A world without spirit. It's funny the things that can enter your mind when you daydream…especially when it happens to be raining. Courtney stared out of the window, surveying her garden as the rain began to fall. She'd always found the pitter-patter of the droplets soothing even if she didn't enjoy water as a whole. And yet she knew it was necessary part of life.
Observing the patterns the rain had begun to draw on the ground, she took note that the chalk the kids in her street had drawn onto the pavement earlier that day was fading away. Fading with every drop. The swirls of colour mixed together with every passing moment until there was nothing left, just a memory.
The lawn was soon soaked, leaves on the bush out front were dripping and the water level in her duck pond now higher than it was earlier. The Ducklett hoards that came by daily would enjoy that no doubt.
It's a funny thing, rain. Rain could give life but also take it away. The sudden downpour had ruined the kid's artwork in the street…but was also the bringer of life to the daffodils she'd planted not long ago. And the children would be back tomorrow with new ideas of what to draw. New landscapes of crudely drawn Pokémon would fill the road once more after the rain had left.
No matter how much rain came the children would always come back. What possessed the children to return, day in day out, if they knew their art would be gone once the storm clouds came? Courtney had often wondered and in her youth the answer would have eluded her. Now the answer was so simple, she mused.
The children came back simply because they wanted to. They didn't mind that the chalk of the previous day had been erased, why would they? If anything it gave them more space to draw something else. Their minds could be sated once more with the thrill of creation. The rain destroyed. The children created. The cycle was simple.
Courtney often wondered what would happen if the cycle broke. What if the rain never stopped? The children would never come back and the chalk would stay erased. Her daffodils would enjoy the rain for a while but they too would die of waterlogged soils if it continued for too long. Too much rain would certainly be bad.
Then again no rain at all would also break the cycle. The children would quickly fill up the sidewalk and road with their sketches and be forced to either erase them themselves or move on to another street to continue. Her garden would certainly not appreciate the lack of water.
Yes there was no two ways about it, thought the former Magma admin. The world isn't just black and white. A balance must be struck to maintain the peace, contrary to what she'd thought when she worked for team Magma. Courtney sighed, watching the rain intensify. She'd been a different person back then.
A person who didn't understand emotion and only thought in logical steps, blindly following everything Maxie had said. Drying the oceans seemed like a good idea to her then because it was Maxie's idea. He believed in what he was doing so Courtney believed it as well, such as a machine follows its user.
Things were different now. Courtney not only understood her emotions but those of other people as well. She had often paid no mind to team Aqua simply because they had different ideas to team Magma. Now she understood neither of them were right. Drying the oceans nor flooding the land was the right idea, lest the delicate balance of things like the graffiti in the street and her flower garden were disturbed.
Courtney now understood because she had been shown what emotions could do to life. She loved a good person and was well loved in return. Emotion gave the world meaning and purpose. For those who didn't understand emotion the world held no meaning. She still remembered the first time she met him. The man with no smile. It's funny the things that your mind drifts into when staring at the falling of the rain. The memory played out as clearly as the rain fell now.
"Admin Courtney please report to the conference room." Her communicator went off, beeping shrilly. The noise echoed into the network of tunnels, catching the attention of several grunts before it was silenced by its owner.
"…Yes…leader Maxie." Another mission? Possible. Her report on tectonic activity under Dewford town was only 47.9% complete so it couldn't be that. It didn't matter. What leader Maxie wanted she would give…no exceptions. "Analysing route…time of destination…2 minutes and 31 seconds from now…at current pace."
She navigated the labyrinth of corridors with perfect accuracy, simply following the map in her head. She entered the door at the end of the corridor, scanning her id card as she did so. If Aqua were to ever attack the base this room would at least be safe from prying eyes.
"I am…here."
"Yes the great Maxie recognises your punctuality, admin Courtney," the Magma leader said, getting up from the conference table that adorned the centre of the room. "Though quite how you always manage to arrive exactly two minutes and thirty one seconds after I call your communicator is a mystery."
"Time…is just…numbers. Numbers." The world was clear to her. The only truth of the world was numbers and data that could be calculated from them. Feelings held no place in that kind of world. It was simple that way.
"Yes quite." Maxie adjusted his glasses slightly, as he was prone to do when he was about to give a speech. "You may notice co-admin Tabitha is not joining us for this meeting."
"Analysing….then he…is not relevant…to this?"
"I've sent him on reconnaissance to gather intel on team Aqua's hideout but yes…you could say he isn't relevant to what I'm about to tell you."
"…Explain." Maxie sighed. He only put up with Courtney's curtness because he knew she didn't know any better and was at any rate a brilliant scientist. But from time to time her demeanour could edge into disrespectfulness. He let it slide.
"I've received word that a particularly wealthy businessman from the region of Sinnoh has arrived in Sootopolis city." Maxie took out a slightly crumpled photo of who Courtney assumed to be the man. He looked to be early 30's by Courtney's guess though it was hard to tell, both with the wrinkles from the folding of the paper and the wrinkles that adorned the man's face. His eyes held no warmth…or any other emotion, she noted.
"His name is Cyrus, billionaire. He's made a fortune developing clean energy throughout Sinnoh and is a very influential individual. Our data suggests he is going to try to diversify his assets by investing in the Devon Corporation's infinity energy sector here in Hoenn." Courtney remained silent. If there were no words to be said then there was no reason to speak.
"He's due to meet with a representative of the Devon Corporation by the lighthouse in Lilycove harbour. We've intercepted the representative and I intend to send you in her place to trick him into investing in team Magma instead." Again Courtney remained silent. She liked to have all the variables before formulating as close to an opinion as she was capable.
"Unfortunately," Maxie continued, readjusting his glasses again, "team Aqua appears to have got wind of this and will no doubt try the same trick to get him to invest in them instead. I can't let them get any valuable funding over us so I'm sending my best operative to get there first and convince him before they can."
"…Why not…send a grunt?"
"This mission is of the utmost importance, Courtney. I could never trust a grunt with something of this calibre. With the extra funding from Cyrus we could get rid of team Aqua for good and obtain the resources necessary to summon Groudon much easier.
"Approximately 72% easier."
"Yes." Maxie frowned, not quite sure where his admin had generated that statistic from. He let it slide once more, knowing that Courtney was seldom wrong when it came to maths. "It's just your luck the representative was female or I would've had to send Tabitha to meet him instead. He can be less than professional on occasion."
"…Correct." She recalled, with perfect accuracy, images of her co admin laughing and joking around with the lower ranked Magma members. When queried about it he said it showed them that just because he was an admin it didn't mean he wasn't their friend.
Perhaps that's why he was respected so much? Courtney never had that level of respect. She was always so cold and distant from everyone. Why would she engage the grunts in conversation? She had no need for their friendship…or anyone's friendship for that matter. All that mattered was doing as leader Maxie wanted.
"To our knowledge Cyrus doesn't know what his supposed representative will look like which gives us an advantage." Maxie gestured to the briefcase on the conference table. "Take this with you. It was taken from Devon's representative after we captured her. Inside is everything you need to convince Cyrus with. The only thing you have to do is give him our bank details instead of Devon's to make sure the transaction goes our way."
"…The Devon Corporation…and this businessman…will be suspicious when…no money is transferred between them."
"The great Maxie has deemed it none of our concern. They won't be able to trace the account back to us I assure you. They'll be none the wiser."
"The champion…Steven Stone works with…Devon. He will suspect…our involvement."
"Without any proof he can accuse us of nothing," said Maxie, looking smug. "It's about time someone took that glorified ruin maniac down to his rightful place."
"Course of action…acceptable."
"Excellent!" The Magma leader thrust the briefcase into Courtney's possession. "I've sent a grunt to your room to drop off a change of clothes. Turning up in your uniform would be most counterproductive."
"…"
"You may leave, admin Courtney."
"Yes, leader Maxie." The Magma admin exited the room in the same fashion she'd entered which was to say…robotically. Maxie sighed, again.
As she turned through the labyrinth of corridors that made up the Magma base she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to the photo of this ''businessman'. Something about him…even a brain as analytical as her own struggled to find the right words to describe the man.
His eyes were old beyond their years but his face wasn't far behind. Dark circles and worry lines were etched into his stony complexion, telling of years of sleepless nights and work pressures. And yet…he didn't seem fazed by this. While his face held no mirth it certainly held no anger either.
It didn't real hold much of anything, Courtney decided. The Magma grunts often whispered that although Courtney feigned apathy to everything and everyone (barring Maxie), on rare occasions someone would pique her interest to such an extent that she would become obsessed.
That was the kind of person she was, though. Once Courtney found someone who interested her she'd pursue them with an undying passion until she got what she wanted, which was usually understanding. The desire to meet this 'Cyrus' as he was called had been growing slowly since she'd seen that photo not 5 minutes ago.
Something about him was different, she knew. Courtney knew her desire to meet him was indescribably strong and could jeopardise the mission. For once she didn't call Maxie and tell him the truth. It was rare but sometimes she followed her own desires, rather than that of her leader. She didn't know why, only that it had to be done.
She didn't want to just meet Cyrus because of the mission but because he fascinated her through a simple, crumpled photo. The magma admin wouldn't describe herself as apathetic but it normally took a lot more than a simple photo to catch her attention. If that was just an image then Courtney came as close to feeling intrigued as her programming would allow at the prospect of meeting the man in person.
If Courtney had considered herself to have any emotions then the prevailing one right now would be of mild annoyance. She hated the suit she'd had to put on to disguise herself. Too tight. She absentmindedly tugged at the hem of her shirt. Much too tight.
One of the many reasons she seldom wore anything other than her Magma uniform was its roominess. It gave her space to move around in. Not like these heels she'd been forced to wear; her boots didn't pinch her toes nearly as much. A tight fitting pair of grey trousers and blazer to match also didn't sit well with her. She'd even had to give up her hood and expose the rest of her puffy, lilac, mass of hair.
Living and working inside a volcano made it frizz up uncontrollably in the heat so she usually hid it to save the giving the grunts some idle gossip. Unfortunately a certain Aqua admin also called her out on it whenever she got the chance. It was grating to say the least.
Courtney considered herself above having things such as likes and dislikes but even the most perfect of programmes had errors. Shelly was one such error. Courtney disliked Shelly very much for reasons her system couldn't fully understand. Maybe it was her teasing or imitation of her 'cute robot voice' whenever they met? She didn't know.
Courtney quickly checked the Lilycove plaza. There were exactly 61 people and 20 Pokémon actively bustling around but not one of them was her least favourite member of team Aqua (not to say she had a favourite one at all for obvious reasons.)
"Clear," she mumbled. The last thing she needed was for Shelly to appear out of the crowd and blow her cover. Or comment on her exposed frizz ball that was currently sitting on top of her head for the world to see. That first one was the reason, she decided. Not the other one. Definitely not.
Courtney scanned the plaza again before turning her gaze to the direction of the lighthouse. He was there already, waiting. Though he was far away Courtney could tell it was him. Cyrus blended in perfectly and yet was completely out of place. He was just standing there, not taking in the view of the harbour or the sea or the Wingull overhead. He just stood there.
"Target acquired…distance 254 metres…and closing." She could make out his features now. It was one thing to see them on paper but in person…was different. His stress lines were even more apparent. His shock of blue hair was more angular than she'd original calculated. Those eyes. Courtney ran a quick diagnostic on them.
Her normally steady steps faltered slightly. She quickly glanced up, hoping he hadn't seen. She was still too far away. Good. The result would put his eyes at least 3 standard deviations above the mean luminosity. She'd never met anyone with eyes so alive and yet so dead. Technically she hadn't met him yet but that was about to change.
She'd long since left the bustle of Lilycove behind and was halfway along the narrow stretch to the lighthouse. No turning back. Just read the statistics they'd stolen off the papers the real representative was supposed to bring. Convince him to invest. Leave. Simple. A simple string of operations with an even simpler cause and effect. So why was Courtney's internal circuitry on red alert?
She reached him but he didn't turn around. He continued to stare out toward the sea but not giving the impression he was really seeing it. It was just something to pass the time. Courtney reached out to get his attention.
"Please refrain from touching me without my permission," Cyrus spoke, but didn't turn around. The voice oozed control. Deep and raw like it was born to command. Courtney decided that (in her logical mind) he was on par with leader Maxie in terms of presentation skills.
"Please…forgive me," She said, slowly withdrawing her arm. Cyrus turned, steely grey eyes locking onto her violet ones.
"You are forgiven. Perhaps it is I who should apologise? You weren't to know. Or perhaps I should apologise for picking a meeting place so far removed from the city. I do not wish for the press to get suspicious of my dealings here."
"I…understand."
"Good." He held out his hand, still not breaking eye contact. "You may now make contact." Courtney shook his outstretched hand, half expecting some sort of electric shock. She wasn't sure why she thought this would be the case as only electric type Pokémon could do such a thing. Cyrus was not. "Your name."
"…Cassie," she lied. It was the name of the person she was replacing. "Your name…is Cyrus."
"Yes it is. You would of course be aware of my name being as I was the one who arranged this meeting. Now to business." This was her cue. Courtney opened the briefcase she'd been carrying and produced the papers.
"You wish…for me to…read them to you?"
"If you would." Cyrus let his gaze drop and he turned back towards the harbour. "I am listening." Courtney had no reason to doubt that he wasn't and his posture suggested he was so she read off the data. Various papers about the infinity energy project and its relevance and potential to transform the world.
Courtney understood what she was saying, having read through the papers while one of the grunts had flown her in, so the words sounded natural. It would be pointless to assume he'd be able to tell that she didn't really come from Devon.
When she finished he ignored her closing statement and instead continued to observe the gentle lapping of the waves against the harbour wall.
"Stand beside me, Cassie." An odd request but coming in that oh so commanding way it was only natural Courtney was to obey. She did and joined him looking out over the water. "Tell me, Cassie, what do you think of the ocean?"
"…I…don't…understand." How was this relevant to the data she'd relayed? Courtney searched her memory banks but turned up with 0 search results. Was this unrelated?
"What do you think of it? Does its beauty strike you?"
"I…" Courtney stared at the water. It was just…there. She couldn't process its beauty because she saw none. Instead she answered truthfully as she could. "I see the effect…of the wind currents…blowing over it…and causing the water…to move."
"Interesting. You see it as I do. Without beauty. Just process." He was silent for a moment before directing his gaze to the Magma admin. "Tell me…Cassie, why have you wasted my time?"
"…"
"I am fully aware you are not who you say you are or from the Devon Corporation at all." This sent of the alarm signals for Courtney.
Warning. System failure. Cover has been compromised. Withdraw. She hastily turned and tried to walk away but he firmly grabbed her arm.
"No. I will tell you how I knew."
Error.
"You understood the data you were telling me. The way you presented it gave off the distinct impression you knew what you were saying. Those fools in the Devon Corporation don't know what they're dealing with and even if they did they wouldn't send someone who did to convince me to invest in them. They'd send some PR girl to try to sweet talk me. You're too well versed to be either."
"…"
"And you described the sea using technical language and weren't blinded by the fake beauty people seem to think it has."
"…You must be…mistaken."
"Do not try my patience." He didn't raise his voice but it was commanding all the same. "At a guess I'd say you're a member of team Magma. Your skin is not tanned enough for team Aqua and though you've tried to style your hair it has, unfortunately, began to frizz up which only someone exposed to long periods of intense thermal radiation would experience. Am I correct?"
Courtney wanted to lie very much to protect leader Maxie but Cyrus had seen through the act. The course of action either way would be bad. Plus he was still holding onto her arm.
"Correct."
"Hm," he nodded. "Honesty is good. Will you be honest and tell me you won't run if I let go of your arm?"
"No…running." As much as Courtney knew there was little point in staying now the mission had failed she was now experiencing that intense desire to analyse him. It was the same she first got when seeing the photo for the first time. She wanted to run as he could easily call the police on her but she got the distinct impression he wasn't going to.
"Good." He let go of her arm. She didn't run. "Very Good. What is your name? The real one."
"Courtney."
"And I assume you were trying to trick me into investing into team Magma instead of Devon?"
"Correct." She should not be telling him this and yet she was. Desire to analyse…too strong.
"You wonder why I am not angry with you for deceiving me?"
"…Yes."
"1) I was never fooled by your act. 2) I was never planning to invest in the Devon Corporation. 3) I am not capable of getting angry or any other emotion. 4) You interest me."
"…You…interest me…too." He ignored her last comment.
"What do you think of emotion, Courtney?" Another large question. She failed to seen any causal link between the things he was saying. How was this meeting with Devon related to emotion? It'd take her a long time to calculate all the variables and… "I haven't got all day. Kindly speed up."
"I…think they're…pointless. They bring us…nothing."
"Yes." Courtney observed this was as close to a smile as Cyrus had come so far. A slight tugging at the corner of his lips. "Emotion…spirit…these have no place in a perfect world. I intend to build that world."
"Why…tell me?"
"In the brief period I've made your acquaintance I've seen you understand my views. You wish to rid the world of weak emotion like myself. That is very rare."
"…" It was true that she was the only one she could think of that refused to attend Maxie's team building exercises, disregarding them as pointless. She knew she was different but did that make everyone else weak? She'd been content in not experiencing emotion before but it had never crossed her mind to get rid of others emotions as well.
"What is twelve times thirty nine?"
"468," she answered, automatically.
"And your mind is agile, like a machine. That is acceptable."
"41 X 7"
"Two hundred and eighty seven. You tested me back?" He almost seemed amused at the idea. "An inquisitive mind as well. Team Galactic would do well to have you."
"Team…Galactic?"
"Ah yes." His eyes drilled deeper into her own. "I'm only telling you this because I do not believe you will tell anyone else. We are too much alike for you to do so, correct?"
"…Correct."
"Very well. I also confess my business here was not as I say it was. I came here not to invest in the Devon Corporation but to recruit. This region is new to me and I want to see what it can offer." He gestured to the sea level that had risen slightly as the tide had come in. "You as team Magma wish to get rid of the sea?"
"Yes."
"I too wish to get rid of the sea."
"Then our goals…are the same." Courtney's eyes lit up. "You could…join us?"
"No." The word was harsh and left a bitter taste in Courtney's mouth, even though she wasn't the one to speak it. "I also wish to get rid of the land. And the air. And matter itself." Courtney took a step back.
Though she believed herself incapable of emotion there was something undeniably sinister about what Cyrus had just said. It didn't compute. People and Pokémon alike needed all of those things to survive.
"We cannot…exist without those. You…wish to…kill us all?"
"But that is where the goal of team Galactic is different to Magma and Aqua. Where you wish to destroy I wish to create!"
"…What?" The desire to analyse was being driven out of control. His contradictions of creation and destruction were messing with her command flows.
"I wish to use the powers of legendary Pokémon far greater than that of Groudon and Kyogre to destroy not just this planet but all planets and the universe with it. In its place I will create a new universe. A perfect universe." Courtney was many things. Calculating, yes. Cold, yes. Murderer…information unknown.
"….What is perfect…that can come…of genocide?" Cyrus laughed, a deeply unpleasant sound like nails on chalkboard.
"You ally yourself with team Magma. Who are you to talk to me of genocide?"
"We…" Her programming was starting to malfunction.
"You plan to dry the ocean," he said matter-of-factly, cutting her off. "You will kill every living in them."
"For the good…of human progress."
"That is exactly what I want. Do you not see?" Courtney did not. "Team Galactic wants what you want just on a bigger scale."
"I…I…system error." Courtney clutched her head in confusion. She wanted to analyse but…that feeling again. It made her not want to trust him. Logic said he was right but the feeling said he was wrong. Which one was right?
"You are remarkable as a human can be, Courtney," he continued, unfazed by her distress. "You care not for these emotions that plague us. Join me and make the world a better place." He held out his hand. Courtney did not accept; she was still torn between logic and the feeling she couldn't describe.
"I…do…not…I do not…understand. I am torn."
"What do you mean?"
"I know…I have no…emotion…but I do not…hate those…who do. We coexist."
"Coexist is the wrong word. It is destroying this planet with its imperfection. I cannot allow that."
"I…I cannot abandon…leader Maxie."
"Loyalty? How laughable. I expected better, Courtney."
System in shutdown.
"It is not…just that." Courtney dared to meet his gaze, violet meeting steel once again. "I know I am…limited. I cannot understand…emotion easily."
"Good."
"And yet I…do not know why I cannot…join you. Leader Maxie and team Magma…we believe we are…doing the world well. Do you?" Cyrus seemed to falter for the first time, just for a second but Courtney saw it. "You do not. I calculate…you do not wish…to destroy the world…for the people. You will do it…for yourself."
"I will do it for the good of the universe. We both resent our emotions. We could live in a perfect world together."
"…I…I do not…know whether I hate my emotions…only that…I have none."
"So you are still undecided? Do not waste my time." He dug into his immaculately kept jacket pocket, producing a card. "Here is my card. I give you one day to decide. Join me in the new world or be removed." He began to leave, taking the briefcase Courtney had brought with her.
"….Will you…recruit anymore here?" He turned back, as if surprised she had anything more to say.
"Possibly. I can see you are unique, Courtney. I realise now no one in this region can compare but I will remain here for a few days to investigate the other cities. I will then travel back to Sinnoh to begin preparations. Courtney dearly wanted to follow him but her motor systems seemed to have gone offline. Her logical mind was screaming that she should follow and accept his offer. Rid the world of emotion. Why wasn't she accepting?
She watched him leave, noting his walking style was very orderly…near mechanical.
Is that…the way people…see me? Am I like that? Is that the world…he wants to create? Is that…better than…what we have now? I feel emotion is needed in the world…but why? I've never had real feeling but…when offered the chance to capitalise on that…my body doesn't obey. Emotion. Is it good? It must be…but why?
Everyone would see eye to eye and respect you. Courtney tried to get rid of Cyrus's voice. Her desire to analyse was overpoweringly strong but mixed with other feelings. Confusion and distress were the prevailing ones. No matter how hard she tried to delete them out of her memory they kept resurfacing.
For a reason she still couldn't fathom…emotion was needed for something. Courtney had always gone about her job with as little emotion as possible but she couldn't imagine for one second everyone behaving the same way. The same dull expression, day in day out. Never feeling anything. It made Courtney want to retch just thinking about it…and knowing this is how the world saw her.
Are myself and Cyrus…the same? We both lack feeling. It is only…logical we would…agree. Why don't I? Emotion is needed…but why?
Her legs gave way. There were no tears, just confused silence. Were emotions necessary? She had none of her own but taking them away from other people went against her programming of personal space invasion.
She picked at the clumps of grass that she was sitting on out of habit. Her shirt was still too tight. She could head back to Magma HQ and change back into her regular uniform but her motor systems were still not responding.
From the clump of grass she'd unearthed she saw a small beetle scurry away, disturbed by the destruction of its home. What place would the beetle have in Cyrus's new world? It lacked emotion as humans had but was that enough for him?
He spoke with such passion of his new world in the same way Maxie and Archie spoke of theirs. Cyrus had told her that team Magma and Aqua were doing the same as he would…was that true? Maxie and Archie both wanted a better world and Cyrus claimed to as well but he also wanted to remove spirit from it, something she was sure Maxie and Archie would not want. His words stung her.
"Who are you to talk to me of genocide?" That's what he'd said. Courtney always believed she'd worked for the greater good but in perspective it didn't seem that way. She was so wrapped up in thought she didn't hear the footsteps approaching.
"You're kidding, right?" Courtney have expected Cyrus to have returned but she knew that voice too well to be mistaken. She looked up to find the form of team Aqua admin Shelly towering over her. "You look ridiculous."
Courtney may have seen the funny side if she wasn't so distracted. Namely because Shelly was wearing similar clothes to her and subsequently looked equally silly. She was even wearing the same Arceus damned grey blazer.
"Why…are you…here?" She mumbled, dropping her gaze.
"I could spot that hair of yours from a mile away," she said, trying to supress a giggle. "But I think I'm here for the same reason you're here…only you got here first." Of course! Maxie had said Aqua also had plans to send a representative to convince Cyrus to invest. It made sense it was Shelly, being as she was female and a high ranking member. "Looks like you beat me to the punch. You convinced him to invest in you right?"
"Negative."
"…Huh. So did we both get dressed up in these ridiculous outfits for nothing?"
"…Yes."
"Fantastic," she said, sarcasm tinging her otherwise upbeat demeanour.
"Cyrus wasn't planning…to invest in anyone anyway. He came here…for another reason."
"Oh. Talk about a wasted trip. What's he up to then?"
"Global…destruction." Shelly burst out laughing, earning herself a glare from Courtney.
"Wait you're serious?"
"I am…always serious."
"Yeah, yeah I got that."
"…"
"You gonna just sit there or do you want a hand up?" Courtney remained silent, continuing to prod at the grass. "Suit yourself." Shelley plopped herself down beside the Magma admin on the patch of grass she hadn't yet uprooted. "Did you see what I did? I said 'suit yourself' which is funny since…"
"I understand…the joke." The humour wasn't lost on her…but found herself unable to enjoy it. In fairness the grass was very interesting.
"Ok what's up?"
"I…do not follow." Shelly moved closer to Courtney, grabbing her hand so she'd stop terrorising the wildlife. Courtney snatched her hand back but refrained from attacking the grass again.
"You're acting all sad and confused which makes me sad and confused."
"I…" Courtney glanced over to her. "Why would my…state of mind…influence yours? We're not linked. And you are…from team Aqua. You are…my enemy. Why…would you care…if I hypothetically…am distressed?"
"Courtney look at our clothes."
"…I'd rather…not."
"You should," she insisted. Courtney did.
"Just…regular peoples clothes. They're too tight."
"Yep just regular clothes. I don't see our uniforms on, do you?"
"No."
"So as far as the world's concerned we're not in team Magma or Aqua. We can just this once have a chat like normal people." Shelly moved closer again. "And normal people are concerned when someone else is feeling down. So you can tell me what's wrong."
"Shelly…what do you think…of the ocean?"
"You planning on joining Aqua or something?" She joked.
"This…is serious. Please…"
"Sorry." For a moment Shelly looked genuinely upset she'd caused even more distress to her 'friend'. "Well…I think the ocean is beautiful. It gives our world structure and brings us life and joy." Her brilliant blue eyes had a faraway look to them. "Why? What did Cyrus talk about?"
"He said…many things." Shelly raised an eyebrow.
"More specifically please."
"He…he thought of the water…as I saw it. Just wind…acting over the surface. His ideas…were radical. He wants to create…a world without spirit. He wants me…to join him. He says we're the…same because we…lack emotion. Is he right?" Her hands found their way back to the grass but Shelly lightly swatted them away again.
"Well that's entirely up to you. You're your own person, Courtney."
"But…does that make me…a bad person?"
"Again that's your path," Shelly replied. "But…for what it's worth I don't think you're a bad person."
"Cyrus said…"
"I don't care what he said. From what I can gather just because you and him are similar in some ways you think you have to agree with everything he says?"
"That would be…logical."
"Hate to break it to you, honey, but the world ain't based on logic." Shelly turned to her, taking Courtney's dainty hands in tanned ones. "The world is strange and beautiful and irrational. The data and numbers you try to make the world out to be simply doesn't exist on a large scale. Take away emotion and you take away life."
"You think…I'm lifeless?"
"No that's not what I…" Shelly added hastily but Courtney had already jumped up.
"Maybe I should…join him." Her voice rose in volume, such was her pain. "If you think…I'm so lifeless because of…my lack of understanding…of your emotions then maybe…I should help him create his perfect world." The magma admin turned her back on the still wide eyed Shelly. "No one will be happy…or sad…or plagued by them again."
"Courtney wait!"
"No. I was wrong to believe…even for a second…you weren't still…my enemy." Shelly sprang up and ran after her, getting in front to block the other girls escape route.
"Courtney stop!"
"Move."
"Just hear me out!" The magma admin took note of the desperation in the others face. Was this emotion? "Look…I'm sorry. I worded what I said very poorly. I don't hate you and I don't think you're lifeless, ok?"
"…"
"Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's wrong. That's where you and Cyrus are different! He's already made up his mind by the sound of things but I hope to Arceus you haven't too."
"Why would you…care?
"Not just me. Everyone cares about you."
"No. The Magma grunts see me as…a machine. I could die…and Maxie would just…replace me."
"We both know that isn't true." A beeping noise went off shrilly, similar to Courtney's communicator. "That's Matt, wondering if I'm done. I have to go."
"…Then go."
"I can't just…" Shelly faltered under Courtney's robotic stare. "Emotions are not something to be scorned. A world without them is no world at all. Cyrus may not realise that but in time I hope you will."
"How? I…I cannot understand them."
"Try to. You'll see the world differently if you do."
"Is different…better?"
"Again that's your choice. Just try it and if you don't like it you can go back to what you're doing now."
"…"
"Bye, Courtney. I hope you choose well." The Aqua admin began to walk back towards Lilycove. "The choice is yours, not Cyrus's or mine or anyone's. Just yours." She shouted a few other things but she was already too far away. Courtney looked back over to the patch of grass she'd ruined. The beetle had come back and was constructing another den.
Her gaze fell once again onto the sea. She tried to see it any other way than a list of facts and processes but came up blank.
"Emotion is beautiful…but why?" She took out the card Cyrus had given her. A faint holographic G became visible as she turned it over. Would a world without emotion be better? She honestly had no idea.
The rain was thinning out now. Drops still fell but intermittently now. The garden would be soaked for a while now but that was fine with Courtney. Though she wouldn't be able to tend to her flowers just yet she could watch them dry off. She found the whole idea relaxing.
Why hadn't she agreed with Cyrus all those years ago? In her most logical mind he was absolutely right that emotions had no place in the world. But the world didn't revolve around logic, Courtney could see that now. That feeling all those years ago. It had stopped her from joining the team that came to be known as team Galactic.
After team Magma and Aqua had failed there began to be reports on the news of a new organisation. One who strived to create a better world. Courtney knew the name even before they were announced, having met their leader quite by chance.
Like all the major crime syndicates they'd failed, thanks to a child no less. Courtney couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if they'd succeeded, even if she knew perfectly well. A world without spirit. The idea made her shudder now. Her eyes had been opened to what the world could be when emotions are allowed in.
It was beautiful, like the chalk sketches the children of the street would no doubt draw tomorrow. She wondered if Cyrus had been able to see that in his last moments in their world. Either way he had been wrong, Courtney was sure of that now. A world without spirit was no world at all.
She could remember Maxie hadn't been pleased that Cyrus had seen through their plan…but had dismissed the whole event as 'a minor setback'. It wasn't minor to Courtney. The whole encounter had turned her view of the whole world upside down and then thrown into a blender for good measure.
She lost her way a couple of times after that, nearly causing a meteor to smash in the planet being the worst. What Cyrus had said had blown a whole in her way of life. Now it was all so clear to her. The feeling that had stopped her, confused her…maddened her even was none other than curiosity.
Her whole life emotions eluded her. She just learned to live with it but buried deep inside in one tiny corner of her mind was a burning desire to understand. She'd felt it before no doubt but supressed it and dismissed it as weak.
She guessed that meeting Cyrus had shown her what she would've become if she continued to supress it. Her mind had unconsciously rebelled and tried to show her what she was missing out on. Of course all of these new feelings at once had unnerved her…scared her even and sent her out of control; it had taken a while to hone and understand all these new experiences.
That's where Shelly had come in. Courtney never understood why the Aqua admin was so understanding of her. When she first told her she'd decided not to follow Cyrus, the other girl was thrilled, much to Courtney's bemusement. She had to remind them they were still on opposing teams and basically in a turf war with each other.
However that didn't stop the ever persistent Shelly from trying to help her at every turn. Of course that was hard when they were in their respective teams but since they disbanded Shelly had taken every opportunity to be with her.
Courtney had no idea how Shelly knew where she lived but she did…which was weird but also comforting in a strange way. She didn't want to be on her own anymore…not with all of these new feelings bubbling up inside of her.
What was also weird was her insistence on hanging out at every given opportunity. Courtney didn't know if she was genuinely being friendly and trying to help or just messing around. Either way the meet ups became less and less awkward and Courtney found herself actually looking forward to them. Another new emotion. Hope. Shelly inspired many things in Courtney over time and that was just one of them.
The former Magma admin continued to observe the garden below and allowed herself a small smile. Hope. She hoped the rain would stop soon. Thanks to Shelly she could appreciate the small things in life. Tending to her daffodils was one of them.
"What'cha thinking about?" Courtney jumped slightly, not having heard the owner of the voice come up the stairs.
"Nothing, Shelly." The former Aqua admin made her way over to where Courtney was sitting, wrapping her arms around the other girl in a backwards hug.
"You do know the 'everythings fine when it clearly isn't' routine never fools anyone. So what're you thinking about?"
"You." This drew a smile to her tanned features.
"You're too good for me. You know that?"
"I could…say the same about…you…ahahaha. You could've…abandoned me all those years ago. I wouldn't've blamed you. I was…a mess."
"A mess worth fixing, sugar." Shelly brushed her hand through the others hair as she would do when in deep thought. "You just needed some help that's all. Who would I have been not to give it to you?"
"Not my wife?" Shelly let out a laugh, untangling her fingers from Courtney's frizzy mop.
"Yeah I suppose that's true. Though I distinctly remember it was you who proposed to me."
"Yes…I did." Courtney turned away from the window, meeting the other girl's eyes. "I was…so scared that day. I wondered…if I had misinterpreted the emotional signals…I was receiving. I was still…learning back then."
"We never truly stop learning, Courtney. That's a big a part like emotions are to life."
"Very true." She was silent, briefly turning her head out toward the window. The rain had stopped. The balance was set for another day and the children would come once more. "Do you think…Cyrus ever understood?"
"As I keep saying and will always say, honey, it was his choice. A bad one but his. He suffered the consequences for that and no one can say if he regrets it. His choice. Just like it's your choice to look out of the window. Just like it's mine to do…this." She planted a delicate kiss on Courtney's cheek. "That's for being amazing."
"…Thank you."
"No need to thank me, Court. And there's plenty more where that came from," she added in a sultry tone. Courtney felt a blush creep across her face, just one of the many side effects that came with understand of her feelings.
"Then allow me…to…initiate." She brought her lips up to Shelly's, pecking them gently. "Do you know…what today is?"
"Um…no I can't say I do? What happens today?"
"We've been together…a long time. By my calculation…6 years now. Exactly 6 years…to this day." Shelly's eyes grew wide at the realisation.
"So that means today is…"
"Our anniversary," Courtney finished.
"Oh Court you remembered! I completely forgot! I didn't think you would remember either if I'm honest…"
"How could I forget…the best thing…that ever happened to me?"
"…I think I'm gonna cry."
"Would you cry more…if I told you I had a reservation…with the best restaurant in town…to commemorate that?"
"You didn't…"
"I did."
"But…we're supposed to have Zinnia and Brendan over for dinner," Shelly said, drying her eyes on Courtney's t-shirt. "What will we tell them?"
"Eh…they can…come with us. They got together…around the same time we did."
"And I suppose you're gonna invite Maxie and Archie as well?" Shelly deadpanned. "Or Hilda and N? May and Lisia? Tabitha and Matt? Or every other couple we know?"
"…That was sarcasm…yes?"
"You've learned well."
"I learned…from the best."
"Oh shush, you," Shelly playful hit her on the arm. "Will Siebold be ok with extending our reservation from 2 to 4 people?"
"He's a…professional chef. He'll understand."
"Let's hope."
"Yes…hope." Hope was a concept still vague to Courtney. She hoped the cycle would never break like Cyrus had hoped. The cycle of the grass and the beetle returned to normal after she'd stopped picking at it. The flowers in her garden were in full bloom thanks to the cycle of rain, the same cycle the chalk and children depended on. "Did I mention…I love you?"
"Many a time, Court, many a time. And just so we're clear," Shelley pulled her in for another kiss, wrapping her arms back around her. "I love you too."
Another thing Cyrus never understood. Love. He thought the world a better place without it having never experienced it and for a time Courtney would have readily agreed. Nowadays she didn't. She loved many things. Her daffodils. Her loyal Mightyena. Shelly. The world couldn't function without emotion, love included. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
A/N: I always thought it'd be really interesting what would happen if Cyrus and Courtney met. Both come across as cold and emotionless and would play off each other well. For Courtney this is like as glimpse into her future; if she continued the way she was she'd have eventually ended up like Cyrus. This essentially scares her into a state where she wants to get better but doesn't know how. Luckily Shelly's on hand to help.
The ship isn't central to the story so it's rated K. Hope you don't mind. Those couples Shelly lists at the end are just some of my ideas of ships that make sense to me. Of course I'm open to shipping with other people but for this story I chose those. My story so my rules. You know the deal.
Thanks for reading. Review just to let me know what you thought. I'd be down with that.