I watched in horror as her body jerked involuntarily, a gnarled wound appearing amidst her ribcage. I shook, watching helplessly as her life drained from her eyes, flowing easily from the bullet hole and onto the floor. She looked so confused as her knees gave in, hitting the floor hard before her hips followed, then her whole body crashed into the laminate flooring.
All was silent.
I wanted to hold her.. To tell her it was alright. But she was gone. It was quick, and I should have been grateful for it, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to know. I wanted her to know. Her empty gaze, that perfect, perfect sea of blue, was fixed on me.
She still loved me.
A strangled cry from behind caught my attention. I turned slowly, and flinched as realisation hit me. No. Maria hadn't been gazing at me. She had been gazing at this man, the man who ruined my life, the man who time and again made it his personal mission to destroy me, physically and mentally. My legacy. The prodigal prince. The bane of my life.
He had her features, no denying that, but a fair share of my looks were in his genes too. The flaming red hair couldn't be from Maria, who was as brunette as the soil below our tree. The eyes were anyone's guess, swirling like liquid amber that was ready to ignite with his newfound and passionate rage. He had my nose too. A sharp, unique shape that didn't sit quite central on his face. It looked like his had yet to be broken. Though, by the colour he was rapidly turning, it looked like he himself was.
I watched with a sudden coldness as he threw himself at the floor before her fallen body, utterances in a foreign tongue cascading from his lips. He was almost as pale as she was, but her blood was soon staining his hands. Bitter tears flowed from his eyes as he cried for a mother lost, so unexpectedly taken from him. When he could cry no more he stood with slow deliberation, turning to unleash the full fury of his wrath on me.
"You bastard."
"Excuse me?" I sniffed indignantly, pretending to be offended. It seemed that was another trait he had inherited. Full on emotional fool to insensitive bastard in a blink of an eye.
"You killed her."
"I did nothing of the sort."
"You hold the gun. I have proof."
"So do you."
I watched as his face fell in horror, only just noticing the gun held in his hands as it had been since he entered. He threw it away with a look of disgust, starting as he saw her blood on his hands. I watched the gun clatter to the floor before raising my gaze to him once more.
"So this is it," Lance murmured. "One of us is a murderer."
"And neither of us know who."
Amber met ash as our eyes locked, and suddenly I wished that day had never happened.
o-x-O-x-o
26 years earlier...
Maximilian Sinclair sighed as he and his Mightyena exited the Ice Cave. Fangha was a bit worse for wear, but her youthful vigour was better than anything either of them could have done in there. She shook herself with a playful yip and shoved her muzzle into his hand. He smiled softly, tickling her behind the ear.
"Well done, girl. I couldn't have done it without you."
Her eyes lit up in response and she stepped back, her tail wagging. She was exhausted but proud that she had made her trainer happy. Maximilian straightened, looking round. He had to admit, this Blackthorn was rather shabby. Rocks and grass and not much else. He decided to head down the path, and was eventually rewarded with a village. The houses.. They were hardly what he would call houses at all. He doubted there was any electricity, but it wasn't that they were poorly kept. It just seemed that they were primitive. Elegant, but primitive.
The Mart was non-existent, and the Centre was a small house sheltered by a sheer cliff face. He glanced to the canine with a shrug before walking over there in unison. He knocked briefly before entering, chimes above the door letting out a high ring as the door knocked them. It turned out that the Centre also served as the hospital for the humans, and a library. The floor was simple wood, and the walls appeared to painstakingly painted with some form of ink. It was still possible to see the wooden frames through the lilac colour.
There were two other people in the room at that time. Both were at the counter, with an old woman on the far side while a young brunette had her back to him. Neither had noticed him, so he was content to stand there and let them finish their business.
"Oh, father will be so pleased! Thank you!" The brunette clasped her hands together and bowed, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she straightened. The older woman laughed.
"No, no need to thank me, Maria. I'm just glad I can help."
Maria, as she appeared to be called, giggled and picked up the proffered item, out of his sight, and put it in the satchel at her hip. She turned to leave and gasped as she saw him in the doorway, the older woman tilting her head as she also spotted him.
"Oh, Sayuri! Isn't that the most adorable Pokemon ever?"
"Indeed, she is rather fetching... What is she?"
Fangha got down on her front legs and stuck her behind in the air, wagging her tail as she asked to play. Maria knelt down and rubbed the back of her ears with a bright smile. Maximilian chuckled, not too surprised that they didn't know.
"She's a Mightyena, a type native to Hoenn."
Maria gasped, a sudden spark lighting up her sea-like eyes. "You're from Hoenn? Oh, wow! You must be finding Johto really different!"
Maximilian nodded with a smile, feeling a warmth in his chest. This woman... Her happiness seemed so infectious. It was like her smile just cut through the air, and everyone around her couldn't help but smile too. Even Sayuri let out a joyous laugh.
"How about I heal her for you? Then, Maria, why don't you show your new friend around?"
If Maria had needed time to contemplate this, she didn't show it. With a giggle she turned to him and tilted her head, a little smile playing with her lips. "I'd love to, if that's alright with you, mister...?"
"Maximilian. And it would be an honour."o-x-O-x-o
"Mother always said that I was conceived on the day you two met. Is that true?"
I watched Lance tenderly place his cape over Maria's body, bowing his head in silence as he awaited my answer. Unlike me, he didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. Personally, I wanted to be rid of this place. I could still hear the gunshot and see her face if my mind wandered.
"It is. You understand that I didn't have the intention of that when we met?"
He shrugged and stood up, sighing as he rolled his shoulders. His eyes were sparkling with the moisture but, to his credit, he kept himself together. "I can try and believe. How did grandfather let you?"
"He didn't know. Not until it was all going wrong."
o-x-O-x-oThree weeks later...
The two young adults, the fiery redhead and the delicate brunette, spent every day with each other. There was a mutual attraction that grew and grew. They'd go out earlier and stay out later, travel to the very corners of Blackthorn.
It didn't go unnoticed.
It turned out that Maria's father was the head of a prestigious clan of dragon tamers, and only with his permission was a person allowed into the Dragons' Den. After two weeks, Maria had taken 'Maxie', as she affectionately called him, to ask her father for access to be granted to him. She said that he would pass easily, being a kind man and someone who clearly adored and cares for his Pokemon. Fangha's devotion to him was proof enough. He was refused.
The argument that ensued was the worst Sayuri could remember ever seeing in the clan. It turned out that Maria had a very strong streak in her, inherited from her father, and they clashed terribly. Maxie stood to the side, hunched in embarrassment as she demanded to be told why he had failed.
"There is blackness in his heart. It has yet to manifest, but when it does... The very balance of the earth will be torn apart!"
Maxie didn't understand what he meant by that, and neither did Maria although she refused to be bothered by it. Her father banned her from seeing him and reluctantly they said goodbye. Maxie said that he would stay in the city for a week more, and then he would continue his journey. He swore that when he could prove that he did not have a dark heart, he would come back for her. She told him she would love nothing more. Her father said that there was a greater chance that hell would freeze over.
A week after that event, as Maxie was picking up some last supplies from Sayuri's shop, he saw Maria again. Her father marched her into the shop and slammed his hands on the desk.
"Sayuri! I want the strongest abortion solution you have!"
Maria through herself into Maxie's arms, who just held her in total shock. Abortion, she was crying... Oh god. Tori turned to him with that very look, the murderous glare, which he would one day see again in the eyes of his son. The young being that was growing inside the woman he held. God...
"I was beginning to change my opinion of you, Sinclair," her father spat as he snarled, and Maxie couldn't help but flinch. "Respectable, helpful, no attempts at defying me... And now I find out you've been sleeping with my daughter! That baby must be aborted. I will not have your disgrace in my blood!"
"No, father! I won't let you!" Maria practically screamed into Maxie's shoulder, trembling. Fangha, who had grown fond of her master's girl, snarled at Tori in her defence. The older man looked between them and snapped, turning around and walking to the door.
"Maria. You can keep it... But you will cease all contact with the father. His name will not be mentioned in this city, not ever. And the child will be raised by me and me alone. When it is born, you can either comply with me and remarry, and we can pretend this mess never happened. Or you can be a lovesick fool and leave this clan forever when it is born. You're a disgrace to our family, and a disgrace to me. And you..." With a slow deliberation, he turned to face Maxie. Maria, sensing the ultimatum, stood back and took big gulps of air in an attempt to retain her decorum. Maxie straightened, eyes cold and hard as he stood, ready.
"Sir."
"You will leave Blackthorn. You will leave my daughter alone. You will speak to nobody about this. Nobody will know that you have a child. If I see you in my land again, I will not take any liberties. There will be no mercy. Come, Maria."
Sayuri watched in solemn silence as Maria walked away with tears flooding down her eyes, and Maxie's posture slumped in horrific resignation.o-x-O-x-oI raised an eyebrow when Lance seemed to be lost for words. I knew the man had been very close to his grandfather, and I imagine finding out how... Harsh he had been... Was quite a shock.
"He only acted as he did because he wanted to protect my mother. She was the youngest," he reasoned, eyes glazed over as he appeared to talk to himself. "He only wanted the best for her."
"He was right though, wasn't he? I did upset the balance of nature."
He didn't respond, and in all honesty I didn't expect him to. We stood in awkward silence as he took in all I had recollected, then he sighed and his gaze returned to normal. "So, after that you really left? You never came back?" He clenched his fists as his tone turned bitter. "The way you were speaking made me think you might have actually cared about me, but clearly you didn't. And you still don't."
I sighed this time, and suddenly felt very tired. I had told myself that I didn't care. He was going to become like his grandfather, and that was that. It's funny how you can never lie to yourself.
o-x-O-x-oEighteen years later..
Maxie had indeed left Blackthorn and, true to his word, didn't return. That wasn't to say he didn't know what went on. Not long after the events, the respectable young man got himself involved in a small gang. They all had reason to dislike life and people, and being angry as he was he fit right in. Maxie and Fangha made a formidable team, and soon earned respect in the gang. Then, Maxie realised that he didn't like being part of a gang. He wanted his own gang.
And when a flood took his small home city, he got his chance.
People were in turmoil; trainers wanted revenge. Maxie, who decided to permanently adopt the name as a homage to his relationship, used "gentle coercion" to goad people into joining his gang. People who wanted more land. People who wanted more living space for humans and Pokemon alike. The idea of the power to control nature itself was too much. Maxie's heart gave in to the predicted darkness.
But he never forgot Maria or their child. He sent the lesser members of his ever growing Team Magma to go and spy on the clan. One man, Tabitha, managed to trace the youngster and gained the knowledge that Maria had, indeed, left her home. When he was seven years old, the small redhead challenged Tabitha to a battle.. And promptly thrashed him. Maxie knew then that this would be a name to look out for.
The gang grew, fewer and fewer people knew of Maxie's secret; those who did became Maxie's elite, and Tabitha his right hand man. He and Tabitha were there when Lance thrashed the Elite Four at the Indigo Plateau.. And when he in turn was defeated by Red. He was there when he became the Champion, and he saw through the disguise when he was lost to the consumption of power. Lance brought him back to his senses, and deep down he was filled with pride. And his son never knew the bond that they shared.
How he had found out their bond, Maxie would never know. All he knew was that Maria had contacted him and asked him to meet her here, and unknowingly they had been followed by Lance. The Tamer had stayed a respectful distance behind until the bullet had been fired.o-x-O-x-oLance suddenly hissed and grabbed me, his shocking eyes wide as he stared into the darkness of the corridor. I swear my heart almost stopped when I saw what had surprised him.
Half hidden by the shadows was the silhouette of a man. The upper half of his face was drowned in the black, but a smug grimace was on his face. The outline... It was that of a man with unruly hair, and he appeared to be wearing some form of traditional attire. And a cape. He nodded to us before holding up three fingers. Lance was trembling, and as I looked at the pure terror in his face I wanted nothing more than to chase these fears away. Slowly the stranger curled down two fingers before pointing to Maria under her son?s cape, and turned to walk away. A few moments later and I dashed off after him... But he was gone.
?Him...?
I walked back over to Lance and touched his arm lightly, questioningly. ?Him?
?Oh, Maxie... We?re both the murderers here. We both killed her, and yet we didn?t.? I didn?t understand him, but he wasn?t willing to go on.
In the end, I guess we were all part of some sick story about morality. To this day I don?t understand what happened, but I know that what happened then stayed with me for the rest of my life. Every man has the capacity to hurt those closest to them. Maybe I did the damage when I agreed to let Maria show me around. Maybe I should have just left.
Knowing her was something I wouldn?t give up for the world. But if I could give up her knowing me for her to still be here... I would. I would give anything.
Hindsight is a horrible thing.