stray boats would not immediately recognize the vessel as Team Aqua’s. The ship began to approach another white, rocky island in the distance away from the city. With the location of the submarine in sight, Aqua and Magma grunts began gathering their things—Team Aqua pulling out standard exploring basics like rope and flashlights, Team Magma wielding more technological equipment: pagers, GPSes, walkie-talkies, screens, monitors, headsets, radars. A few wheeled out large, cannon-like machines with a drill and something that looked like a grappling hook on the other end.

“What—what is all that?” a few members of Team Aqua asked.

“It’s for Groudon,” they said. They were being deliberately vague. They had to be.

The cave on the horizon was growing larger and larger. Archie and Maxie stood watching the ship come together, and Courtney approached with a small chest.

“Sir,” she said, handing the case to Maxie. Archie glanced at it.

“What is that—?”

Maxie opened the box and inspected the gemstone inside. It was wrapped in thick, silky red fabric. “The orb?”

“Oh. Right,” Archie said. “We got mine around here somewhere—” Archie wandered off to go looking for it. Maxie almost laughed. Did he really not have a better place to keep it than “around?”

The male Aqua grunt, accompanied by Thea, approached Carter and Emily.

“Hey nerds. Happy Groudon Day.”

“Oh, umm… Happy… Groudon Day to you too—?”

“Happy Kyogre Day.”

They laughed.

“I hope we all don’t die today.”

“Yeah I try not to think about it. Maxie made us sign a waiver.”

“Oh god.”

“I really hope we all don’t die.”

“But if we do,” Carter extended his hand to Team Aqua, “it’s been a good run. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

“Harder than the one we already blew?”

Carter and Emily burst out laughing.

“Holy hell that was a good time—!”

“God… I’m gonna miss you guys so much,” the male Aqua said.

“Hey, let’s think best-case scenario here,” Emily said. “Nobody dies, everyone goes home. Archie and Maxie adopt us all as their children—”

“Emily—!!”

She laughed. “I said best-case scenario. Best best-case.”

“I hope I see you guys on the other side,” Thea said, still carrying the box of Isaac’s Pokémon.. “Whatever happens to our two teams… I really hope we’ll be able to hang out soon.”

“If we can’t, we’ll just break Maxie again.”

“We’re basically pros at this point.”

Carter and the Aqua high-fived. Emily and Thea shared a knowing glance. Carter suddenly got very quiet as he looked back at the male Aqua and said, gravely, “I still get a huge bonus if Groudon wins.”

“Yeah fuck you, landlubber.”

“Dirty pirates!”

“City lillies!”

“Yar har! Shiver me timbers! Swimming is a lot of fun!”

The male grunt pushed Carter. “That was still the worst fucking insult you could ever come up with, you little red piece of shit.”

“Hey, I try.”

“See you in hell, lava boy.”

“I’ll save ya a seat, fish lips.”

Things between the two teams, while markedly different, were tentatively returning to normal. It was a conscious effort on both their parts. Even if it was much more in good humor than it had ever been before.

The ship stopped in a bay on the tiny island. As Team Aqua and Team Magma filed out—admins overseeing to make sure things went smoothly—Archie and Maxie looked out on to the entrance.

“Well, this is it, mate.”

“Indeed, it is.”

“It’s been a good run,” Archie extended his hand to him once more. Maxie shook it.

“Truly an odyssey, to say the least.”

Archie turned to him. “Maxie, if we both don’t make it out of this thing alive—“

“Don’t talk like that. Of course we will.”

Archie took him by the shoulders to look him directly in the eye. “If we don’t make it out of this alive… I’m glad that I knew you.”

Maxie grinned. “I as well.”

“Let’s get this show on the road then!”

Archie took off down the ship onto the beach. Maxie followed closely behind. Courtney and Tabitha took roll of every team member and reminded them of their positions. They filed into neat, orderly lines proceeded by Maxie. Team Aqua made their way down in more of an eager clump headed by Archie, Matt, and Shelly.

The cave was dark, but enough light poured in from above that the submarine was illuminated in a pool on the inside. Matt and Shelly opened the door. Archie stood on the stairway.

“Aight, everybody! This is it! Once we step foot in that cavern it’s all fair game! It’s a race t’the finish line, just the way it’s always been! Yall’re gonna have to pretend to like each other for this last leg of the trip—it’s gonna get pretty snug in there. Now, lava-lickers, after you.”

Team Aqua ushered Maxie and the rest of Team Magma inside. On his way, Maxie examined the exterior drill, and then internal shape—main control panels, sonar system—yep. These were Team Magma’s designs, almost to a T. At least he could have faith that it was structurally sound. That is, assuming Team Aqua’s engineers—or, whoever they had employed to assemble it—had done a decent enough job.

“Saved’ya a spot,” Archie said, indicating the main oversee seat in the vessel.

“Are you sure…?”

“It’s basically your submarine.”

That was fair. Maxie took the seat—with Archie standing next to him. Courtney, Tabitha, Shelly and Matt took their places nearby. The submarine made its descent.

Maxie watched as the water grew deeper and darker. No light could escape the surface this far. Somehow, he wished he could reach out and touch the rock formations as they passed, as if coming in physical contact with something would solidify the moment. After nearly two decades of work, it didn’t seem real. It had existed only as a thought for such a long time. And now here they were, both of their teams living and breathing together in a submarine that was once only a thought itself. A matter of minutes away from entering a very real, very physical cavern, the inside of which no human being had perhaps ever seen.

They made it to the seal. Team Magma, who was perhaps even more familiar with the controls than Team Aqua, assisted in deploying the drill. Team Magma donned headphones and earplugs and looked pitifully on at Team Aqua, whom they simply warned to cover their ears. Archie suddenly realized he hadn’t considered the technical reality of sitting in a giant drill. Maxie handed him a pair of earplugs.

The drill screeched on with a deafening mechanical whirr. The walls of the submarine quaked. Even through their covered ears, the sound was overpowering, shaking and engulfing their bodies as much as the physical movement itself. Team Magma and Team Aqua grunts braced themselves against the walls, and against each other. Thankfully, this thundering earthquake only lasted a handful of seconds. There was quiet. They were now in pitch darkness on the other side of the cavern wall. Loose debris and rock floated by the windows and settled at the bottom of the sea.

“Man, that sure is one hell’uva drill,” Archie said through his ringing ears.

“It had to be.”

“You ready, Max?” Archie asked him.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I’ll give’ya a head start.”

“That’s completely unnecessary. Team Magma could defeat you lagging twenty minutes behind,” Maxie said, smiling. Archie laughed. “Please. Allow me.”

The submarine surfaced. Team Aqua and Team Magma grunts eagerly crowded around the submarine windows to get the first glimpse of the inside. While the most they could make out from here was just the dark water and a few rocks, their awed whispers no less pealed with hushed excitement. “Oh my god this is it.” “We’re really here we’re really here.” “This is real oh my god it’s real.”

The door opened and both teams began filing out. They were not currently in a hurry to get anywhere, though, with their eyes looking up and around to take in more of the hidden beauty of the ancient cave. It was humid and damp—the air was heavy with moisture, demanding a bit more effort from their lungs than normal. While they were closed off from any source of light so far down in the water, there remained an odd glow that lit up stalactites and stalagmites that spiraled up and down the walls. While most glowed yellow, others shone red, blue, green—making crystal formations in the ceiling and walls appear like beautiful rubies, sapphires, emeralds.

Team Aqua and Team Magma stood at the ready, awaiting Archie and Maxie’s instruction.

“You sure you don’t want a head start?” Archie asked again.

“After you.”

Archie grinned. “I’ll see’ya on the other side then.”

“I very much hope so.”

Archie let out a booming howl as he leapt down from the boarding dock. “Alright mates! Get to it! Let’s goooo!” He and the rest of Team Aqua started running off deeper into the cavern. Before they made their final exit, Archie turned back to look at Maxie. He gave him a nod and small salute. “Thanks, Max,” he said and turned to disappear. Maxie smiled.

“May the best man win.”

Maxie stood there for a moment, rapt in the man’s passion, as he watched his rival and his team vanish further down into the cave. They followed the man with a loyalty of heart, a sureness of spirit that leapt and bounded in and out of plummeting fire and crashing waves. A spirit which now, all things considered, he was more than honored to spar against. In that moment, Maxie watched his rival disappear and felt the essence of that timeless conflict—that cosmic duality, that sacred, primordial dance—and he was more than happy to play his role.

Chapter Text

At the very bottom of a magnificent sea, Team Magma, following their coordinates, happened on a large, arching corridor that looked as if it had been carved out by an ancient beast many years ago. Ruby-red crystals on the either side of the corridors gave off an eerie light. As they approached, they started to feel the heat of the room within. Maxie, leading the march, saw the pool of magma up ahead, and a large stone creature resting at the center. Groudon.

The Magma grunts positioned themselves around the corners of the room—locations they had been able to map out prior using drones and sonar over a period of months. One squadron climbed up to the higher ledges and positioned their drills there. Maxie signaled for them to ground themselves. The sound of thirty or so drills screeched through the chamber, echoing off the walls. Team Magma stood at the ready.

Maxie, Courtney, and Tabitha approached the sleeping titan, which towered easily ten feet or more above their heads. Courtney presented the case to Maxie. He extracted the orb from the container, leaving behind the silk shawl it was wrapped in. Courtney climbed up to her position on a higher ledge to give signals to the upper units. She flipped on her headset monitor and read Maxie’s vitals. His heart was definitely pumping, but he was stable. Breath regular. Body temperature at his usual 97. Tabitha hung back below.

Maxie felt the power of the orb in his hands. It felt warm, radiating into his arms, connecting with his chest. He stared gravely at the giant. The blood in his hands started to boil, pumping in sync with the pulsating energy in the orb. He pressed his hand to his glasses.

“Are all units ready?”

“Sector A drill squadron is a-go.”

“Sector B control unit is a-go.”

“Sector C ground team is a-go.”

“Command unit is a-go,” Courtney said. She signaled to Maxie. “All units ready.”

Maxie straightened his posture, breathing in the power he could slowly feel creeping through his blood, and made his way toward the primordial beast.

With each step forward, the energy from the orb pulsated further. It began drawing him with a magnetic force, pulling him from his chest. He followed it, steadily, deliberately. As he drew closer, the orb began to burn hot in his hands. He did not let go. The fire started to burn its way up his arms…

Courtney’s monitor blipped. She glanced at it.

Maxie stepped closer. Team Magma looked on in dead silence, awed anticipation. But the silence was quickly broken as two pairs of footsteps came rushing in through the corridor.

All but Maxie looked back at them. Steven and Brendan appeared at the entryway.

“Stop!!” Steven yelled. Maxie stopped walking, but did not immediately turn. Courtney could feel herself drifting.

“Tabitha, monitor Maxie’s vitals,” Courtney said quickly into her headset.

“What—isn’t that your—?“

“I’m about to have a vision. Do it.”

“Alright, alright. I copy. Over.”

“You need to stop this immediately!” Brendan called out, reaching for his Pokémon. Courtney switched her radio frequency.

“Archie—?”

“Isn’t that sweet. The Pokémon League Champion. Gotten some children to do your bidding—?”

Maxie’s heart rate was rising. Breath wavering. Tabitha watched as the numbers rose steadily—slowly inching toward the dangerous zone. They weren’t quite in jeopardy… yet.

“Archie. Archie. This is Courtney. Do you read me?”

“What in the hell—?”

“The same could be said about you, Maxie. They’re all just children. This has gone far enough.”

“And who are you to tell me so?”

“Courtney when did’ja hack into my watch—”

“That’s irrelevant…”

“We’re going to take you down, Maxie. We’re just giving you the chance to surrender.”

“Take me down?! Oh no, not Steven Stone~!” Maxie hissed. “That’s precious. Just precious. Not with the power of the red orb. Not with the power of Groudon—”

The rising hatred, the near insanity in Maxie’s voice made Courtney suddenly very aware of just how easily he could be portrayed as the villain in someone else’s story.

“Archie, in case things get… bad… I need you to be at the ready.”

“What’re you goin’ on about—? We’re in the thick of the cave—!”

“I have waited far too long for this! Immeasurably long! And now you are the final obstacle remaining between me and my goals—”

His vital signs ticked and wavered, beginning to jump up and down erratically. Tabitha looked back up at him. For a moment, he thought he saw a glint of light glowing from within the orb. Body temperature, steadily rising…

“It behooves me to use every tool at my disposal to eliminate you.”

As Brendan and Steven hurled out their Pokémon, Maxie began cackling. His vitals spiked. The Magma grunts on the upper and lower ledges looked onto the scene, alarmed, but held their positions. They were not ordered to move. It was critical that they maintain focus.

Courtney had just taken another glimpse at Maxie’s Camerupt when she suddenly witnessed the whole scene from above—engulfed in an explosion of fire. The primordial beast rising—two, three, ten times its current height. It crashed through the top of the cavern, sending rocks toppling down below. Landslides, rockfalls, magma oozing down the sides of the walls. The room, the cavern crumbling inward…

Maxie was muttering, and his heart rate was now quickly accelerating—body temperature dangerously heating—he had not stopped the laughter. In fact, it only grew louder as he lost the ability to control his own Pokémon.

“Ha… ha… Ahahaha! Fuahahahaha!! Kahahahaha! GAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”

Steven and Brendan flinched. The glare in his eyes—the reality of his total, unhinged loss of control struck them. This wasn’t about Pokémon anymore.

“Splendid! Just splendid you foolish young trainer! No—I should be calling you my HERO. YOUNG HERO. Struggling so desperately against all odds to halt THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD’S END—!!”

Tabitha froze. Courtney saw the beam of light. The flash. The pillar of fire that came plummeting down—on Maxie’s face—on all of them—

“Tabitha!!” she nearly shrieked. “Tabitha you need to stop him.”

“Are you—”

“Tabitha I’m all the way up here you have to intervene—”

“Are you crazy—?”

“Are you listening to him—?!”

“I can’t—”

“Tabitha we are all about to fucking DIE—”

Courtney was right. Tabitha rushed up to them. “Maxie!” he said, placing himself between Maxie’s Pokémon and Brendan’s own. The familiar voice seemed to calm Maxie, if only momentarily. “Steven’s right.”

Maxie’s eyes widened. Now that Tabitha could get a closer view of him, he saw that his pupils had dilated, his irises bright red—

“What do you mean. Steven’s. Right.”

The hiss was that of an awakened beast.

“It’s… very possible this power could be far greater than our calculations show. Leader Maxie, sir—please… What Primal Groudon could bring about could be the end of the world.”

Maxie straightened up. For a moment, it seemed as if he had been quelled. But he still held the orb in his hands, and the fire rushed up through his veins, searing his body from the inside out. In the face of the raging fire within him, his voice came out with a deathly coolness.

“Tabitha. After all these years…” his voice reawakened with a deeper snarl. “Do you think I had not noticed? Always vying for my position? Such a sad development. To be betrayed by my right hand—”

“ArchieArchieArchieArchie—”

“Gah! Whaddaya want, Courtney?!”

“In the end… there is only one being upon which I can depend!” he turned and rushed toward the monster.

Courtney changed her frequency. “Sector A - ready the braces!” she ordered. She had too much to pay attention to at the moment. This was not going as planned. The Magma grunts, so engrossed in the terrifying descent of their leader that they momentarily forget they were even there, buckled down to their machines. This was really not at all going according to plan.

“Groudon!” he drew closer and the orb began to glow. As he raised his arm, Courtney glimpsed a glowing red line coming from the inside of him palm—moving down his wrist—hidden by his sleeve—

“Reclaim yourself! Revert to your primal form! This is the time to take back to great evolution we lost in the past! Reclaim all the power—all the possibility we once had—!”

The ancient stone began glowing—the same sickening red now emanating from the orb. The orb lit up with yellow—the Omega sign was now completely visible on the inside. The light from within started to break fissures in the rock—

“FireFireFireFire—!”

Sector A fired the braces. If Courtney was panicking, this was bad. Large, metal hooks shot from the cannons and wrapped around the Pokémon, who now began to shed its stone husk. It started to rise—

When Maxie turned back around, everyone saw the Omega burning bright on his forehead. His irises were intensely yellow. Matching the fiery glow that started to break forth from the massive Pokémon—

Courtney abandoned her post and started sprinting down at him.

“Gahahahahah! At last! AT LAST—! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS—AFTER THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS—I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT—!!”

Groudon let out a booming roar, so powerful it shook the walls of the cavern. Steven and Brendan directed their Pokémon toward it. Groudon pushed and tugged at the braces that now covered him like a net, but was unsuccessful in breaking them for the time being.

“Maxie—!!”

“I HAVE RECLAIMED MY POWER. MY PRIMAL FORM. DO YOU SEE ME, MORTALS? DO YOU SEE ALL THAT I CAN BE—!!”

“He’s possessed—!” Tabitha yelled, rushing up to him.

“I can fucking see that—” Courtney said. She again pressed her hand to her headset: “Archie. Get in here. Now.”

“Wha—?”

“Maxie is about to fucking die.”

Tabitha looked at Courtney, alarmed. The grunts struggled to keep their hold on the braces. Dug their feet in deeper—

“What?! Where are you—?!”

“I sent you the coordinates. Follow the dot,” she looked over to Tabitha. “Tabitha, restrain him.”

Courtney and Tabitha closed in on Maxie—Steven, taking their lead, moved in to help. Brendan continued to direct his Pokémon to the beast as it shook and gnashed at the chains around it. Tabitha tried his best to wrestle Maxie into a more stable position, but Maxie, now restrained in much the same way Groudon was, started to thrash just as hard. Courtney stood in front of him.

“Maxie… Maxie… please… Come back, Maxie…”

How could she steady him when her own consciousness was quickly leaving her? Even at such a dire moment, she was having trouble keeping her focus—the glowing lines stretched down his neck, tracing his arteries—

Stabilize. She needed to stabilize him. She looked down at his hands again, still gripping the orb for dear life. The glow was most intense around his fingertips, and the veins in his hands.

“The orb. Get the orb away from him.”

Tabitha tugged and pulled at Maxie, who fought back viciously. After a moment of struggle, Tabitha managed to pry it away from him. Both their hands were now bleeding. The creature continued to rise. “He’s ten times stronger…”

A bit of weight in Maxie gave when the orb left his hands. Steven held him while Tabitha took the orb. Maxie wasn’t totally better. He continued laughing, and shaking, and muttering, the lines moving further into his chest—

Or were they moving away from his chest?

Archie bolted into the room with Shelly and Matt. He made an immediate beeline for Maxie.

“Maxie… Maxie…!”

Tabitha was looking down at the floor, totally engrossed in the orb. He started muttering. Courtney recognized how his eyes began to glaze over. She undid her vest and snatched the orb from him, wrapping it in her hood. She kicked it as far away from them as possible. It hurt.

“Gah! Fuck—!!”

Tabitha’s sanity almost immediately returned. But why hadn’t Maxie’s—?

Archie was now on him as well, more successful in handling his weight than either Steven or Tabitha.

“Let go of me—!!”

“Maxie—”

Courtney was losing herself. She could do nothing but stare deeper onto the scene. She heard the roars—she could feel the thunder of its steps. And yet she felt more fire burning from within, emanating from her chest…

“What the hell’s even wrong with him—?!”

“The orb took him over somehow—”

“WITNESS ME.”

A thunderous roar, even louder than before, sent a hideous screeching that nearly deafened the grunts. Some cowered to close their drills and lost their hold on the braces. A few chains went tumbling into the magma below. Others threw their bodies at the machines in attempt to hold them. It worked, in the meantime.

Archie, Steven, and Tabitha continued to wrestle with Maxie. Courtney’s hand found its way to her neck.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN CONTROL ME, HUMANS—?!”

“Maxie—”

Groudon slashed at the walls of the cavern, nearly missing some of the grunts. They shrieked and scattered, making their way down the ledge. They had taken enough hints that it was time to jump ship. A few were still trapped above.

“I BUILT CONTINENTS! I DESTROY SEAS!!”

Archie grabbed Maxie by the shoulders, at least managing to prevent him from getting away.

“You can’t stop me. You can’t stop me. You can’t stop me—” he shook again. Archie contained him. Groudon started to grow—

Courtney tugged at her collar. Again. And again. And again. Now she became conscious of it. Her senses momentarily returned. A pulsating fire seared from her heart—spreading to her veins, up her arteries, radiating from her forehead—her fingers stopped at the base of her neck. A chain. A string.

That was it.

“His neck!” she cried. “There’s something around his neck—!!”

“Wha—”

Archie looked at her, urgently, and just as quickly realized what she meant. “Hold on to him,” he said. Courtney and Tabitha obliged, taking one arm and the other. Steven held Maxie’s shoulder.

Pressing his hand down on Maxie’s other shoulder, while Maxie hissed back, crazed, animalistic, Archie reached down his collar and pulled out the chain. Sure enough, it glowed with the same, sickening yellow that emanated from Groudon, and now from his eyes. He realized what had to be done.

“I can’t do this.”

“What do you mean—”

Archie knew the situation was dire, but his mind kept going back to that weeping young boy—in a corner by himself, then kicked and restrained by his peers—

“I can’t.”

“Archie. If you don’t do this, he is going to kill us all—”

She was right. “Steady him,” he said. He tightened his grip on the scale, staring into the bloodthirsty eyes of a Maxie that the real Maxie was not behind. He prayed that the real Maxie could still hear him. “I’m sorry, Maxie. I’m sorry that I have to do this to you again…”

Pressing his hand down further, he tugged on the chain as hard as he could. It snapped, leaving a torn, raw line of flesh at the base of his neck. The scale toppled to the ground as the demon rushed out of him. Maxie swooned forward, weakened, nearly taking Tabitha and Courtney with him. Archie caught him and helped him to the ground. At the very least, his eyes were back.

But Groudon continued to roar. It tore into the walls, every brace now shaken away from the petrified Magma grunts, and started burrowing its way up through the cave—the rest of the grunts came scrambling down, huddling nearby in the corridor. It had escaped.

The five of them stared at the immense crater the monster had left.

“It’s making its way to Sootopolis,” Steven said. “If it gets there, we’re done.”

“I’m… very aware..” Maxie said, coughing. Archie helped him to his feet.

“So what are we gonna do?”

Steven looked to Archie. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you need to go awaken Kyogre. The type difference will slow him… it will buy us enough time to summon Rayquaza and end this all the way it should have been done ages ago.”

Archie nodded.

“But don’t hold on to the orb. Use it to wake him and let it go. Otherwise you’ll end up… well…” the rest was obvious. Steven saw Brendan already making his way out to follow the beast and looked directly to Maxie. Maxie looked up at him, tired, weak, and breathless. The fact that he hated the man so deeply didn’t really matter at this moment. Steven met his desperate gaze coldly,

“There is a lot I could say to you. There is a lot that could be done about you. But I won’t. You’re lucky that you were possessed, and we’ll choose to blame it all on that.” He turned back to the rest of them. “You all should get out of here. Goodbye.”

He threw his Skarmory out its pokéball and flew away into the tunnel.

“You guys get back to the submarine. Shelly, order the crew there. We’ll meet’ya back at the ship,” Archie said, wrapping the blue orb in his bandana, and then turning to rush back down the corridor. Shelly and Matt followed. Courtney and Tabitha ordered the grunts to evacuate. They led Maxie—still limping—back out to the submarine as quickly as possible. Team Aqua was waiting there.

Tabitha ordered all the grunts inside, and he and Courtney took the controls. Thank god this was identical to the submarine they had been trained on. They steered it back toward the cave. But as they moved, the currents grew stronger and stronger, rocking the submarine further and further. Team Aqua and Team Magma worked in tandem to steady one another and keep control, just as they had in the raging currents before.

They surfaced and hurried to the entrance of the cave, where they saw the pillar of fire burning in the sky. But as the sun seared hot, massive, dark clouds began to form. The wind picked up. From their place of relative cover, they watched the way the sun burned pockets through the clouds, dotting the sky, even though the rain began to torrentially pour. All Team Aqua and Team Magma could do was look on in reverent silence, beholding the primal power of the clashing elements.

Maxie’s strength was slowly returning to him, although he still needed to brace himself on Courtney and Tabitha. He stared up at the merciless rain and fire. The ancient storm. How far did it reach? How much destruction had it already caused—? This was far worse than anything he could have ever imagined.

They had been wrong. They had been so, wholly, desperately wrong…

Both teams gasped as they witnessed a massive blue shadow leap from the water. Its glowing blue and yellow tails danced in the unrelenting wind, weaving in and out of the plummeting fire and crashing waves. The wind spun around the sea, creating miniature twisters that picked up whirlpools of water, then dissipated. If not for the wake of the apocalypse that poured down in front of them, it would have perhaps been beautiful. A supernatural event.

Archie, Matt, and Shelly surfaced behind them on their Pokémon. The strongest swimmers in the whole crew.

Archie moved over to Maxie once again, taking his shoulder from Tabitha so Tabitha could attend to the grunts. Somehow, miraculously, everyone appeared to be accounted for.

No one could do anything but look on together in a sheer sort of helplessness, witnessing the true fruits of the uncontrollable forces of nature they had grown so bold as to think they could control. Aqua and Magma grunts united with one another, some holding hands, some embracing, others weeping as they watched the fire and water grow animate, each element ready to tear the other limb for limb. Archie looked to Maxie. Maxie looked to Courtney and Tabitha. Courtney and Tabitha looked to Shelly and Matt. As the fire climbed into the sky, and the waves rose on the ocean below—commanded by beings ten, twenty, thirty times their size—everyone felt the sobering, yet indescribable reality of just how infinitesimally small and utterly insignificant it meant to be a human being.

“This is one enormous liability…” Maxie said.

Archie patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, Max. We’ll think’a some way to talk our way out of this. We always do.”

A single, concentrated beam of light shot out from above. A violent wind twisted around it, dispelling both water and fire. A long, spiraling streak of green climbed up into the parting clouds, with brilliant glowing tassels of red and yellow trailing off it like kites. Team Aqua and Team Magma gasped. Archie and Maxie stared up at the third and final beast, following it as it dipped and plunged through the sky. The sun and rain began to tremble in its shadow. Rayquaza.

“Huh,” Archie said as he stared up at the legendary dragon. “To think that in another life, in another reality… one of us could’a been livin’ our dreams right now.”

Maxie could not take his eyes from the cataclysm above. They were witnessing a creation myth, and he surmised there were very few realities in which this did not come to a violent end. “I think, for our sake… we are quite fortunate it is not so.”

“You’re right,” Archie said. “I got to see Kyogre, and that was enough for me.” He smiled at Maxie. “Besides, there’ll be other dreams to make.”

Maxie was silent. He didn’t have the heart nor the energy to think like that right now.

“Hey, Maxie,” Archie said. “If we make it out of this, when this is all over… would you like… to…?” The words fell off of him. They were awkward, and difficult to make.

“Yes. Let’s join forces again, Archie.”

“Oh.” Archie was suddenly embarrassed. “That’s not what I meant. Although, uh, thank you. I mean, uh… I meant—“

Maxie caught on. Even in his weakness, he gave Archie an incredulous stare. “Are you really asking me out on a date? Right now?”

“Uh… I mean—we can just get coffee or somethin’. Doesn’t have to be anything, like—“

Maxie grinned. “Yes. Coffee sounds nice.”

Chapter Text

The world was quiet. Clouds floated peacefully in the sky, the earth still oddly renewed from the intense rain weeks ago. The world had now recovered, and new life was blooming in the fallout.

On the summit of Mt. Pyre, the evening sun—while not quite setting—kissed the ground and the headstones of once-living things that had met their eternal slumber. The ghostly haze that typically surrounded the peak seemed—for the time being—oddly dispelled, giving room for both sun and sea to shine brightly around them. A small handful of Team Aqua and Team Magma grunts stood on either side of a mossy, cobblestone walkway, monitored closely by a posse of local clerics. The elderly couple who guarded the mountain presided from the crowd, giving the younger couple that approached the pillar a wary, but respectful distance. After all, the pair had gone out of their way to arrange this meeting, and expressed their sincerest desires to return the relics to their places themselves.

“Appropriate that we should be bringing these to a burial ground…” Maxie said.

Archie looked to him inquisitively. “Whaddaya mean?”

“Resting place of Pokémon, of people… the past, the present, the future…” he looked down to the orb in his hands. They each had wrapped them in heavy fabric, in spite of the fact that, without the immediate presence of Groudon or Kyogre, there was no reason to fear them. “Resting place of our hopes and dreams…”

“Hey. I like to think of it more like starting over,” Archie said. “Wiping the slate clean.”

Maxie continued to stare into the orb. Even though it had harmed him so severely—to this day, he still wasn’t feeling quite like himself—he ached at the thought of leaving it. “We failed. After all those years… everything we worked for was for naught.”

Archie frowned. “For naught? What about Tabitha? Courtney? Your entire team loves you, Maxie. All that knowledge… all those things you experienced over the years… it didn’t suddenly go away. I thought you knew that.”

“Still, when one is so invested in something for so long, it is… difficult to let go.”

“I know. But we promised we’d do whatever we could to make this thing right. This is step one.”

“Yes, I suppose,” Maxie said. “If there is anything I have learned, it is that everything must exist in a crucial balance. There are powers that be which humanity is not fit to control—”

“And things that science shouldn’t ever understand.”

Maxie grinned. “Very true.”

“We’re putting these things back where they rightfully belong. Layin’ this all to rest for the final time.”

“Frabjous day. Callooh. Callay…”

“And y’know, that’s like, the nature of the beast, inn’t it?” Archie said. “Night and day. Water and fire. Land and sea. Birth, death, rebirth—”

“And we’re in the death stage right now…”

“Then one day we’ll be reborn.”

There was a pause. Archie was right.

“Perhaps we were fated,” Maxie said finally. Archie raised his eyebrows at how a rigid scientist like him could say such a thing. “But not in such a predetermined way. In a sense that now that we have forged our lives in this fashion—dedicated ourselves to the clash of these elements—perhaps it is our duty, the next logical step forward, having learned from our mistakes, to join hands and become the protectors of these very elements. To prevent the beautiful and delicate balance of nature from ever being compromised again.”

Archie grinned. “I can get down to that.”

And with that, the two gave a reverent bow to the pillar and placed the gems in their final resting places. As the orbs left their hands, something like a breath of relief passed through the both of them. The shadowy weights of ten, twelve, fifteen years lifted themselves from within them and dissipated into the atmosphere. The remaining fragments broke off from the clouds and floated peacefully back down, having resolved to coexist, and rested beside each other in the red and blue. The two restless creatures were at last quiet. In an odd way, to the two of them, it felt like coming home. Or waking up from a very long, semi-lucid and convoluted fever dream that might as well have begun on this peak years ago.

Maxie stayed there looking at the orb with a misplaced sort of longing—that curious sort of emptiness that comes with the death of a burden—but Archie turned to him.

“I got somethin’ for’ya.”

“Oh dear. Again…?”

Archie reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden chain. Attached to it was the red scale from Maxie’s necklace. Maxie’s eyes widened.

“You—”

“I went back and got it. I know it was important to you.”

“Quite terrifying now, given the context…”

“But hey, at least you know. The legend was true. You own an actual scale from a super ancient Pokémon—a Pokémon that shaped our world. One that you admired more than anything. That’s nothin’ to scoff at. It’s special to you, it always has been, and’ya shouldn’t let neither hell nor high water take that away from you.”

Maxie examined the scale. It was somewhat damaged from the incident, but no longer appeared heavy, stonelike, and dead. In fact, it seemed more brilliant now, on the mountain, in the light, than ever before. A golden shimmer peered through its fissures and cracks, almost as if it had been molded back into one. “That is very true,” he said, bringing it closer to him.

“Here. Lemme help’ya,” Archie placed the chain over Maxie’s head and then slid his hands to Maxie’s shoulders. He held them there.

“Thank you, Archie,” Maxie said. He looked up at him, feeling the warmth emanating from his hands, and they stood there together on the summit, suspended in the moment when an old dream had ended and a new one could begin.

“Of course,” Archie said. He took the bandana off his head and pressed his forehead against Maxie’s. Each placed a hand on the other’s chest and they shared a breath there in a quiet sense of belonging, feeling the steady beating of the other’s heart. “You look beautiful in gold.”

From the tiny audience at the bottom of the stairs, Courtney passed a knowing glance to the other admins. They returned her gaze. One or two members of Team Aqua and Team Magma whistled. Archie laughed. Maxie sneered at them, but knew deep down it was nothing more than a blithe little game. A knowing wind rustled through the trees. Carter looked to Emily. Isaac squeezed Thea’s hand. All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.