The next few days, Maxie expected, would be dealing with a adjusting and unhappy child. Quite the contrary, it took almost 2 weeks for the base to adjust to him.

Though very small, Archie was bustling with energy from when he got up until he staggered to bed. He liked to run down the halls and 'imagine stuff' as he put it. Getting him out of the bath was a faite in itself with how much the boy loved the water. Constantly asking for another 5 minutes because 'the pirates are finally gonna catch the shiny lugia.' He wasn't frightened by Courtney or Tabitha, although he didn't engage with them unless he knew Maxie was nearby. The grunts fawned over him; getting him clothes, toys and snacks as soon as he was allowed to stay permanently, essentially spoiling him rotten before the week's end.

There was a strange fact he had refused to let spread to the grunts; when he had taken him to the doctor to see if he had any illnesses or allergies, the doctor, a former scientist for them, said they had something they would like to check after hearing how they found Archie. Not too long after, the results had him on edge. The child, Archie, had the exact same chemical makeup as Team Aqua Leader Archie. An identical copy they said. A possible abnormality of their earlier antics when they awakened primal Kyogre and Groudon. Any plans to do further tests or experiments were shot down for humility sake.

Even with that, he listened to Maxie. Following him often as he went about his day. Drawing when he asked him to be quiet for a important meeting. Going to bed when asked, and waking up with no issues. Archie had a habit however, one he had tried to nip at the bud, but gave up on with how often the boy did it. If, in any event, Archie felt either ignored or generally seeked comfort, he'd climb into Maxie's lap and press himself against him. Regardless if in a meeting or not, and for hours at a time.

At that point, many of his subordinates, while surprised at first, now just looked at it as normal.

"Our boss sure is amazing..."

"I knew he was great...but this is just..."

"An angel."

He wished they'd spend more time working than they spent gossiping. They got impressed too easily as well he noted.

And even though they had taken him in, Maxie made sure to keep updated on if any missing reports or perhaps even Archie's family (should the test have been wrong), came forward.

"Sir!" Broken out of his thought, he nodded to two grunts and Courtney as they filed into the room. Archie was curled up in his lap, sleeping. Another thing he had thankfully figured out early on was if you held the boy, even with one arm, the time he spent there was drastically halved. Making particular meeting incidents easily handleable.

"We've received a request from Team Aqua."

"...oh?" Looking over the paper, the words seemed haphazardly typed in bold.

-To Team Magma Leader Maxie-

-How's it going bro? Been a long time since we've heard anything from you!-

He was tempted to toss the paper at that point.

-Anyway, recently we've, well mostly I, found something that's very strange. When you got the time, can you stop by Lilycove? Just you, and as soon as possible would be prefered.-

It seemed rushed, and...contradicting. A 'very strange thing'...?

-Archie

"How...brief." Not to mention vague. "They're requesting I go to Lilycove to oversee something they've found."

"Then we can send-"

"Alone."

The grunts visibly disapproved at the idea, sharing suspicious looks at each other.

"You and the boy should go." Courtney stated suddenly. "Fresh air is good for you. It's been almost 2 weeks..."

Ah...right...other than the doctor's visit, they haven't left the base on account of the paperwork.

"Why don't you take him to the beach Boss? Those Team Aqua delinquents won't try anything if they see you have a kid."

"I wanna go..." Archie's voice piped up sleepily, shifting in his lap. "I wanna go to beach..."

"He's been good so far, and cooping a kid up for that long is..."

"Yes, yes I get it." His voice came out more stern than anticipated, but nevertheless it shut the grunts up. "...send a message to Team Aqua's leader; agreeing to, but requesting he too be alone. The location will be Lilycove beach tomorrow at around noon."

"Yes sir!"

"Courtney, we'll need swim trunks for him. As well as sunscreen and the like." She smiled gently and nodded eagerly as he sighed.

"I hate the beach..."

"We're going to the beach?!" Now fully awake, Archie excited jumped up. Steadying himself after nearly falling backwards and Maxie caught him.

"Tomorrow morning, yes. Now get down before you fall."

"I'mma swim in the ocean and eat ice-cream and...!" Nothing could distract him after that. During the bath, as he ate, until he laid down to sleep Archie practically bounced up and down and spoke of what he was going to do. "And...an...d..."

Waiting patiently for him to fall asleep was the hardest part of the day, having made the boy a room of his own, it was the perfect temperature for sleeping. Making staying awake...

"Boss?"

"Nggh..." Blinking a few times, Maxie pushed himself up. His arm grasped tightly by Archie who was still fast asleep. "I swear to Arceus if that's a phone Tabitha..."

...virtually impossible.

"O-of course not..!" Ignoring the rustling of something being stuffed into a pocket.

He let out a yawn before waking the child, moving any toys near the bed with his feet as he stood up. A few audible pops of his back and hiss of pain fully awoke him.

"Time."

"8:30 boss."

So we've overslept...

"We also received a message back from Team Aqua." Handing the paper to him, he rubbed his eyes slightly, narrowing them to see the words better.

-Bro-

Where did that fool get off thinking he can call him whatever he pleased?

-Maxie, thanks. I'll be alone as promised. Me and the thing I talked about. Don't be late.-

-Archie-

That man...

"We've already readied the crobats sir."

"Good. Wake the boy while I get dressed."

"With all due respect sir..." He quirked an eyebrow at Tabitha, the other slumping his shoulders. "He is not fond of me, and might make a fuss if I attempt to..."

"He's just a child."

"He only likes you." That comment seemed ridiculous, Archie was more than pleased with how the grunts fawned over him, or how his admins played with him.

"I severely doubt that." Regardless, he shook the tiny shoulder as gently as he could. Sapphire blue orbs opening at once, before their owner jumped out of bed happily.

"Go brush your teeth before you get dressed."

"O'kay!" His form ran to the bathroom to set up his stool in a rush.

"Tabitha, we will not be attending breakfast this morning." Slipping into his own room, he called through the door.

"Of course, it will be long flight." Quietly he heard his admin tell Archie to 'Calm down. The beach isn't going anywhere.' in a stern tone, but the boy walked past him grumbling of how much of a killjoy the man was. Their banter continued well into the next 20 minutes, that of which he shut them both down with a warning.

The flight there had been tedious and uneventful, even the child began losing vigar about half way there.

"The beachhhhhhh!" As soon as they landed in Lilycove however, that energy was back full force. "Maxie Maxie...! Can we go swimming already?!"

"Let me find a spot to set up first."

A spot with a nice amount of shade, not too close to the water and a fair distance away from any 'popular' areas. He let the boy help him set out the blankets and umbrella. Putting sunscreen on them both, and then his wailmer floaties, Archie ran through the sand and dived into the water. Maxie sat down and looked around the coastline as he picked at his 'normal' clothing. Shorts, actual swimming trunks he believed, and a plain shirt really did not suit him.

"It's cold!" Archie laughed loudly. He nodded in acknowledgment. "Aren't you coming in too?"

"Not today Archie. I have to speak with someone important."

"Fineee..." He pouted and in a soft voice asked. "Next time?"

"Yes, next time." He wasn't promising anything, but right now he need the child to be calm and preoccupied while he and his old rival spoke of...whatever was so important. "Don't go too deep now."

"Yooo! Ya actually came...!" A estatic, but tired sounding voice boomed from further down the beach.

"Archie." The Aqua leader walked up to him slowly, and frankly the other's condition surprised him. His eyes were exhausted and had dark bags under them, and he had lost some muscle mass. A few stress lines had also appeared around his eyes. "What pointless thing have you dragged me out for now?"

"Gez Maxie, I'm doin swell, thanks fer askin." The larger man sighed, eyeing him warily.

"You are clearly not."

"Look I'm not here for a lecture-" He narrowed his eyes, looking at Maxie up and down. "You've gained weight."

His teeth gritted at the comment. Archie shaking his head when he realized the result.

"N-no I mean...ya actually look healthy for once."

"Is that some attempt at flattery? Still an empty headed pirate as before I see."

"HEY!" Archie was clearly not in the mood, nor the right frame of mind to argue. As his temper flared up to match Maxie's.

"MAXIEEEEE!" The sloshing of sand drew their attention to little Archie, running up to Maxie soaking wet. "There's a ton of pokemon in the water...!"

"Yes Yes, dry off before you sit down and rest, alright?" Pressing a towel against the boy's head, he rubbed it until his hair was at least not dripping. Little Archie grinned the entire time, huddling into the large towel like a blanket.

"Who's that?"

"Arch-"

"That yer kid?" Aqua's Archie suddenly spoke, looking a little baffled.

"My name's Archie!" The boy grumbled, glaring at him.

"...is that so? Guess ya found me then." Whatever he was spouting nonsense about, Maxie wasn't sure, until he noticed a small set of hands grasping the man's leg. "I found ya too."

A mess of long red hair tied back poked out from behind him, shivering and clearly terrified. His eyes large, green, and wet looked at them worriedly. Pale skin lathered in sunscreen and with black floaters, he was dressed for the beach.

"Come on Max, say hi." Lightly Archie tried to push him forward, but he just shook his head violently and moved behind him again. "Never knew ya cried so much..."

"Excuse me?" Part of him felt offended at the notion, but then he was reminded of how different the child version of Archie acted from his rival.

"I haven't had a solid wink of sleep the past week dude...the scamp cries about everything." He yawned as he petted the scared boy's head. "Can't leave him alone, can't leave him with Shelly or Matt, he's terrified of the crew...scared of the dark..."

"...I suppose that could create some issues." His Archie had expressed similar fears of the dark, but refused to cry and instead would sneak into his room if not make Maxie sleep in his bed with him.

"Ya think?"

"Archie, say hello." At the mere mention of his name, he jumped up eagerly from under the umbrella, running over to and looking at Max curiously before smiling.

"Hi! My name's Archie, what's your's?"

Little Archie's grin widened when slowly, Max peeked out from behind Archie. His voice was tiny and shaking. "...Maxie..."

"Really?! Can I call you Max?"

"Um...I...guess so..."

"Great! Let's go Max!"

"..huh? W-wait!"

Without waiting for the other, little Archie grabbed Max's hand and ran toward the water. The other stumbled a bit, trying to stutter out an excuse before he was dragged in too.

"That should keep them busy for now." Maxie sat under the umbrella with a sigh, the sun was obnoxiously bright today and every second not wasted near the water was preferable.

"Oh thank Arceus..." Without even ASKING, Archie threw himself onto the blanket next to him, making a puff of sand blow on him. With a scowl, he brushed it off while glaring at the man trying to get comfortable.

"...I found ya in my base. Near the old diving area. You were soaked to the bone, shaking an cryin like hell." He muffled out, back to the sky and face resting on his hands. "Nobody could get close to ya, and it took almost all day to get you. It's not exactly warm down there. Had to pick ya up, kickin and screamin, and forcin ya into the bath before ya finally passed out."

"YOU were in a closet. Crying in a corner." Archie snorted at that. "Covered in mud and cuts. While you avoided my subordinates, you literally forced yourself on me."

"Hah...why do ya always get the easy jobs...?"

He let the sentence hang there for a bit, instead watching the kids play in the ocean before even considering whatever the hell Archie was on about. Probably deranged rambling from lack of sleep. Maxie had his base made in a cliff, with a goal to bring about a drought causing legendary pokemon that required a water pokemon to REACH. Climbing that steep slope everytime he wanted to go anywhere was a pain, and no one on his team HAD a water pokemon. They were a ground based operation!

He considered snapping at him now, but found the man fast asleep, snoring softly. Great. Now he had to watch both kids.

"Come on Max! There's something shiny!" Little Archie laughed, tugging the other's hand forward. Max shuddered in the cold water, not very far from him as they waded into deeper water.

"W-wait...! Isn't that...too deep?"

"No! It's...like 5 feet!"

"That's too deep!"

"See? That shiny thing..?" The two stood hand in hand, staring at...something, the clear water soon began to bubble violently.

"Archie...Can we go...?" He could hear Max whimper, tugging little Archie's arm back.

"..Y-yeah."

"You two-" Maxie went to call them in when the bubbles ceased for a second. Not another after that, a large tentacruel burst from the water.

"CRUELLLL!"

Little Archie instantly got in front of Max, trying to shield him as they tried to back off from the enraged pokemon.

"Shit...! Crobat!" Maxie cursed. In a panic he dug out the pokeball from his bag and threw it. The moment the red vanished, he called for it to attack.

"Use Acrobatics!"

His pokemon became a blur of purple, appearing as if from air before the Tentacruel, the next moment knocking it above water a few feet into one of the capes rocks.

"Chhhhck..."

"Excellent job." He called, Max and little Archie running back to the beach before sluggishly walking onto the sands.

"*hic* ahHHHH...*hic*" They were still hand in hand, Max shaking violently and sobbing while his Archie...had a stoic face.

"Are you two alright?" He looked them over quickly, checking for any prick or sting marks.

"... ... ..."

"Archie? What's wrong?" He heard him whisper something, but it was too soft for him to catch. Glancing around, Maxie lowered himself to Archie's eye level, gently moving his head upward to get him to look at him. "Come on...what's wrong?"

"I...I wasn't scared..." He suddenly cried out, large tears forming in his eyes. "I wasn't...!"

...*sigh* Neither child was injured thankfully, but they were deeply shaken from the experience. First he wrapped them in towels (sacrificing his emergency towel), and had attempted to get them an ice cream, but in their condition, he ended up back under the umbrella, little Archie and Max pressed against him in his lap crying in unison. His crobat circling the area angrily, even against his wishes.

All the while this bastard is still asleep...! The smoldering anger rose with each hour that passed, the children refused to move, terrified of the water and seeking comfort from HIM.

"...hold still." Pulling out his handkerchief, he wiped his child's eyes before doing the same for Max, then covering the little nose and commanding him to blow before wiping it clean. Ugh...

"... ...never knew you were the maternal type Maxie." The sleepy laugh that followed tempted him to throw Archie into the water with the Tentacruel. How long had he been up?! Slowly, the Aqua leader sat up, stretching and smiling wide at him. "Ya have no idea how much I needed that."

"*hic*..." Max's sobs had died down at this point, his grip on Maxie's shirt only slacking slightly. Noticing his tears, as well as little Archie's, he gave a panicked glance.

"...what happened now?"

"...there was a Tentacruel in the water. It tried to attack them."

"W-what?!" He all but shouted, making the kids jerk in surprise. "Why didn't ya wake me up?!"

The glare Maxie sent him shut him up instantly.

"Sorry..." It sounded forced, but it was enough. Archie at least looked SOMEWHAT apologetic. He understood the man was tired, but still!

"I took care of it."

"... ... ..." Rubbing the back of his head, Archie seemed to be internally fighting himself before getting up and offering his hand. "Ya haven't eaten yet, right? How bout we get dinner? My treat."

Narrowing his eyes, Maxie looked at him suspiciously. The sudden offer was strange. Even for helping his 'child.'

"Come on Maxie, the kids are probably starving. And well..." He could see Archie's face visibly tense as he muttered. "I...owe you one."

"... fine." Standing up, he shooed the kids off the blankets after taking off and deflating the floaters. As well as getting proper clothes for them (and borrowing Max some of Archie's). Rolling up the blankets, he shook off any sand and packed them away in the bag before handing it to Archie. "You can make yourself useful then."

"... ... Yer like a demanding mother." Another glare, this time harsher, quieted him into muttering under his breath.

"Crobat. We're going." Calling out near the shore, his pokemon returned to its pokeball after giving the surface one more circle. "Good job."

"Are we going home?" Little Archie asked, keeping close to Max.

"We're going to eat first, alright?" The child nodded, the other nodding in understanding as well. Maxie ushered them up the staircase back towards town, Archie following behind.

"... we have to go with HIM?" Well...that was sudden. Little Archie's words were sharp and angry, giving Archie a heated look that caught both adults by surprise.

"Archie.." A warning tone, as much as he was at odds with the man, he would not tolerate disrespect at such a young age. Max looked stunned by the other's anger, shaking at the tone he used.

"... ... ...*hmph!*" With another annoyed look, little Archie grabbed Maxie's hand and pulled Max to grab his other. Both children's hands gripping his first two fingers while Archie snickered.

"How precious." Archie mocked.

"Say another word and I'll throw you in with the Tentacruel."

"Ya know, Mother Maxie does have a nice ring to it-"

"Since Archie has been so kind to treat us, get whatever you want."

"Huh?! Anything?!" Both children looked up at him excitedly, Archie's sudden snark dying down to worry. "Yayy!"

"..." Maxie could feel daggers being stared into his back, making his victorious smile all the more enraging to the Aqua leader. And all the more sweeter at his reaction to the bill.