Author's Note: Well, I set out to write a short chapter this time, and 25,000 words and 55 pages later, realized I failed miserably ahaha. Next chapter will be much sooner and shorter, I promise, but I hope you enjoy this one either way! (Warning: violence)

He arrived in Cianwood mid-afternoon, the sun just barely peeking through the cover of grey, dismal clouds. Maxie felt like the sky above him, the hot ball of anger in his chest blanketed by dreary unfeeling. As he hurried off the boat and went down the path to his home, the events of the last day clung to his shoulders and breathed down his neck, but he kept his eyes forward, on the dirt road below his feet.

The ground would not betray him. It wouldn't change its mind, become fluid and flow away. It was strong and sturdy and unchangeable beneath him.

As he went down the familiar road, his eyelids slowly lowered, and he allowed himself to be carried by his legs to his home. He was utterly exhausted, in body and in spirit. The waves had been wild on his ride home, the boat rocking with the memory of last night's storm. He had been unable to rest at all during the hours at sea, for his own heart had been like the boat, trying to stay sturdy and strong despite the cascading madness around it. The seasickness winding around his stomach had only made the boat ride less pleasant, but that had started even before he had boarded the ship.

The redhead didn't even bother to knock as he came to his porch, pushing through the front door quietly. His mother was sitting with her back facing the door, her pink hair let down so that it puffed to the middle of her back. Even from this angle, Maxie could see that she had a small knife in one hand, a Leppa berry in the other, which she was slicing and eating.

Maxie took a moment to take in his house before Jenna would notice him. The walls of his home somehow seemed brighter, the rooms in his view less cluttered. His eyes widened as he noticed a small lavender-colored pokemon taking a sunbath in the windowsill, its pronged tail flicking back and forth lazily. He hadn't seen his mother's Espeon in years, ever since his father had demanded that she keep her pokemon boxed away in the Center at all times, for reasons he had never quite understood.

Maxie, having been invisible for long enough, dropped his suitcase. His mother turned with a jolt, fruit slice sticking out of her mouth. Her eyes darted to his suitcase, his still-damp jacket, and then back to his face. She took the bit of Leppa berry from her mouth.

"Honey?" her voice wavered, "…Why are you here?"

The redhead tried to smile a little to calm any of her fears, but all that fell on his face was a slight grimace. Instead, he shrugged as casually as he could.

"I…just decided to come home, that's all."

His mother stood and came over to him, eyes boring into him, as if she was hoping she could read her son's mind. Jenna took Maxie's face in her hands and examined him. He allowed her to do this, neck limp like a ragdoll.

"Sweetheart…" she whispered, "…what happened? You should be at school."

She looked him right in the eyes. "Did something happen? Did somebody hurt..."

Jenna stopped when Maxie's eyes, to his frustration, began to grow blurry with tears. She opened her arms and tried to pull him close, but something in Maxie caused him to push his mother away.

"I am fine, mum."

He walked past her and sat at the table. His mother seemed not to know what to do with herself, as she took a step forward and then back. Finally shaking her head, she went to the stove and poured some hot tea into a clay mug and set it down for Maxie. The redhead nodded in thanks and held the mug between his palms.

His mother sat across from him, still seeming to be expecting Maxie to say more. He poured a splash of milk into his tea, the white swirling around the dark in a vortex, until the drink became a shade lighter. He lifted the spoon from the mug and shook it a few times to keep it from dripping. Seeing that beads of tea still wetted the spoon, he shook it once more, then again, and again. Still, the spoon stayed wet. He felt a flame of anger lick his insides, adrenaline rushing in the back of his skull.

He jumped when his mother spoke, the utensil dropping onto the table with a clatter.

"Are…are you finished college for good, then?" She said, speaking slowly.

Maxie shook his head. "No!" He raised the mug. "Arceus, of course not…" He brought the tea to his lips but didn't drink. His glasses fogged as he breathed into the cup. "I can easily complete my studies from home." The tea was placed, untouched, back on the table. "I can stay home, right?"

His mother nodded. "Of course." She was silent for a moment. "But what about your friends, Maxie? Don't you think Archie will miss you?"

The redhead had brought the tea to his mouth once again and taken a tiny sip, but at the mention of his name, his insides spasmed and the hot liquid rushed into his lungs. He gripped the handle of the mug, glared at the liquid, and took it over to the sink, wordlessly pouring the contents into the sink.

"How Archie feels about my absence," he snapped, rinsing out the mug, flinching as the cold water spritzed his forearms, "does not concern me in the slightest."

He took a towel and dried off the mug, and put it in the cabinet. But before he closed the door, a shot of fire ran through his spine when he noticed the clay still shimmering with slight wetness. The redhead grabbed the mug and tried to dry it again, rubbing the material much harder this time.

"Dammit..." He thought, head pounding as he ground the towel in the mug. "Why won't it dry?"

But still, it was damp to his touch.

His vision blurred as a burst of rage filled his skull, his arm slamming downward and sending the cup smashing against the side of the counter. He heard his mother gasp and his anger was gone just as quickly as it came, pieces of shattered mug at his feet.

Maxie swallowed. "I...will be in my room." he said softly, leaving his apology and his mother's reply unheard.


Through the next few weeks, time lost its significance for Maxie. The redhead spent each day much like the next.

He would rise just as the sun broke through the mountains, take his books and materials to the caves, and spend hours jotting down notes on whatever fascinated him that day: the shining minerals trapped in the rocky walls, the slow growth and decay of the stalactites and stalagmites, anything at all. Then, he would sit in the mouth of the cave and do the schoolwork which Rustboro University had had no trouble sending for him. At night, he would read by moonlight, squinting over factoids, scribbling in his tiny, neat handwriting his opinions and theories. This constant exercising of Maxie's mind felt wonderful, like massaging a muscle that had been aching for ages.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

In truth, he worked and studied without end because he was afraid. Afraid of those times when the night grew late, and his fastidious notes became soft lines and curved lips and dark stubble and blue eyes. Afraid of the feelings that returned when he was halfway into the world of sleep, desire hot in his hips and red splattering his cheeks when he awoke. Afraid of the times he saw the ocean and couldn't help but stare across it, caught in the foolish hope that Archie was looking for him on the other side.

The caves seemed to be the only place he had true sanctuary from these slips in his control. He hadn't realized how much he had missed them. How could he have ever loved the stink and musk of another man when he had the damp, raw scent of the earth? How could he have loved a plain human being when he could be in love with the world itself?

Even with all this, Maxie still felt distant somehow. All the work, all this thinking and studying the same data, the same theories...he couldn't see how any of this could lead him to his own goals, his own dreams...

But...what was his dream, anyway? Maxie had no idea, and so he just buried his head back into his books, hoping that his life's purpose would just appear to him in paper and ink.


On the first week of July, the humidity came, rolling over Cianwood in waves. Though Maxie had never minded humid weather so much, as it was—at least—warm, this time he detested it. The air felt more moist than ever before, and he found his pale skin covered in dampness as he descended down the rocky path and back to his house. Looking up as he came down from the cave, he cringed as he saw somber black clouds filling the sky. He quickened his pace to return to the house, feeling the wind begin to pick up.

As a sticky gust of hot air blew through his red locks, Maxie crinkled his nose. To make the weather even more unpleasant for the young man, this humid week had been paired with a mysteriously strong stench of fish. The townspeople had claimed that it was just a part of living in a fishing village and not so bad…

"…but the bloody place reeking like the balls of a Wailord isn't exactly my memory of home," he thought, grumbling to himself.

He thanked Arceus as soon as he went inside, the nutty scent of his home fighting off the fishy bitterness floating around his nostrils.

He wandered into the living room, where a dusty-looking book and medicine-making supplies were strewn on a table. Most likely, his mother had been in the room just moments before. Sighing into the emptiness, Maxie took the first book he could touch from shelf and sat down in a big armchair near the window.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he sunk his head into the back of the chair, sliding his long forefinger down the spine of the book, its ridges like scales against his skin. Though he had spent the entirety of the day reading, perhaps this book would lead him in the direction of his unknown goal. The pounding pressure of restlessness was now an ache inhabiting the back of his skull, one which only ebbed more vigorously when he opened his eyes to the first page to find that…damn…he had read it before.

Hissing in frustration, he tossed the book on the floor, then turned his torso to the bookshelf. His skimming eyes narrowed, for he realized that he had made his way through all of these various books, on history, culture, science; and yet none had given him even a drop of inspiration.

He tried just sitting in the armchair, to just relax for a moment. But the humidity of the day pulled down the redhead's limbs and made it impossible to breathe. His stomach brewing in annoyance and the pounding in his head were just too much. With a growl, Maxie kicked the abandoned book into the wall, just as his mother walked in.

Surprised to see her, Maxie tried to re-pose himself, as if she wouldn't notice his burst of anger. He felt his stomach weigh down when heard her sigh as she placed some tools down on the table.

"Maxie, honey," She said, a wavering in her voice somewhat familiar, though he couldn't place how, "how about…how about you do some chores for me?"

The redhead shrugged. "Fine." It wasn't as if there were anything else he could be doing.

She looked at him for a moment, a something in her eyes as if she was expecting him to say something else, but then exhaled. She turned to the table behind her and handed him a slip of paper.

"Sweetie, I need you to go downtown to fetch the mail for me." Jenna adjusted her pink hair and half-smiled. "Apparently there's an entire cart of packages that came for us. Isn't that exciting?"

Maxie nodded, folding up the paper.

"Besides, I'm getting a visitor later, and it would be best if I could meet with him in private."

The redhead looked up, a tiny burst of excitement distracting him away from his aggravation for a moment. Could it be possible that his mother had moved on from the monster that had been his father, and...

"Really, mum?" Maxie smiled, eyebrow raising, "A private meeting? I'll stay out as late as you need me to, then."

His mother had mirrored Maxie's smile, seeming to be happy to see him finally doing so, but she scrunched her brow for a moment, then let out a short laugh.

"Oh, don't be silly, Maxie. It's not what you were thinking." She shrugged. "Just a meeting with a potions buyer, after all."

"Ah." The redhead nodded a few times. "Well then, I'd better head off, before the mad old woman closes up shop."

Jenna patted her son's shoulder and kissed him on the forehead, burgundy eyes warm. "Thank you, Maxie. You're really the best son in all of Johto."

"Right." He headed to the door, then turned briefly, with a mischievous twisting in his lips. "Shall I tell Mrs. Attorus you said hello?"

His mother put down the vial she'd just picked up with a bang. "Hell, no." She shook her head. "I loathe that woman. What a sad excuse for a medicine maker, using such hideous methods…I would call the bloody police on her but of course she'd make excuse after excuse—"

"Bye, mum" Maxie called out, giving her a knowing grin before he left, her muttering fading as he walked out onto the road.

Now that the sun was setting, the uncomfortable air was losing its wetness, and becoming an unexpectedly nice evening. Maxie took a deep breath, letting the warm air fill him. Being forced away from his books and thoughts and lack of dreams, and forced to do a task was turning out to fill him with an incredible sense of relief. Perhaps just doing something different was enough.

As he walked on, with his steps forming a beat as his shoes padded against the dirt, something about the soft air, and the bright reds and golds of the setting sun reflecting in the waves caused something to stir in him, a feeling as gentle as warm tea which wound around his core. He began to hum softly to himself as he passed the houses, the tune of an old folk song passed down through the people of western Johto. It was a song of the sea, how a maiden of Cianwood waited one hundred years for her sailor love, who had never returned.

He stopped when he recalled the lyrics of it, his voice cracking. The last of the sun melted into the horizon, and inky blackness swirled in and out of him. He had let his guard down again, for now his mouth was in his ears, whispering the what the last words of the song

"Though the tide in time may ebb and flow
My heart stays sturdy, I love you ever so..."

Maxie shuddered, brushing off the darkness and the vision. Gripping his hands into fists, he strode forth, until before he knew it, he was at his destination.

"Thank Arceus…"

The house was crooked, seemingly formed from water-worn planks, yet it stayed sturdy. A large chimney protruded from the north side, spewing smoke that was a very odd shade of purple.

Though Cianwood was considered a city in the guidebooks, it still had a small enough population that they didn't even have their own post office. After all, the people of Cianwood stayed in Cianwood, as did their families, so most had no need to send letters to other parts of the region. As the fishermen of the city had to travel to different cities and towns, their most popular form of communication was by mouth.

However, there was still a small demand for mail by the villagers, and so all packages, letters, and bills were sent to the southernmost house on the island. Mrs. Attorus had run of this house, and of the entire postal operation. And, as Maxie knew well from his mother's complaints, Mrs Attorus was a potion maker of her own, though her methods seemed to infuriate his mother beyond belief.

Maxie pushed a stray hair behind his ear and went to the front door, and knocked. The sooner he got the packages and left, the better, he figured. Before the darkness grew too thick.

A woman practically as tall and thin as a lightpost answered the door, looking down at Maxie over her thick pair of spectacles.

"Mail?" was all she asked, in a shrill voice not unlike that of a Spearow's.

With Maxie's nod, she beckoned him in without a word. "Good evening to you as well, Mrs. Attorus," he muttered under his breath as he entered into the house.

Maxie had been inside Mrs. Attorus' home before, but it was ever a place of fascination. It was split into two section: to the right, packages and envelopes were stacked tight, fallen labels and receipts spread on the floor. The left, were a multitude of pots and bottles in various shapes and sizes, some bubbling or steaming, others lying dormant but from which either fantastic or horrific smells snuck out, with no in between.

In the middle of the potions area was a round table, where a young man who was as plump as his mother was thin was sitting. Maxie's attention stayed on the left when he noticed that Mrs. Attorus' son was watching a pair of Shuckle on the table. At first, the redhead thought nothing of this, until one of the pokemon whipped its head against the other's neck, mouth wide.

The cry of other Shuckle was drowned out by Mrs. Attorus, and Maxie moved his focus before he could see if the pokemon had really bitten the other, a chill, nevertheless, going down his neck.

"How's your mother, Maxwell?" said Mrs. Attorus sharply, drumming her long-nailed fingers against the mail counter. "Does she still hate me," she turned to her potions, wrinkles sorting themselves into what could be called a smile, "an' my creative ways?"

Maxie snorted. "She's well. " He was about to answer her other question, but his eyes kept wandering back to the two Shuckle. Now, Mrs. Attorus' son seemed to be feeding something to the pokemon that had attacked the other.

Without an answer, Mrs. Attorus still continued. "She's such a hypocrite," she sneered, "After all, it's not as if your mother was the most innocent medicine maker back in the day." She leaned in to whisper, Maxie making a note that her breath was also rather Spearow-like. "At least I haven't killed anyone."

She stared at Maxie unblinking, as if she was hoping he'd have some sort of shocked reaction. Instead he just smiled, exactly the response that would satisfy her the least.

"Foolish old woman is over exaggerating of course," He thought as her sneer was wiped off her face, "The poor, poor thing."

Mrs. Attorus cleared her throat and turned to a door in the back. "Let me get your packages, then."

As soon as she disappeared from view, the redhead hurried over to the pair of Shuckle, to see what was going on now. Just as before, one seemed agitated beyond belief, the usually peaceful species of pokemon baring its beak at the other, who was trying, in vain, to escape its fury. Mrs. Attorus' son was watching calmly.

"Ehem…" began Maxie, trying to get the young man's attention. "…Are they alright?"

The round boy nodded, giving the redhead a sincere smile. "O' course! That's jus' what want ta see." He gave the angry Shuckle a pet on the shell, who let out a loud "SCREEEE" in return. "Ya see, they's been mates for a long time, y'know?" He pointed to the Shuckle cowering at the edge of the table.

"But the thing is, the female's gettin' old." The boy shrugged. "But I's still need to breed more Shuckle so I can turn their shells inta powder, y'know?"

Maxie nodded along, though the idea of turning the baby Shuckle into powder was something he'd rather not think about.

"All I had ta do was feed 'em this." The boy unscrewed a bottle, one of many lined at the table, and held up a little black pill.

Maxie leaned over to get a closer look, and saw that it had speckles of white in it as well. It was hard to believe that such a tiny dose of something could cause such violence in a pokemon. "What exactly does it do?"

"Well," Mrs. Attorus' son held it up to his eye thoughtfully. "It takes away their attraction. Somethin' in this here pill can make Mr. Shuckle here forgets he ever thought his mate had the prettiest shell of 'em all, y'know?" He chuckled. "Best part is, when she finally croaks, I won't have ta waste any time in gettin' him a new mate."

The last part of the boy's words were unheard by the redhead. A pill…that could take away attraction? That could take away love? It all seemed too incredible to be real, but yet…the Shuckle truly seemed to hate the other, enough even to want to attack it.

Maxie's mind swirled, the little black pills clotting his vision. His heart began to race, his thoughts speeding up. In his own brain, he paced, his eyes darting through his thoughts. Strings of ideas appeared to him, and with confidence he grasped them, winding them close so that he could read their potential.

"What a phenomenon…" he thought, reaching for more and more ideas within himself, "…for if love is but an obstacle…it would be so simple to rid of…with just…pills." He grasped at the string wound tight around his heart, woven like chain.

He glanced up, a thread carrying the pills was in his reach, the bottle shaping itself like a long pair of scissors. He grinned, eyes bright and burning. "At last…I could finally be rid of these…leftover feelings."

Then, suddenly, a roaring light of realization blinded him. He fell back, but caught himself in the web of ideas. "Of course…of course!" He cried, blinking rapidly. "Those feelings I have remaining, those feelings I hate myself for having, those feelings which haunt me without mercy…They are what has been keeping me from finding my dream, from following my true destiny…No, no, it wasn't my own weakness after all…"

"…All of it…it is all the fault of Archie!

With that, he returned to himself, a hint of a smile beginning to wind through his lips as he stood over the boy and his Shuckle.

"Does it work for human beings?" He asked, an intensity smoldering behind his softly spoken words.

"'umans? Well I would fink it might…" His head turned, finally giving Maxie complete focus, an eyebrow raised in seeming confusion. "Oi…weren't you on the telly last year?"

Maxie was mildly irritated by the change in subject, but it mattered not. As far as he could tell, those black pills would work on him. Not that there was any proof towards that, but perhaps his will for it to be so would be enough.

He eyed an unopened bottle of the medicine on the table and answered the young man flatly. "No. I believe you're mistaken."

"No, I fink you were, I swear ta Arceus…" Mrs. Attorus' son squinted and shook his head, pointing at the redhead. "Huh…no, I know! You was at the PanHoennian sailing final!"

Maxie nodded and sighed, looking down at his fingers. Wonderful. He knew exactly where this conversation was headed and didn't like it a bit. More of a reason to get his hands on those damn pills as soon as he could.

"Arceus, I love watchin' sailing races, an' Hoenn's are the best, don't ya think?" He got no real response from Maxie other than another nod, but continued anyway. "But yeah, mate, you was def'nitely there! I saw that Archie bloke hug you after he won!"

Maxie grunted. So the whole world had seen? Terrific, absolutely terrific.

"I swear, he's a bloody legend…only won a single competition but I jus' get a great feelin' about him, y'know?" The boy sighed wistfully at the redhead. "And you get to be friends with him…"

The redhead laughed, sharply enough that the boy jumped a little. "He isn't as nice as he looks on television, you do realize?"

But the young man's eyes seemed clouded by thought of his idol, and didn't seem to hear him at all. "Arceus…" he exhaled, "I'd love to meet 'im." His look refocused, back to Maxie. "Do ya fink…the next time Archie comes ta visit you, I could…I could meet 'im?"

The redhead was about to snap back that it was entirely and utterly impossible, but he stayed silent for a moment, then painted a smile on his face that gushed warmth.

"Well of course I can arrange that." His smile widened into a grin. "Why don't you write down your address? I'm sure I can convince my dear, dear friend to come by sometime—what is your name again? I've quite forgotten."

"Really? Uh, wow…Geordie's the name." The young man said, moving out of his chair quickly enough that it rocked the two Shuckle together, which didn't make their fighting much better. "Arceus am I glad for you, mate!" He rushed over to the other side of the room and grabbed a pen and paper. "I can't believe this. I'm gonna meet Archie Aogiri…the champion of sailing…"

At the very moment Geordie's back was turned, Maxie calmly extended his arm and took the nearest bottle of pills, slipping it into his pocket with a smirk. Victory.

The young man returned and gave the redhead the paper. "You really are lucky. You gotta stick with a guy like that." He settled back down at the table. "After all, us nobodies from Cianwood need someone like him, y'know? We ain't the brightest, or the most talented—we live a simple life here—but with people like him, we really got a chance in life, y'know?"

Maxie chuckled. "What a ridiculous thing to say." He put his hand on Geordie's shoulder. "You and I are very different then, Geordie. Very, very different."

The redhead was especially thankful when Mrs. Attorus reentered the front, pulling a cart full to her shoulder height in packages.

"Here ya're, Maxie." She put the handle of the cart in his hands, then stepped back, rubbing her neck. "Too many bloody packages for you all. Next time ya order this much Miltank manure I'll throw it all in the sea, y'hear?"

Maxie just thanked her and pulled the cart outside, making sure not to capsize it on the unsteady dirt road. His mother had said there would be quite a few packages, but this many? What on earth had his mum bought? The entire Goldenrod department store?

As soon as the door had closed behind him, Maxie pulled out his spoils from his pocket, twisted off the cap, and swallowed one of the pills, dry. Satisfaction ran through him as he felt the tiny capsule tugging down his throat and into the abyss inside him.

"Ahh…" he breathed into the inky air, leaning against the cart. He looked at the sea, far across, this time without guilt, searching for a pair of cerulean eyes many lands away. He narrowed his eyelids and lifted his chin, then took another pill from the bottle and put it between his teeth.

"I hope you can see this," he thought vehemently, "I hope you can feel this." And with that, he bit down, letting the powder slide down with its companion.

The bitter taste coating his tongue formed his lips into a grimace, but success glittered in his blood red orbs. Maxie released Crobat, who landed on his head and spread his wings, giving the redhead a purple, sinewy crown. Grasping the handle of the cart, he couldn't help but strut his way home.

He was in control, and no worthless memories of the foolish past could hold him down anymore.

Soon he was back to home, and, with a bit of help from Crobat, he yanked the cart onto the porch and to the front door. Before he entered, though, he realized his left hand was in a fist. Relaxing it, he sighed when he saw the Geordie had given to him.

Archie, you're my hero! It would be so cool if you'd come visit me.
My address is…

Lifting his arm, he let the night breeze take it.

"Believe me, Georgie," he said softly, "Sometimes your heroes are only good on TV."

Once in the kitchen, Maxie bent over to look at the label of the first box. His eyes widened when the label was printed clearly with his full name.

"Hm…" He looked at the other boxes, his heartbeat increasing, as he realized that every single one was addressed to him.

Calling Crobat over with a quick grunt, he and his pokemon rushed the boxes upstairs. As he ascended and descended, back slowly complaining from the increasing weight of boxes, his initial excited thoughts were that, perhaps, his mum had bought him a surprise geology research kit. A real one, with a microscope and tools and books and…

But no, it couldn't be. They didn't have the money for that.

So perhaps the university had sent him something. Yardley had convinced them to give him one of their old machines. But in a dozen boxes? No…

With every box Maxie carried up, dark realization weighed down his excitement. He threw the last box on the bed and ripped it open with his nails, praying to Arceus that it wouldn't have…

His nose scrunched up.

…that smell.

Of ocean scented cologne and musk, and love making in their big bed in the apartment, those rough kisses all over his body that brought a tingling through every nerve in him and…

Maxie took a deep breath and held it, blocking out the smell. Inside this one, there were pots and pans, jumbled as if the packer hadn't cared a bit to make them neat.

Of course. All of the stuff he had left behind. He had forgotten about it all, hoping that it had become ashes with the past.

But box after box he looked through, head pounding from holding his breath in long intervals, but also with a growing anger, as he saw the mess that Archie had made of his things. In another were more of Maxie's kitchen supplies, some linens, some decorative trinkets. Some of his dishes were broken, but it seemed as if every tiny piece had been collected and tossed in with the rest.

However, the last few boxes made Maxie pause. They contained the clothes that he had been in too much of a hurry to bring with him. But the insides to these looked as if they had been packed by another person entirely. Every article of clothing was folded flawlessly, with barely a wrinkle in the cloth. His shirts, pants, underwear, even socks, had been stacked so well in the box that they looked as if they hadn't changed position on their entire journey across the regions.

With Archie's scent so deep in these boxes, Maxie could only envision the dark haired man on the floor of the apartment, carefully spending time with each piece of cloth, obsessively touching everything he wore. A pang of sadness—no, he couldn't feel that—of nausea, swept through his gut.

He shoved the boxes onto the floor and gave them each a kick toward the wall, then rose and opened his windows. Hopefully the summer Johto air would dissolve that bastard into nothingness.

As he did so, the wind pushed something thin and white out of one of them. Crouching down, Maxie took what seemed to be an envelope from the floor, holding it only by the tips of his fingers.

A letter, with his name written in Archie's recognizable casual scrawl. Annoyance spread through him as he turned it around and scraped his thumb against the flap to open it, but then he stopped.

Was it really necessary to open it? What could it really be? An apology, trying to convince him to return? A love letter, as if the events of the spring hadn't ever occurred?

It mattered not.

With a smirk he placed the letter on top of his dresser. When Crobat hopped over to it and cocked its head at him, Maxie raised his arms in a shrug.

"Why am I not going to open it?" he answered his pokemon's silent question, "What could possibly be inside of value?" He brushed bits of chipped off cardboard from his bed. "I am quite certain that he spent a long time writing whatever is inside, so the better to not read it…to think, all the sweet words inside this envelope, have been written for nothing."

This idea satisfied him immensely. Crobat made a soft coo and stood next to the letter for a moment, then flew onto the bed, where it perched on Maxie's headboard.

Now that all was quiet in his room, Maxie could hear the soft rumble of voices below. It seemed his mother still was dealing with her customer. But proud of how well he had dealt with this evening onslaught of the ex overseas, he slipped out of his room and down to the kitchen to reward himself with some sort of treat.

Grabbing a scone from under the cloth-covered bowl on the counter, he stuffed half into his mouth and leaned against the counter, slowly chewing down the sweet crumbs.

"...debts to pay…income is down…still must pay the price…"

The voices in the other room were a just a buzz in his ears, as what they were talking about was surely nothing of interest.

"…perfect solutionMaxie…"

At the mention of his name, the redhead put down the rest of the scone and listened harder.

"Maxie isn't like that…" He could hear his mother saying.

"It doesn't matter if he is." The voice grew louder as Maxie moved closer to the living room. Though his mother hadn't wanted him to be here for this meeting, listening probably wouldn't do any harm, especially not if they were discussing him. "And I am not so sure of that. Maxie…has potential. Even if he chooses not to stay with us, he will most certainly need my guidance in time. Besides, as I may keep reminding you, you have a debt to pay, Jenna."

Hearing such an odd statement come from the man puzzled him. Maxie decided that whether his mother wanted him to or not, he was going to get involved in this. He strode into the room, his head held high, planning on asking the customer what exactly it was that he wanted, but the words fell out of his opened mouth.

For sitting in the armchair across from his mother was Giovanni.

Maxie glanced at his mother, whose eyes were widely focused on his, as if to tell him to "BE CALM"!

He let a curt smile flash onto his face, and reopened his mouth. If he could handle Archie's idiotic smell all over his belongings, he could handle anything.

"Mr. Giovanni…what a pleasant surprise."

That seemed to do, as Giovanni only smiled back (or whatever you would call the twisting of the Rocket boss' face, which looked more like a hungry pokemon eyeing up its prey than a friendly expression). He was wearing a similar outfit as before, his white dress shirt bright against the dark suit and same blood red tie.

"Indeed…" he murmured, "…how nice to see you again, Maxie." He smiled at Jenna, flashing white canines, "And at the perfect time too. We were just talking about you, weren't we, Jenna?"

His mother nodded sharply. "That's right. Maxie," she cleared her throat, "Giovanni has a project he wants you to do. And, as it seems that you haven't done much this summer, we assumed—."

"Not much to do?" Maxie blurted out, this accusation shaking his calm. What was she talking about? "I've been researching all summer, mum, research!" He remembered who he was standing in front of and let out a synthetic laugh to the other man. "You see, I've been studying the geology of our local caves, and…"

"I wouldn't worry about being away from studying what you love, Maxie," The Rocket boss said, taking a sip from his teacup, "This project I've selected for you is one you'll most enjoy…"

The redhead made a small noise of acknowledgement. "I see. Well, as grateful as I am for your offer, Mr. Giovanni…"

"You can call me Giovanni, of course." He replied, cutting off Maxie's declining, "It'll be much more comfortable that way when you're working for me. Which your mother has already assured me you will be."

Maxie's head started getting dizzy around the edges. There was no way out, was there? He never thought his mother could betray him like this…

But a burst of rage went up his spine as realized, of course she would. Wasn't she the one who picked such a horror of a husband? Wasn't it her who never stood up to his father, never even considered running away from that bastard?

"Mum…" he said quietly, not looking at her. "…can I ask you something for a moment?"

He could see Jenna's hair bounce in the corner of his eye. "Yes, of course, sweetie. What—"

"In the kitchen."

Without waiting for her answer, he strode into the other room and reclaimed the other piece of his scone, breaking off a piece and rubbing into tiny crumbs. His mother came in after him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He grabbed her hand off his shoulder, hard. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he said, his voice tremoring. "I realize I haven't been as focused as I should be, but you didn't have to send me away to Team Rocket, mum, you didn't have to!"

Jenna turned her head towards the living room and then back to her son. "Honey, please, you have to understand…"

"Understand what exactly?" His anger and panic was bouncing through him like bullets. "That my pathetic bitch of a mother is willing to give me to Team Rocket without trying to fight them at all? Or are you getting something from them? I bet you only had me for this very reason, an extra product to sell to Rocket for some extra cash if anything ever happened to dad. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Maxie flinched as his mother gripped his ear. "Stop it!" She whispered harshly, a glaze over her eyes that almost looked like fear. "You're…you're acting like your father."

That made Maxie shut up instantly.

"None of this was my doing, do you understand?" She seemed to be trying to keep the most calm tone she could. "Giovanni came on his own terms." Jenna blinked slowly, and looked back up at her son. "You really think I'd want to hand my baby over to those monsters?"

The red haired man shook his head, his anger becoming cool steam which wandered out his pores. It had been foolish for him to jump to the idea that his mother was against him. She seemed as upset as he was, as her burgundy eyes were filled with wet.

His mother took his hands, hushed voice desperate. "They've taken everything from me, Maxwell. You don't know what they are capable of. Believe me, I know. Do you really think I never had hopes and dreams of my own? You, you still have a chance. But for now you must do what he says…sometimes it's necessary to play along with a role to protect what is important to you."

"But I won't be like that!" Maxie sighed and tried to pull away but his mother wouldn't let him. "I don't have to be weak like that!"

"Honey, you need to listen to me. You haven't seen how they can ruin lives…I don't want you to live a forced life like I have."

The redhead had never heard his mother say anything like this before now, but as he struggled to get some sort of clue of what she meant from the look in her eyes, Giovanni entered the kitchen.

"Everything alright out here?" His eyes were scanning the kitchen, as if to survey his surroundings for any sort of danger. The boss has likely been ambushed in places as innocent-looking as this before, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see him so careful. "You've been keeping me waiting for a while!" He brushed his fingers against the counter. "And I'm the kind of man who really doesn't like to be kept waiting…"

The redhead left his mother's side and faced Giovanni. As much as he loathed the idea of agreeing to any sort of deal with this criminal, his mother's pleading finally seemed to be setting in the idea that saying no would make the other man likely to be wiping off much more from the counter than crumbs.

"I'll help you, Giovanni." He said slowly, body tensing, "Ah…it would be…an honor."

The dark-suited man chuckled. "I was hoping that you would see what is best." He put his hands behind him, steely eyes sharp. "Team Rocket is planning on using a well in eastern Johto, in the town of Azaelea…are you familiar with it?"

Maxie nodded. He had never been there, but he had heard the legends of what must be this particular well from stories his mother had told.

"Azaelea Town?" she said behind him, sounding surprised, "I didn't realize you were planning on…"

Giovanni nodded and held out his hand. "I thought you might find it interesting to send your son there, back to your hometown."

She was silent, so the Rocket boss continued. "There is a valuable resource in that well, you see, the Slowpokes. We aren't using them now, but they are there as a possible source of income for our team if any of our other investments should fail."

The redhead nodded along with this. "Right. But…where exactly do I come in?"

Giovanni responded precisely when Maxie's words ended. "Something is odd down in the well, Maxie…Our machinery keeps disappearing, the water—which was always the freshest and most pure in the area—is mysteriously now as salty as seawater. In fact, our scientists would say that it is seawater, if not for that being completely impossible."

"And," Maxie said, unwittingly being pulled in by this mystery, "you believe there may be a geological disturbance which is causing an imbalance of the mineral and chemical composition of the well?"

"Precisely." Giovanni glanced back at Jenna. "And this is why only your Maxie will do for this assignment." He looked back at Maxie. "There really are no risks in this, Maxie. You only have to complete a single job for us, and then you can never associate with Rocket again, if you choose. And, of course, you be compensated for your help." He took out a flimsy piece of paper—another check. "If anything, this should be fun for you."

Maxie's eyebrows raised at seeing the amount written on the check. Giovanni certainly was never going to be stingy with his rewards, it seemed.

And as much as Maxie didn't want to do anything for Team Rocket's benefit, he couldn't help but realize how exciting this mission sounded. A journey to a new part of Johto…hard work to keep his mind busy…he was being paid heavily to study underneath the earth…and perhaps, this would help him finally figure out his purpose in life.

"I'll do it." He said, and this time, he meant it.


Before he could really think about this new path before him, Maxie had left Cianwood, and was riding in the back of a private jet, high above Johto. Giovanni had expected him to leave right away, so after taking a few minutes to pack his essentials, Maxie had said goodbye to his mother, and the two men had climbed up to the mountains in the dark, where the Rocket boss had come in his own private jet, landed far away from sight in a clearing up by the caves.

Up in the air they went, and Cianwood and the sea became small in Maxie's sight. The redhead hadn't flown before, and he wasn't sure he much liked it, being so far away from the ground. But soon, the steady whirring of the engine made his eyelids heavy, and he tried to keep awake, as falling asleep by one of the most dangerous men in the world was perhaps not the best plan. But the inside of the plane was warm and his seatbelt felt as safer than the bed at home that he had held Archie in many summers ago, though the sheets had been changed and his shape had lifted from the mattress…

When he awoke, they were landing among more trees.

Exiting the jet, Maxie was caught up in a gust of chilly morning wind, and he flinched, wrapping his sleepy arms around himself.

Giovanni walked beside him, leading him towards the town itself. "I see you've noticed we're up north." Before Maxie could say anything, he continued. "Don't worry, Maxie, I didn't trick you. We just needed to make a stop at the HQ to get you ready."

The redhead kept up with Giovanni's brisk pace, thankful that the movement sent warmth through his limbs. The town they entered was rather small, with only a few simple houses and an old-looking Gym. He adjusted his glasses as they passed a sign: Mahogany Town. He had heard of this town before, but didn't know much more about it than its name.

He smirked as they approached a tiny building, the paint on it faded. So this was the great Rocket HQ of Johto? This is the place where his father had worked? It looked more like a sad-looking gift shop to him.

And that is exactly what it was, he discovered, as they went in the building. There were shelves covered in Mahogany Town t-shirts (with the designs chipping off), little statuettes of ninjas and pokemon, and bags of snacks that looked as if they had expired years ago.

The shopkeeper nodded to Giovanni, chewing on a candy bar, and turned back to his magazine.

All of this seemed terribly odd to Maxie. This couldn't be the HQ, as much as he'd be amused if it were. But Giovanni walked around the shop as if nothing were amiss, until he came to a golden cabinet on the back wall of the room. Without a word, he pulled out a poke ball, and a Rhydon was released, who gave the cabinet a good shove.

Ah, so the HQ was underground…a deep set of stairs greeted Maxie, into a dimly lit hallway.

"After you," said Giovanni, gesturing toward the steps.

And so, without complaint, the redhead went down the stairs, hearing the Rocket boss follow after and the shopkeeper moving the cabinet back over the hole.

What met him down below was much more of what Maxie had expected. After Giovanni punched in a series of passwords into the wall, it opened up, revealing rooms and passages, men and women in black uniforms skittering down the hallways like ants.

They went down the hallway, the grunts parting to let their boss through. Giovanni opened a door at the end of one hallway, which was filled with computers and people in long white robes, measuring chemicals and scribbling notes.

"I thought you might find this room interesting," Giovanni said, smiling at the scientists, who looked up from their work and saluted him, "This is one of the science rooms. If you ever choose to work for us full-time, you would be located in a room like this…"

The hallway became a wide room, brightly lit with florescent lights, but filled with rusty cages. As Maxie got further in the room, he almost choked on the scent of rot with permeated it.

"This is where we keep test pokemon." He said calmly, rapping on one of the cages, which held what would've looked like a Marill if it hadn't been thin to the bone, a blinking machine attached to its head. "As a future scientist, you understand the need for experimentation, of course."

Maxie looked away but found himself staring at it again, his insides twisting at the pain the pokemon seemed to be in. No, he didn't understand. Experiments of this nature were meant for rocks and chemicals…he thanked Arceus he was a scientist of the earth and not of the living.

At last, they came to a room that seemed rather to be a large closet, filled with copy after copy of the same Rocket grunt uniform. He flicked his wrist toward a glowing box, which Maxie took as a sign to stand on it. A ray of light scanned the redhead, and then a grunt, who he hadn't even seen there before, selected a pile of dark clothes according to whatever it said on the monitor.

"We're going to put you in a temporary grunt uniform, Maxie. I hope you don't mind."

The grunt pushed the clothes into Maxie's arms, and Giovanni looked at him expectantly, which Maxie took as a cue for him to get changed into these new clothes, now.

The redhead moved behind a rack of jackets to hide himself the best he could, and quickly pulled off his boots, sweater, and jeans.

"The uniform will put the blame on Team Rocket, and not on you, if anything goes wrong." Giovanni said, moving around the rack to get Maxie's eye contact, as the pale man hurriedly pulled on a black shirt with an "R" in the middle. "And, it'll ensure that the police won't arrest you."

"Right…" Maxie said, putting on the black pants and tying the grey boots. He had to admit that the concept of uniform making him anonymous was somewhat thrilling, almost like a superhero and their mask. But, remembering just who he was representing, as he pulled on the gloves and fastened his belt, his excitement turned into shame.

He finished dressing by pulling his scarlet locks out of their usual ponytail and squeezing his head into the cap. The cuffs of his jacket detached, he went to button them with some of the cufflinks in a big cardboard box, then hesitated, going into the tiny bag he'd packed from home. It held a notebook and pen, a toothbrush, and the bottle of little pills, but something inside him had demanded he bring his obsidian cufflinks as well (for after all, they were one of the few pretty things he owned in this world). And there they were, at the bottom of the bag. As Giovanni didn't seem to object, he fastened on the cufflinks and tied up his bag. He snapped Crobat's poke ball to his belt and gave Giovanni his full attention.

He flinched a bit as the other man moved his hands to his face and pulled off his glasses, looking thoughtful for a moment.

"How interesting…" Giovanni said, looking at Maxie but also seeming to see something else. "Being dressed in team uniform suits you, Maxie…what a shame you don't want to join us yet…"

After another few moments, with the redhead not knowing where he should look (so he settled on staring Giovanni right in the eyes with as much bravery as he could muster), the Rocket boss gave a small smile. "I'm inclined to favor you, Maxie?"

Maxie almost laughed, but he kept it in. "Why is that?"

"It's just…" Giovanni pondered him for a little longer. "…I believe you look very much like how my own son will when he's your age."

The Rocket boss…had a son? Maxie wasn't surprised that Giovanni would have his share of lovers, but imagining him raising a child made the giggle threaten to come back up his throat. Perhaps this devil in a suit had a heart after all?

The odd look in Giovanni's eyes continued. "He's only two," he measured a few feet off the ground, "And only about this high, but his hair is as red as yours…and someday, he'll wear the uniform just like you…" The sharpness returned in his stare. "But enough of that."

Giovanni led Maxie down to a final room, and its contents, piles and piles of pistols, bombs, and weaponry of all sorts strewn around, made the redhead's blood chill.

"One more thing, Maxie." The Rocket boss picked up a pistol, turned it to see its condition, and then handed it to Maxie, "You need to be prepared to kill anyone who gets in the way of your mission."

Maxie took the pistol but felt it numb in his hand. "Kill people!? Wait just a moment, I didn't know that was part of the deal!"

Giovanni ignored him, and pulled a box from his coat. He opened the lid, revealing a short knife, its handle a smoothly carved maple. "Take this as well. A family…relic."

The redhead took the knife, slowly putting his fingers around it. It did feel good in his hand, the weight perfect for him…but then he remembered; it was from his family?

"Eh…this was my father's wasn't it?" He wanted the wood to seem rougher with this thought, but it still felt as natural as before.

The Rocket boss shook his head. "No, no it wasn't." He smirked. "If you take it home, I'm sure its owner will recognize it well…" With that, he went over to an opening in the wall, which had several target dummies on the other side.

Maxie furrowed his brow as he followed over. Did Giovanni mean that this knife had belonged to his mother? He eyed it again, then sheathed it in his belt. This was yet another time today that he had been confused by a suggestion to his mother's past. As far as he had known, she had always been a simple medicine maker with no real events in her life of interest, other than meeting his father and moving to Cianwood.

This knife was no potions making blade; it was sharp, its handle shaped for slicing into flesh, not berries and roots. If this had been hers, just who was she, and what was her deeper connection to Team Rocket?

Giovanni had taken another pistol from the pile, and was now rolling it in his hand, as if it were a child's plaything rather than a bringer of death. Once Maxie joined him at the open area, he pointed to the target, which seemed to be made of clay and shaped like a human head.

"Go ahead." He said simply.

Maxie felt the grip of the pistol in his palms, and fingered the trigger, trying to get a better hold on it. He closed one eye and aimed toward the head, then pulled the trigger.

He cringed as the shot made him recoil back a few steps, and was disappointed when the bullet was sent into the ceiling.

Giovanni chuckled and went behind Maxie, who stiffened as the other man pressed against him and put his hands over the paler man's, changing his hold on the weapon. "Grip it firmly, and have an intent to destroy what is before you. With a weapon like this, you are shooting to kill. Anything less is a dishonor to the name of Team Rocket."

With Giovanni controlling him, he shot the pistol, and the head burst into pieces, clay dust floating up into the air.

"Try again with this one," he said, releasing the redhead. "Kill him."

Maxie tried on his own, but once again, he missed the target completely. Giovanni grabbed his shoulder, his tone like splinters. "Come on now, Maxie, kill him."

Annoyance bubbled up in Maxie. "Well perhaps I'm not a killer like you!" he snapped, "I'm a geologist, not a fucking murderer!" Maxie felt as if the air around him was growing colder as his anger wore off. Shit…this was possibly the worst person to talk back to, and he'd managed to lose his temper anyway.

Giovanni pulled him forward and brought a mouth to his ear. "Don't lie to me, Maxwell. You and I both know very well that you aren't as innocent as you appear." Maxie could feel the Rocket boss' mouth twist into a sinister smile. "Your father died of a heart attack, didn't he? So why is it that his skull was so badly fractured as well?"

The redhead's breathing increased. He knew.

"…as if…someone had brought a boot down on it…" His whisper became sing-song. " again…and again…and again…" He moved his face to look straight on to Maxie's but didn't change his close distance. "You may have the brain of a geologist but your heart has dreams as dark as mine." He pushed the redhead away, back to the target window.

"Again."

This time, Maxie concentrated his best on the clay head, his hands much more steady than before. Of course Giovanni knew what he'd done. Team Rocket knew everything.

And now he knew how crucial it was for him to succeed on this mission. He no longer could use the excuse that he was an innocent young student, that he was as much as his exterior which many perceived as "nerdy", for Giovanni saw right through that.

There could be no holding back here.

He pulled the trigger, and this time, the bullet cracked off a chunk of the clay head. It wasn't a great shot, but at least it had hit.

"Not bad," Giovanni hummed, then headed back towards the entrance, "Let's get you to your mission."


The flight to Azalea Town was even faster than the one before. Giovanni landed the jet at the southern border of the town, and opened the door without turning off the engine.

"I'll leave you here now," the Rocket boss said as Maxie went out into the grass, "Time to see what it is you're really made of."

Maxie smirked as he walked away from the jet, muttering to himself, "Made of better stuff than you, for certain."

The town was surrounded by forest, and he could hear the buzz of bug pokemon all around him, with many cries that he had trouble identifying. The houses themselves seemed comforting in a way, the sides of the stone walls covered in moss, and stone pathways leading around the town.

The people of the Azalea seemed to have this same air of comfort and kindness as well, and Maxie would have felt very happy sitting on the rocks in one of their gardens, soaking up the sweet summer sunlight all afternoon, but the people who saw him hurried back into their houses and shut their curtains, and he remembered that this was not something he could enjoy as long as he wore the uniform in black. Back at home, he had always enjoyed when the villagers left him alone—even avoided him—but in this unfamiliar place, and with the red "R" blazing from his chest, it wasn't as nice.

It didn't take long before he found the Slowpoke Well, for first he saw the collection of Rocket grunts gathered around the entrance. There were tents set up around the well, and the grunts seemed to be engaged in the activity they did best—doing nothing at all.

As Maxie approached, the grunts didn't pay him much attention. "Excuse me." he said, trying to catch their glances. "I am Maxie…excuse me!"

It irritated him already how unwilling they were to listen to him. He was the one selected to complete this mission wasn't he?

A larger grunt looked him up and down. "I am Maxie…" he mimicked in falsetto, taking a drag from his cigarette, "What of it?"

Maxie licked his lips in annoyance, then put a hand on his hip, trying to heighten himself with sheer attitude alone. "I have been assigned by your boss—yes—Giovanni himself…" He looked for a reaction in the brute but got none. "…to solve the mystery of this well. And as you all seem to be standing around and waiting for something, I knew that you must be waiting for me to begin this project!"

He raised his voice so that the others could hear. "Now that I'm here, I demand that we please begin!"

The other grunts quieted down as Maxie finished and gave him a long look. "Good," the redhead thought, rather pleased with himself, "leading these idiots might not be as difficult as I thought."

But when all the grunts started snickering, he realized that he had been very mistaken. The big guy in front of him took a step forward, flicking his cigarette. If Maxie hadn't wanted to be intimidating, he would've instantly taken several steps back.

"Look pretty boy," grunted the other man in black, "we ain't waiting for nobody, 'specially not some red haired fairy princess like you." The other grunts laughed. "We doing our jobs. The Boss wants us to block off the well, so we're blocking off the well. Besides," he thumbed behind him, "we only take orders from her."

Before Maxie could ask who exactly this woman was, he heard a familiar voice pierce through the crowd. Arceus…it couldn't be…

"Look at you, bossy-pants!" said Kaddie, pushing through the grunts. She looked much the same as she had, wavy blue hair down her back and wild purple eyes, which now no longer had the glaze of sweetness that they had been covered in at first. She was dressed in the Rocket Grunt uniform, but with a red band around her right arm, which was holding a long, thick rope.

"Thank Arceus we never got married, Maxie-poo, cause if you ever sassed me like that, I'd want to cut a piece of your tongue off!" She laughed. "And I have a feeling you'd need it for licking up that big muscly roommate of yours whenever I wasn't around!."

Maxie growled, furious when his cheeks became flushed. It had been refreshing to have not seen Kaddie at Rustboro University over the last year, and he'd hoped that perhaps, she would've forgotten all about their silly engagement, but clearly, she was still as bitter as the mud in the well.

He took the time to try to think of something to say that wouldn't further incense her, but she stopped him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Maxie, I'm just playing with you," she said, swinging around the rope in her hand, "We can still be friends. Besides, you going and betraying me like that got me a better deal anyway." She pointed to the red band on her sleeve. "The Boss gave me a higher rank in Rocket, so now, I'm climbing up the ranks, you're getting climbed on, everyone's happy."

"Kaddie," The redhead pushed the statements towards Archie as far from his mind as he could and on to important matters, "Giovanni sent me here to study the problems in the well, but if no one seems to know a thing about it—"

"I know all about it, Maxie-pie! And that," she made a loop in the rope, and looked through it at him, "is why I have this!" She gave him a short shove towards the well. "Time to go down…" Kaddie paused and started giggling at herself, "…and even though you won't be going down on Archie…" she giggled again and Maxie sighed, pondering how badly it would hurt if he just jumped in, "…I'm gonna tie you to this rope so you'll land alright."

He tightened the rope around his waist, and Kaddie grabbed the other end, along with a few other grunts, then he backed into the mouth of the well, until he was hanging from the edge. The grunts slowly released the rope, and he was lowered, deeper and deeper into it.

"Maxie!" Kaddie cried, as the redhead was almost to the bottom, "How is the boyfriend, anyway?"

Maxie grumbled, and even more so when he could see Kaddie smile in the distance.

"So Maxie's all alone again!?" she shouted, her voice echoing down, Maxie's feet just touching the ground now, "Funny how that works, isn't it?"

Maxie was grateful to finally be out of Kaddie's sight, as he walked through the tunnels of the well. Much to his displeasure, it was chilly and damp down here, but being surrounded by walls of rock made it better for him.

He was now thankful for the heavy grey boots of the uniform, as most of the floor was covered in at least several inches of water, and he could see that in many spots, it became much deeper.

The redhead was also glad for Crobat's company, who flew a foot ahead to help him navigate through the dark underground. The area was dimly lit though, as there were slivers of light peeking through parts overhead them, which made Maxie deduce that the Slowpoke Well was not too far underneath certain areas of the town.

He looked carefully at the stones, feeling their textures, then brought them to his face to sniff and perhaps taste. Everything seemed completely normal about the geology of the well. The rock patterns were typical, and there didn't seem to be any unusual signs of chemicals. But the water itself was indubitably saltwater, which Maxie couldn't understand at all.

"Water can't just transform…" he thought aloud as he continued through the well, "…and there doesn't seem to be a salt deposit in this stone, so how…"

A nudging of his leg distracted him from his thoughts. As Crobat was flying above him, it couldn't be his pokemon who was trying to get his attention. He looked down, and a wide pink face stared back up at him. It nudged against his leg again and opened its cream snout, letting out a long, low "GUHHH".

Maxie turned away from the rocky wall crouched down to the pokemon. "Hello, Slowpoke," he said, putting out his hand to the pokemon, who promptly chomped down on it. "…How rude.."

The small Slowpoke kept his mouth on Maxie's hand, staring at him blankly. He sighed. It didn't hurt at all, but the pokemon showed no signs of moving. "Come now, Slowpoke, I've work to do."

It made another "GUH" into his hand but didn't budge.

"Alright, then, Slowpoke, you asked for it." He stood back up, the Slowpoke still attached. The redhead was surprised at how light this Slowpoke was. Though it did seem to be a smaller one, even the tiniest varieties weren't usually this light. He looked down at the pokemon swinging from his hand, and realized that its thick pink tail was completely gone.

He raised the pokemon over his head to take a better look…yes, it was just as he thought, no tail at all. Instead, where it should have been, there was a deep gash in the Slowpoke's behind. Had another pokemon bitten the tail off? But seeing how cleanly it had been taken off, the cause of this seemed more likely to be human.

A thought snuck into the back of Maxie's brain. Giovanni had said that these Slowpoke were meant to be a source of income for the team, but he hadn't bothered to wonder how. He hadn't heard of how Slowpoke tails could be of use, but whatever the reason, this degree of cruelty seemed right in line with what Team Rocket would do for money.

Now, with a Slowpoke on his hand, Maxie went on. He must have been here for at least a few hours, and the light which had been fading as he went underground was now disappearing fast, the darkness becoming thicker over his eyes. It was only when his stomach made a pitiful whine that he realized, put his Slowpoke-free hand over his belly, that he had not eaten since that scone that day before.

He wanted to return to the surface, maybe get some hot food and some sleep…but a nagging part of his brain told him that wasn't possible. What would the Rockets say when he returned without any answers? But at the same time, Maxie hadn't had much time to search...perhaps they would have mercy on him for that.

"Now what, Crobat?" He looked around, and unable to see anything at all, went into his belt and pulled out a lighter, which he clicked on and continued walking. "We ought to head up to the surface, don't you think?"

He heard no response, and as he swung around his lighter, he saw, with a hiccup in his gut, that Crobat was gone. He looked down at the Slowpoke on his hand for some sort of explanation, but it only nibbled his fingers and stared at him blankly.

"Crobat?" he cried out, trying to see, but his lighter wasn't much of anything. His steps quickened, and he saw the fluttering of many wings, but all were the usual cave Zubat. He held up Crobat's empty pokeball and pressed the button to try to see if his pokemon would return, but with no luck. "Bloody hell, Crobat! Where are you? You better not be having a tryst with some gorgeous Golbat seductress, because this is not the time!"

He was about to warn Crobat that if it was out making eggs, he'd crack them and eat them for breakfast, when he saw fire—not the tiny, almost pointless flame of a lighter—but a warm friendly circle of light just around the corner.

And, even better, he saw Crobat's dark, winged silhouette against the brightness of the flames. He took a few steps forward and went to call out to his pokemon, when he realized…if there was a fire here, somebody else must be here.

He slowly stepped toward the flame, eyes so focused on ahead that he nearly tripped over a large form underneath his feet. The redhead heard a groan come from whatever he had stepped, and looked down, then took stepped to the side when he realized he had stepped on a man.

The person laying on the cavern floor seemed incredibly tall, his long legs exaggerated in the limited lighting seeming nearly twice as long as Maxie's. The redhead's brow furrowed as he looked at the man's selection of clothing, a draping tunic which flowed down to his knees, covered in intricate designs of blues and golds. He was wearing a pair of baggy tan pants and had worn wooden sandals on his feet. It was an outfit which seemed pulled straight from the history books, not at all something anyone would have worn for hundreds—perhaps even thousands of years.

He wanted to look longer at these strange and beautiful silken garments, when the man made another long, low noise, then sat up with a start, the cascading cloth of his tunic rustling. His lids opened to electric yellow eyes.

Before Maxie could say anything, the man rose, and in one quick movement, brought a curved blade from his belt and put it against the young man's throat. It happened so fast that all Maxie knew to do was stand as still as he could, for if he budged a bit, the cold metal felt like it could slice deep.

"What in Mother Arceus' name brings you here, henchman?" He said quickly, his voice deep and mellifluous. Crobat squawked at the commotion and flew around them, but seemed unwilling to grow too close to this other man. "Come to chop up another one of my brethren?"

"Henchman?" Maxie swallowed. "I'm not anyone's henchman, thank you." He tried to drain some of the sass from his tone as the metal grew just a bit closer. "I haven't come here to chop up anyone. I'm just researching these caves."

The other man growled. He was incredibly pale, his skin almost translucent, and Maxie could not help to look at the maze of veins running through the uncovered portions of his body. "Do not lie to me. You wear the mark of the ones who have been harming the wise creatures of this well."

The redhead's brain sped around. He was right, though. How was he supposed to prove he wasn't with Rocket if he was wearing all of their gear? But when he felt a pressure on his fingers, he knew. He felt so confident in this that he put his palm on the hand which held the knife.

"If I am really down here hurting pokemon," He raised his hand, which still had the Slowpoke gnawing on it, "Why hasn't this Slowpoke left me alone?"

The knife was pulled away from his throat, and the other man bent down to see his hand, then gingerly pried the Slowpoke's mouth from his fingers. Maxie flexed them several times to bring some life back into them.

The strange man held the tiny Slowpoke up to his face. "Slowpoke, did this boy cut off your tail?" The pokemon "GUHHHed" in response, and the man finally smiled. "Very well."

Crobat finally seemed to be at ease, and landed on Maxie's shoulders. The redhead put up his finger for the pokemon to nibble on. It must have sensed the fire and went to find it, then was distracted by this anomaly of a person…

He put down the Slowpoke, who sat on Maxie's feet. "I feared that you were like the rest of those men in black uniform." He put his sword away, and brushed back his shiny ebony ponytail which extended down to his rear. "I apologize." He bowed to Maxie, who awkwardly bowed back. What an odd person…bowing was rarely done these days, and especially not in Cianwood, so it felt unnatural.

"My name is Gyka Moire," he said, his eyebrows twisting up. For a moment, Maxie's concentration was lost by these eyebrows, as they danced as flexibly as a wave…and he felt a punch to the gut when he realized they reminded him of…his…He refocused himself.

"I'm Maxie." The redhead moved a bit closer to the fire, enjoying the warmth against him.

"A very gentle pleasure to meet you, Maxie." He joined Maxie by the fire and sat on a rock, then invited the young man to sit on the stone next to him. "You may wonder why I've wandered down into this filthy place, nh?"

Maxie sat carefully, happy when the rock seemed to have been nicely heated by the fire. "Well, yes, I was beginning to wonder that. Though this place isn't so bad…there's many beautiful curves of this cave, you see, and—"

"Beautiful?!" Gyka laughed hard, as if Maxie had just told the greatest joke there was. "But that foolishness aside…you see, I was on a journey through this region of Johto, going west, when I sensed the many voices of water pokemon in this well, crying in pain." With every word, he moved his hands fluidly. "But in my deep earnest to help them, I fell down into this earthy pit," He swept a hand to his feet. "And both of my ankles…snap snap!"

Maxie was interested by the way this man talked, in an dramatic and animated way, yet his accent was nothing like he'd ever heard before. If anything, it kept him engaged.

"But as my bones healed, I witnessed the monstrosities of the men and women who wear your clothes…" He looked down at the red "R" with disgust. "They put machines into the walls of the well, and started taking the native Slowpoke and chopping off their tails!" He brought his hand down like a knife.

Maxie looked down as the Slowpoke made another cry, and put the pokemon on his lap. "If you've been down here a while…did you notice anything odd with the water?"

"Well of course…most certainly…yes…" he nodded, "…for it was I who made it so." He sat back proudly. "Slowpoke seem to become less valuable to these men of evil when they live among seawater. And, even more deliciously, they thrive and become too tough to cut into."

The redhead leaned forward, trying to understand how this could be true. "You did this? But how? How is that even possible?"

The other man shrugged. "I have always had a connection to the element of water. And besides," He turned his hand, "I am a man of many trades. But that…" He held a finger to his lips. "…is all I can say."

Maxie shook his head. He wanted to believe Gyka, but somehow it seemed much too hard to accept, that this strange man could have changed the very chemistry of the water. Plus, what was he to tell Kaddie and the rest of Team Rocket? That guy who fell down a cave had a water "connection"…probably waved his arms around and said some spells…and that caused the problems in the Slowpoke Well? He was certain that would only lead to laughter, and whether that was accompanied with a bullet through the head was up to fate.

Keeping his mission in the back of his mind, he let his curiosity take hold of him. Perhaps if he spoke to this Gyka, eventually he would find the answers he needed. Inching closer to the fire and warming his torso, he wasn't surprised when his stomach let out another needy growl.

Gyka seemed to take note of this, as he stood and went over to a bag at the edge of the campsite. In his arms, he brought back with him a sack and a pile of sticks, as well as a long, oblong bottle.

"You're hungry," he said and opened the sack. A few dozen Magikarp spilled from it, their scales glimmering from the fire. It would take a skilled fisherman to catch fish in the darkness of this cave, let alone this many.

Maxie blinked away from the pile of pokemon. "No, no, it's alright. I'll surely find something to eat on my own."

"Unlikely," said Gyka, piercing a few fish onto each stick and burying them into the dirt so they nearly touched the flame. "Darkness has arrived now, so you'll either have to fend off ravenous Zubat or fall into one of the pools and be nibbled clean by Goldeen."

The other settled back on the rock with the bottle. "Stay with me tonight, Maxie. You'll be safe. The wild pokemon will stay away from me. Besides…" He twisted open the bottle and looked at Maxie over it. "…something about you intrigues me…and until I can figure out just what it is, I won't be too willing to let you just run away!"

He laughed, a sound with such beauty to it that it caused Maxie a deep sort of pleasure, yet at the same time, chilled him to the bone.

Gyka took a shallow bowl, and then another, from his robe and poured some of the liquid into them. Maxie squinted at the bottle, trying to see if it was labeled, but it seemed to be blank. In the meantime, Crobat was hopping around the cooking fish, while the Slowpoke had settled right in front of the flame, gazing into it. Crobat didn't bother trying to avoid the pokemon as he jumped, and every once in a while Maxie could hear the Slowpoke grunt as the bat pokemon landed on him.

"What is this?" he asked as the bowl was passed to him. The clear drink smelled strong and sweet.

The other man swept his black ponytail behind his shoulder, and leaned into the fire, holding the cup close to the heat. "It's a drink from my home." Gyka took a sip, closed his eyes for a moment, then continued. "Sake. I brew it myself when I've settled in a place for long enough."

Maxie brought the cup to his lips and drank. He had heard of sake before, but it wasn't popular in western Johto, so he had never had high expectations of it. But when the liquid softly burned down his throat, he felt as if someone were playing a melody on his taste buds. He loved it.

Gyka looked at him expectantly. "…And?"

The redhead nodded, then drank the rest of the bowl. "It tastes…" He thought for a moment as the warm sweet drink danced on his senses. "…like moonlight."

The other man smiled, then he brought the bottle to Maxie's cup and refilled it. "A beautiful description."

Maxie took a moment to gaze at the mysterious man's face as he took another drink. Gyka spoke in such an old way, but he only appeared to be a man in his late thirties at most. He had full lips that were just as opaquely pale as the rest of his lips, and a thin nose that curved slightly downward at the end, a face which was smooth and elegant. His paleness contrasted dramatically with his jet black hair.

Despite his alarming yellow eyes and unusual appearance, he was incredibly handsome, and the more Maxie drank, the more he enjoyed looking at his appearance.

Soon enough, the fish was cooked, and Gyka handed Maxie one for himself. Crobat zoomed down onto Maxie's head and snatched a fish from the stick, then flew off to enjoy it, the Slowpoke running after it on his stubby legs, seeming to be begging to share.

The redhead handled the charred wood between his fingers, and, after scraping off some of the scales, took a bite. The meat was smoky and tender, and surprisingly juicy, as some rolled down his chin. Maxie normally didn't enjoy Magikarp, as it was tough and usually a little sour, but this was completely different.

After his stomach was temporarily satisfied with a few bites, Maxie turned back to Gyka, who was eating the fish in large bites, not seeming to care about the scales or bones.

"You said you were a man of many trades," Maxie began, smiling at him, in part to get the best answer he could, but also because the several cups of sake were making his insides feel bubbly. "But what do you do other than come to the rescue of crying Slowpoke?"

Gyka put down the empty stick. "Well, I am a traveling artist by profession." He showed the sleeve of his robe, which Maxie could now see were covered in designs of tiny flowers. "I paint, I weave cloth, but in truth," he poured more sake for the both of them, "I am a storyteller at heart. I travel and give others the tales I've learned, and then gobble up their own stories for myself."

After this last phrase, he licked his lips, then wiped something from the corner of his mouth with a long fingernail.

Maxie nodded at this and took another long drink, interested. "Tell me one, then."

The other man put down the bottle, laying his hand on either side of him. "I was hoping you would ask such a thing of me." He leaned back, gave Maxie another long look, then smiled slowly. "Ah…I know the perfect tale…my very favorite one…"

"Thousands and thousands of years ago, this was a young and unripened world, long before man had the poke ball or the pokemon had even reason to run from their human friends. The Earth was unstable at this time, still molding itself into adulthood…

There once were two tribes, far away from here, who lived together in peace. One tribe treasured the waters that were scattered through the region, using the liquid hope to feed plentiful paddies of rice, and the seas were ever full of fish, some of these pokemon which were more beautiful and delicious than you ever could dream of.

The other tribe loved the land above all else, and planted many a crop in the rich soils, and raised Miltank and Camerupt and Gogoat by the hundreds, and fresh milk and cheese were always available to them. They found a great harvest within the mountains as well, and so there were jewels for all to share, and metals were melted down into tools.

Though these tribes were utterly different, they happily traded goods, shared their stories and cultures, and truly loved the people of the other.

The tribes were so very thankful for the gifts nature had given them, that they worshipped their patron gods with earnest, the one, praising the great creator of the seas and waters, the one they called Kyogre, the other, giving thanks to the pokemon who gave them such rich soils and mountains, who they named Groudon.

But this time of peace was not to last, for their gods were not as wise as they seemed.

When Arceus decided to create the Earth, he knew he would need help shaping the planet, so after eons of sleep, he birthed twins. The first was Kyogre, who he gave the gift of covering the Earth with sea and filling the burning rock with streams and lakes. The second was Groudon, who he gave the power of shaping the plates of the Earth into mountain and valleys, and to fill the earth with minerals and nutrients. When at last their eyes were open and wondering, is it said that the cord that attached them to each other and to their parent detached itself, and flew high into the skies above them.

At first, Groudon and Kyogre worked together to create the perfect world, with the perfect places for pokemon and humans to live without any troubles. But as the years went by, and the tribes of Hoenn praised their gods again and again, their bodies swelled with pride, and soon, both were convinced that they each were the most benevolent and most powerful gods there had ever been. Soon, they began to fight over who was the best.

"The humans love me most, for I give them pure water to drink and cool waters to swim in!"

"No, foolish twin, the humans love me most, for I give them the gems they love so, and an ever bountiful harvest!"

In time, their resentment escalated into deep hatred, until one fateful day, their fighting became so great, that for the first time, the godly powers they had been given to use in kindness were used to attack.

They know not whether it was the Hydro Pump or the Solar Beam which hit first, but it mattered not. In no time, the gods of nature became blind with their rage, and battled for many days without end.

Their ignorance was so great that they forgot about the people in the region that they had once cared for, and the tribes became struck with fear as their world collapsed around them. The tribe that had loved the sea was plagued with drought, and many died of thirst and exhaustion from Groudon's brutal heat. The tribe that had loved the land was flooded, and the people who survived drowning had to climb to the highest peaks to escape the unending rains of Kyogre.

After weeks of catastrophe, the tribes, after praying endlessly for their gods to cease their madness, lost all hope, and were ready to let nature's rage end their suffering, when a strange man came down to where the two tribes had gathered in safety.

The people were frightened by this man, for he was only two feet tall, but fully grown. Though his face was wrinkled with age, his hair yet held a color like emeralds, and he wore a robe with a train which seemed to trail endlessly behind him back into the clouded peak from which he came.

But though they were afraid, when the man spoke of a way to stop the fighting, they listened with full attention.

He first told each tribe to create an orb, one of sapphire and one of ruby. The people of the land, as masters of mining the earth, went into the mountains and brought back the finest chunks of these gems they could find, and the people of the sea, whose hands were artful yet strong, accustomed to carving boats, shaped the gems into the smoothest of orbs.

They went to the man and showed him the orbs, and he was pleased.

He then told the people to select one child from each of the tribes. The minds of the tribes went immediately to a young girl and boy who, though were from different tribes, had been the best of friends since the day they had been born.

They went again to the man and put the children in front of him, and he was satisfied.

He told them then that the final step was for the children to take the orbs to the site of the great battle, at all would be peaceful once more.

With fear for the children in their hearts, the tribes brought them to the great battle, and gave the girl the blue orb, and the boy the red. A shining light suddenly pierced from each orb through the air and to the pokemon, and was so bright that the people were forced to close their eyes.

When at last the light faded, Groudon and Kyogre were smaller than before, and seemed to have lost all the rage from their eyes. At once, they fell into a great slumber, and sunk into the earth and into the sea.

The tribes were about to erupt into celebration, that at last all was well, but not all was. For in front of them were the boy and girl, their bodies cold and unseeing.

The people were sank into grief, and some grew angry at the strange man from the high mountain, but he quieted them, and stood near the children.

"Gaze upon this sacrifice, people of the land and sea! Your children activated the orbs which stopped Groudon and Kyogre's dastardly battle, for only pure souls could have stopped the gods today!"

As the crowd's yelling raised again, he lifted his arms to them all.

"But be not in despair, tribes! For your children live still!"

Light covered them once again, and some of the people kept their eyes open to watch as the orbs sent beams of red and blue in the boy and girl's mouths, and they breathed once more.

The people wept with relief, holding the children in their arms, but became silent again as when the girl and boy were brought close to each other, they shrieked and clawed at each other, and were quickly pulled apart. But when the tribes looked for the green-haired man to explain, he had vanished.

From then on, the tribes grew used to their new lives, but trying to reclaim the paradise they had once had was hopeless. The child bearers of the red and blue orb were at first revered in the villages, but it soon became clear that they had changed. As they grew older, the boy and girl became stranger, and ever more hostile, until each disappeared from their tribes and were never seen again…"

By now, Maxie's vision was wobbling from more cups of warm drink, but his mind felt fully awake, as Gyka had pulled him into his story like no other had before.

"That was…" He took off his cap and set it at his feet, "…incredible." He sat in thought for another moment, pondering what he had just heard. "I knew the myth of Groudon and Kyogre's battle, and about the orbs which put them to sleep, but I never knew about the rest…"

"That surprises me not," Gyka said, petting the Slowpoke, who, during the story, had returned with Crobat to listen, "the story is a powerful lesson, but the ancient Hoennians realized that if their descendants knew about the potential of the orbs which had the power to awaken and control the nature gods, evil might come of it." As his fingernails scratched behind the Slowpoke's ears, Maxie could see the pokemon drooling. "So they assigned a man and woman to protect the orbs, or what they claimed to be them…"

Maxie pushed his hair behind his ear, his tipsiness fading from his curiosity. "You mean…the orbs that they say are held on Mt. Pyre…"

"Are fakes." Gyka shook his head, throwing his food stick into the fire. "They say that, as centuries passed, the orbs grew a strange energy around them. At first, researchers who went to study the orbs on Mt. Pyre complained of headaches around them…and then, in the last hundred years, a group disappeared."

The redhead nodded. "What happened?"

"They were found twenty days later, staring unendingly at the orbs, utterly transfixed. And the protector of the orbs, the man and woman, seemed to have tried to remove the orbs to break the spell, but the mere touch of them drove them mad, for they had thrown themselves off the mountain. The two orbs were too dangerous to keep together, so they were hidden elsewhere."

Maxie took all of this in, something nagging in the back of his head, but he couldn't determine what.

"But if the orbs were found…" he said slowly, "…Groudon and Kyogre could be awakened, and then controlled…" He blinked a bit dizzily. "If someone were powerful enough, they could use the orb to demand Groudon to increase fertile lands, or ask Kyogre to detract some of the sea, so that there could be more earth to live on…" He took a final gulp of sake and threw his stone down. "Do you know how important that could be for the future? That could change, well, bloody everything!"

Gyka had watched him amusedly, but his smile faded as ideas continued spouting from Maxie. "Calm yourself, Maxie." He said sharply. "Don't be a fool. No one has ever had the power to resist the orbs! No one."

Maxie still was lost in his imagination, drowned in alcohol. Suddenly, what had been at the back of his brain before returned to him. "Gyka!" He gasped, clutching the rock he sat on. "What exactly did the blue orb look like?"

The other man looked at him curiously. "The orb? A wondrous blue, pure like a great eye…"

"I know where it is." Maxie said simply.

Gyka was silent, until these words seemed to sink in. "Tell me." Before Maxie could speak, he flinched as Gyka's hand came down on his shoulder like a claw. "Tell me!"

The redhead told Gyka of the day he had left Cianwood, when he had been with the seer Terese. How on her mantle, had been that bright blue jewel, which had been irresistible to him…how it had been as if it called to something deep inside him…

The mysterious man merely nodded through this, but when Maxie was done, he noticed how distant Gyka was for the rest of the night.

Maxie was exhausted, so he slept well on the cavern floor, surrounded by his pokemon, and dreamed nothing.


Days passed quickly down in the well. In the mornings, Maxie would go to the mouth and give Kaddie a report, usually improvising something about the composition of the rocks below the ground. Every evening, in regards to any problems with down in the well, Maxie gave the same response.

"The data tells me nothing is wrong. But tomorrow I will go deeper! We'll find the answer tomorrow."

She seemed to accept this at first, but as the week continued, Maxie could feel her suspicions growing. He knew that very soon, he would need to find an excuse for Gyka, so that he could get out of this blasted situation and to safety.

He did look forward to his time with Gyka, who allowed him to stay at the campsite for as long as he needed. The strange man was fascinating to him, and told him dozens of stories through the nights, which he loved.

Though Gyka was definitely filled with secrets, Maxie felt oddly trusting of him, though he had no reason to. It wasn't so bad, having a friend again, and someone to share his troubles with.

It was the seventh night in the well, and Maxie and Gyka were sitting at the fire, after eating a meal of Golbat steaks. (Maxie had been afraid that Crobat would be disturbed by this, but instead, it just laughed and gorged itself as usual.)

Maxie exhaled, digging the heel of his boot into the ground. Although he was enjoying studying the rocks of the well every day, at nights, when Gyka wasn't telling a tale, he was filled with a burning desire for something inside him, the one that had plagued him all summer.

"Maxie," Gyka said, looking at the redhead staring into the flames, "What is it that you want?"

The redhead turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "What do I want?" But, he knew what the other man meant, and looked back into the twisting reds and oranges, "What do I want…?"

"Gyka…" he said, giving another sigh, "…you seem to know quite a lot about this world. I feel, like there is something pulling me forward…something like destiny…but I don't know to where. It is as if my life's purpose is there," he put out his arm, "but it's just out of my reach. I don't know what it is…but whatever it is, is important…"

"I feel, in my gut…I think I might just change the world." He played with his sleeve and thought some more, laughing softly. "Isn't that mad? I don't even know what I want to do with my life! But…it is so close…"

Gyka watched him, not responding. Finally, he spoke.

"Who gave you those?"

Maxie turned, tripped by the sudden change of subject. "What?"

The other man took his sleeve, and pointed to the rainbow obsidian cufflink. "These. You're always touching them when you're deep in thought. Who gave them to you?"

His pale cheeks reddened. Had he really? He hadn't noticed at all. Maxie shook his head stiffly.

"Nobody important."

Gyka sat back, his look piercing into Maxie. "Hmm…" It felt as if icicles were pulling apart and inspecting every layer of the redhead. "They broke your heart."

"No," said Maxie hurriedly, "No, you're completely mistaken—"

"You loved them more than anything, and they tore your heart in two."

Maxie opened his mouth, his insides thick and hot and painful.

He told Gyka everything, from the first time he met Archie, to his last look at him when he said goodbye. He didn't want to tell the story, but once he had started, the words erupted from him nonstop, and he could barely catch his breath.

Afterwards, he felt faint, while Gyka somehow seemed to sit even taller than before.

"Interesting…" the other man said, brushing his fingers through his midnight hair to comb it. "…so you love him still."

"Absolutely not!" Maxie croaked, nearly falling off his rock.

"You do," he put his hand on Maxie's mouth before the redhead could interrupt, "and that is what is keeping you back from your ultimate purpose."

Maxie smiled wryly. "Yes. Yes, that's right." His hand dove into his pocket and brought out the bottle of pills, which was now half-empty. "But I am fighting against it. Against him! These will take away any of the idiotic feelings I still possess."

Gyka took the bottle and uncapped it, holding a black pill to his nose.

Maxie yelped as Gyka threw both it and the bottle into the fire.

"What was that for? Don't you know…I need those!" He stood and tried to find something to bring the bottle back from the fire, but realized it was too late.

"Those were the result of terrible potion making." Gyka said, dismissing them with a flap of his sleeve. "The only way they'd cause someone to fall out of love is by burning a hole so deep in their stomach that they'd lash out at anyone who tried to come near them!"

The redhead's eyes widened. Though he hadn't felt any odd symptoms yet, his insides ached even this idea. How could he have been so stupid, to take that medicine? How desperate did he have to be to blindly poison himself? Gyka was right.

As much as he loathed himself for it, and despite everything that had happened, he missed Archie's company, his affection, how he made him happier that he had ever been, the way he made him laugh, the way he made him feel dangerous and daring and sexual and…beautiful.

And he loved him.

Perhaps that hurt more than any poison ever would, but it wasn't worth risking his life to be rid of the feeling. There had to be other ways.

With these thoughts circling his mind, he excused himself. That night, sleep would not come, and feelings taunted him in the dark.


"Sooo gingerbread," Kaddie called down, leaning on the fence which blocked off the well. "Find anything?"

Maxie yawned, and took a deep breath. "The data tells me nothing—"

"LIAR!"

The turquoise haired woman's voice bounced off the walls and into the tired man. He pressed his lips together.

"Like I said, there really is nothing I can find wrong—"

"LIAR, LIAR! PANTS ON FIRE!" She said, then laughed. "Maxie, lovely…why do you tell me there's nothing down in the welly-well, but when I sent one of my men down there today, he swore he could hear you…talking to someone? Now why would that be?"

Maxie's limbs went numb. He tried his best to think of something, anything, but his tired brain failed him.

"Well, there is one man down there," he said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, "but he's harmless. Completely and utterly harmless."

Kaddie smirked down at him. "Well I'm sorry to break it to you, Maxie darling, but unfortunately, cause it seems you're a bit too stupid to figure out what is wrong with the well, we've got to eliminate all the possibili-wili-ties…You're simply going to have to kill him." She smiled, sugar-sweet. "Tonight."

"No!" Maxie paced around the bottom of the well, "Look, no…" He yelled up at her, "I will not be taking orders from you, Kaddie. Nor do I have to." He backed up. "I am not a member of this fucking organization, remember?"

His sleep-deprivation made the words slip out unfiltered, and blocked out his usual reasoning. "You can't do anything to me, Kaderina. Your team needs me."

The woman stood there for a second, then grabbed the rope, stabbed one end of it with her knife and swung down on the rope, landing at the bottom with a slam. Maxie was so in awe of that act of sheer physical prowess that he was completely off guard for when she lunged toward him, taking out her gun and aiming it between his eyes.

"You're wrong. If you can't complete this mission, you're completely useless to Rocket." She gritted her teeth into another smile. "You may think Giovanni favors you, but if he finds out you were withholding information from us, he won't mind that you're six feet under."

Maxie tried to breathe, eyeing the end of the gun. "Kaddie. We used to be friends, didn't we? Don't you recall—"

"I don't recall anything of the sort," she interrupted, pushing the gun closer to him, "There is nothing hold me back from killing you."

The redhead swallowed, alarmed by the steely look in her eyes.

"Do you realize how much pressure I'm under?" she continued, hands shaking slightly, "Of course you do. You were the child of a Rocket Executive too." She took a hand from her gun and gave him a shove. "But you always thought you were better than the rest of us, didn't you? Didn't you? Too good for Team Rocket, too good to marry me…"

Maxie eyed her grip on the gun. If he could aim a punch to her forearm, maybe he could disarm her…but seeing how well she had come down the well, he doubted his strength matched hers.

"…and now that your dad's dead, you may think you're free as a fucking Butterfree now, but I am still in the same situation!" Her amethyst eyes lost any fear that may have been darting at their surface. "And if you mess up my chances again of honoring the name of Team Rocket, I swear…"

She lowered the gun and came so close to Maxie that their noses touched.

"I will kill everyone who ever made you happy…whoever this asshole is in this well, your mother, your ex…If you get me in trouble for this I will never end making your life hell, until you plead for me to kill you!"

With that, she mankeyed up the rope and out of sight.

Maxie released the breath he had been holding, head racing, trying to think, think, think. Without telling them to, his feet were already taking him down into the dark of well, down to where Gyka was.

"I've got to do it…" he thought numbly, touching the pistol on his belt. "I must…if I don't, I'm finished." He stopped. "And I cannot be finished now. There is so much more I have left to do!"

Deeper and deeper he went, nerves twitching in his stomach.

"It'll be quick," he tried to reason, "No fanfare. No apologies. Just one shot. He probably won't even feel a thing."

It wasn't until he was a corner from the campsite, and the gun shook wildly in his grip, that he realized he was absolutely terrified.

But he couldn't be weak now. If he pretended that his new friend was his father instead, if he could only envision that fatty body and disgusting demeanor, then he wouldn't feel so afraid.

And then suddenly, a thought, a wonderful and comforting thought, appeared to him. Why should he feel guilty about this? It wouldn't be his fault if Gyka died, would it? The gun and the order belonged to Team Rocket, and Rocket, not he, would be the murderer.

Holding the gun in position, he slid against the cavern wall, shivering as moisture from the rock trickled down his shirt. He could smell the fire, and hear Gyka humming to himself.

"Alright…alright." he thought calmly to himself. "One…two…three…GO!"

He shot around the cave wall, aiming directly towards the robed figure, begging his gun to aim well, then hid back behind the wall. Maxie heard a groan, then a thump.

"Thank Arceus…"

A wave of complete relief went over the redhead. So it was done. Putting his gun away, he stepped into the camp to see the body…

But Gyka was gone.

Before Maxie could run, he was hit with a gushing stream of water, hard, so much so that he was thrown against the cave wall. Water filled up his nose and mouth, and just when he thought he could take the pulsing liquid no longer, it ended.

"Agh!" He coughed violently, trying to suck it as much air as he could. He was dizzy, and his glasses were covered in water, but through that he could see Gyka's outline standing above him.

He pulled off his glasses and wiped them, but of course there was no point to this, as his clothes were just as soaked. But it helped a bit, and he gasped as he saw that he had hit Gyka—the bullet stuck out from his neck—but no flesh seemed to be torn, and no blood flowed. It just sat there, in his neck, like a rounded splinter.

Gyka smirked, and slowly pulled the bullet out. "Only a scratch," he said, brushing off the dent and coming closer to the redhead. "Maxie, Maxie, Maxie. You disappoint me so. I should've known you would betray me…"

He kicked Maxie's gun away from him. "…But with a gun?" He tutted. "Such a terribly, terribly ugly way to die… But it's alright, Maxie. I forgive you." He crouched down, and Maxie stared at him in disbelief. "But for such a smart boy, don't you know that steel cannot barely harm water?"

Maxie opened his mouth incredulously. The bullet hadn't hurt Gyka a bit, and had that been a Hydro Pump? But from where? It didn't make sense, nothing about this made any sense at all!

Gyka stood again, and put out his hand, which Maxie took, getting up hesitantly.

"I would like to think that we are friends, Maxie, and that you tried this out of pure desperation…" He squeezed his hand as Maxie rose, "But you cannot kill me…not with bullets…not with steel…"

At last Maxie's mind was starting to work again at normal speed. "How…how did you do that?"

The other man smiled widely. "The boy whose soul was used to cease the battle of Kyogre and Groudon?" He spread his arms to their full length, a shimmering form of cloth and dark hair. "I am that boy."

In the most irrational way, this made complete sense to Maxie. "And that's how you know the story so well."

"What the man from the high mountain never knew was, that though our spirits stopped the fighting, we were also blessed with immortality." His yellow eyes were bright. "As well as the powers of the great god of the sea." He gestured to the gun. "For that reason, I would advise not trying that again.

Maxie scratched the loop of his belt, worry begin to set it again. How interesting it was to have met a man from such ancient times, but his thoughts were simmering on the present, on the fact that his life was still at stake.

"I was forced." He said, thoughts whirring. "They will go right on and kill me if I don't bring you up dead."

He looked up as Gyka laughed cruelly. "And I will kill you if you ever attempt such a dreadful thing again." He turned, long tunic billowing. "I would've killed you already if you didn't have something I need."

Gyka went past the fire, and into a chamber of the cavern, where a bit of light showed through the ceiling. Maxie followed him, listening carefully.

"If you were to get me what I want, you would receive so very much more in return than your life…" He looked around the chamber, as if to see if anyone could be listening, as strange as that would be. "Besides, I have something you want as well."

Maxie stayed focused on the other man, still squeezing the water from his clothes. Something he wanted as well?

"Go on."

"You claimed to know the location of the blue orb, Maxie." Gyka leaned over so that he was more at Maxie's height. "You must take me to it, for I cannot go on my own. The orb will not react well to me, I am sure…" His voice trailed off.

The redhead nodded through this. It seemed like an easy enough task. All he would have to do is return home, hand off the orb to him, and it would be done.

"And what will I be getting in return?"

Gyka looked at him in an almost condescending warmth. "I will tell you the secret of getting rid of your love."

"Permanently?"

"Permanently. Living all these thousands of years has taught me many of the secrets of the world." He gave him a bow. "I vow that I will help you, if, of course, you help me."

Maxie intellect told him to think this through for a moment, for all of this sounded much too good to be true, but his instinct knew how much he wanted, no, needed this.

"It's a deal." He said, fire spreading through him. Soon, he would be free. Soon, he would know his way.

But an obstacle still remained.

"Gyka…how will we get out of here?" He pointed above them. "Team Rocket still expects me to kill you, and likely to bring your body out for them to see."

The immortal thought, rubbing his chin. Then, an idea seemed to come to him. "I may not be able to die from your mortal weapons…but if I am willing, I can bleed." He put his arms to his sides. "Go on, then, Maxie. Do what you want."

Maxie paused. "…What?" He looked at Gyka's body, now unprotected. Did he want him to…

"You have a knife," suggested the other man, eyebrows raised, "A much more beautiful weapon…so go on, do all you want. They're a sadistic group; they'll love it when you come up carrying the body with slashes all over."

The redhead took out the knife, and his hand relaxed to have such a comfortable grip on this weapon. He held it up to Gyka, but stopped, not sure how to start. Again, it felt odd to want to hurt someone who had never hurt him. It felt wrong, thinking of cutting into a person who had only shown him kindness.

"Come now, Maxie." Gyka said sternly, putting himself in front of the redhead. "I know you have a temper. I can feel it under your skin. Use it!"

He still couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I heard your anger as you spoke about that boy, that terrible boy…that Archie." He smiled when Maxie's grip tightened on his weapon. "Your anger is your greatest strength, Maxie. For even in that small dose I witnessed, I saw the makings of a great man."

"Hm…" These last words pleased the redhead so very much. He concentrated himself, took a deep breath, and tried to gather all of his rage into the knife.

Maxie slashed forward, letting out a cry, but though the weapon hit, it did little.

Gyka looked down at the small rip in his robe, then stared at Maxie, long and hard.

The redhead flinched when Gyka's hand slid against his cheek, but he was unable to look away from those seizing yellow eyes.

"You are powerful, Maxie…powerful like a god." His fingernail brushed against Maxie's jaw. "But nobody ever treats you like that, do they? But you deserve it…so, so deserve it."

Maxie's pride was already burning hot, so in comparison, Gyka's lips were cool. It felt strange, kissing someone else after being used to one mouth for so long, but he could not deny it felt thrilling, especially when he thought about how that bastard would feel if he knew how good this felt for Maxie. It was something new, something new…

But when their lips disconnected, Maxie was filled with nauseating peril as the face of Archie stared back at him.

"Well shit, Maxie, you're really fuckin' pathetic, aren't ya?" Archie said, then burst into laughter, the sheer volume of his voice setting Maxie's hair on end. "No wonder it was so easy to trick ya into thinking that I actually…" He grabbed onto Maxie, his touch setting off sparks inside him. "…that I actually loved you. But joke's on you, red."

Maxie couldn't think anymore, the flames of anger were burning so brightly in every fiber of him. He pulled himself away from Archie, who just followed him, strutting along casually in that tank top and those damn pink shorts.

"Cause ya see, the thing is, I've moved on, baby! Lemme tell ya, I'm a busy man...On Monday it'll be Shelly,"

The redhead sent the knife across his chest, growling.

"Tuesday I'll get me the twins from upstairs,"

Another slash, across his stomach.

"Wednesday I'll have that cute librarian who always gave you fines for keepin' her books for too long,"

Again, through the skin of his neck.

"Thursday I'll call up those cheerleaders and they'll get me real pumped up, that's for sure,

Another time, down his ribs.

"And Friday I'll think about you. And miss your uptight little ass."

And again, right across Archie's heart.

He panted and saw blood…so much blood. He expected to be happy, to be satisfied from releasing his rage onto Archie.

But instead he just hurt, as if he had used the knife upon himself.

"Well done." said Gyka hoarsely.

Maxie didn't even need to look up to know that Archie had never been there at all.

Still filled with the last bits of adrenaline made dragging Gyka's body the rest of the way to Team Rocket just a bit easier, and next steps happened quickly. When he presented the body, the entire team looked at him with amazement, then applauded him, and for how cruel he must have been to the one who had cause all the troubles in the Slowpoke Well.

He received his check, then asked to dispose of the body himself, which they allowed, cheering him on as he pulled Gyka's into the forest beyond. Once Gyka cleaned himself of blood, they took the nearest boat to Cianwood City.


"Mum!"

Maxie knocked on the kitchen window, then, seeing her wave, ran into the house.

"Maxie!" She rushed over to him and held him tight. Jenna looked him over, seeing barely any scratches on him, "You…"

The redhead nodded vigorously. "I did it, mum. I did what they asked." He pulled out the check and showed it to her. "See? It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

She pulled him into another hug. "Thank Arceus."

Maxie smiled and pushed away from her after a moment, heading upstairs. He had hidden Gyka up in the caves and told him to stay there until nightfall, but until then, he needed to prepare himself for stealing the orb.

"Where are you going, sweetie?" his mother's voice followed him up the stairs, "You just got home…don't you want something to eat or—"

He turned. "Upstairs. I've got loads to do." The redhead thought for a moment about the boxes in his room, but that bit of dread dissolved into delight, for after tonight, nothing Archie had touched would ever repel him again.

"You just seem so happy," she continued, playing with her poofy ponytail, "Did something happen? Did…" she squinted at him, "Archie didn't contact you, did he?"

An ugly laugh erupted from his throat. "Don't be stupid, mum!" Even though she seemed taken aback by this, he kept speaking, feeling the confidence and hope soaring through him. "I hate that idiot more every day! And soon, he won't even have the right to be thought about, ever again!"

Though he could see his mother's confusion, Maxie went up the rest of the steps and entered his room, heart beating fast as he checked his surroundings. He went to his window and looked out, and seeing that the sun was just beginning to fall into the horizon, he quickly went to his drawers, search for what he needed.

Dark clothes would be best for sneaking into a house, he figured, so he pulled one of his black sweaters, and some dark skinny jeans that, that though they greatly restricted his movement, would hide him best. Being caught, he figured, was a greater risk than being attacked, especially as Terese was an old woman.

He grabbed a sack from his dresser, and made sure it was wide enough to hold the large blue jewel. The redhead also took a pair of black gloves stuck onto his bedpost, and put them on securely. Gyka had warned him that if he made contact with the orb, all might be lost, as anything could go wrong if the energy within it grew unpredictable. A part of Maxie still was sure that no round rock could control him, especially with a will like his own, but for now, he might as well take precautions.

As the room grew darker, he released Crobat, who cooed as it flew around the familiar room. It watched was Maxie was doing intently, then hopped over to the dresser, and picked something up with its foot. It flapped over to Maxie and dropped it into his lap—the letter.

Maxie rolled his eyes. "Crobat, I'm not opening the bloody letter." He took it back to the dresser and went back to his pokemon. "Look, Archie and I aren't together anymore. You know that, right?"

Crobat chirped and hopped back to the letter, nibbling on it and looking back at him.

"Then stop being ridiculous..." He stood and went over to the dresser. "Why don't go give Gyka the signal, eh?" The pokemon looked back on him, still softly munching the envelope, "Crobat! Go! Fly!"

He shooed him off the dresser, and the bat pokemon flew out the window and to the caves, the letter falling. Once again, Maxie placed it at that same spot on the table, grabbed the bag, and left.

Maxie met Gyka at the mouth of the caves, and as darkness filled the village, they slowly made their way down to the seer's home. So that they wouldn't be noticed, the redhead took the ancient man along the sand path near the ocean, which the Gyka seemed to enjoy thoroughly. At last, Maxie could see Terese's house up on the bank.

Gyka stayed near the ocean, and fanned out his robe with the sea breeze. "I've been searching for the blue orb for a long time, Maxie…"

The redhead tied the bag on one shoulder, Crobat on the other. "Why have you been after it, anyway? It's a fascinating jewel, but—"

"I am tired, my young friend," Gyka said, cutting him off, "so tired. I have done so much and seen even more. If the orb is what gave me immortality, then perhaps it is what will at last allow me rest."

Maxie made a noise of understanding, but wasn't entirely pleased to hear this answer. He had at last made another friend, but doing this would take him away, it seemed. But he thought again of his own prize in all this, the freedom from his heart, and knew that he must do this.

"It won't be long," he said, then went the beach and to the house.

Quietly walking up to the seer's home, he pressed his ear against the heavy wooden door, right below the Murkrow knocker. He could hear nothing.

"The old woman must be asleep…" he reasoned, "…and all the easier that will make this for me."

He tried the doorknob, and was rewarded even more when it was unlocked. Living in such a small city as Cianwood, where everyone seemed to trust each other to an unreasonable level, certainly had its advantages.

Maxie padded softly on the wooden floors, thankful for his light frame, for the floorboards barely squeaked. Though it was dark, the house was glowing somehow, and he could see the assortment of old books and freakish trinkets and dried and jarred pokemon on her walls clearly.

When he went into her living room, he realized that the pale blue glow was coming from the orb itself, which still sat on its stand on the mantel. As before, when Maxie took sight of it, he felt himself pulled towards the object. He allowed this to be, letting himself be tugged towards the orb.

Blinking to lose it from sight for a moment, he took the bag from his shoulder and opened it. Crobat came down and gripped the sides with its feet and silently flapped his wings, keeping the bag open for Maxie.

The redhead looked back at the orb, feeling the backs of his eyes go numb. He wanted to hold it so badly, so he did, but before he could throw it into the bag, he stopped. Even through the gloves, his hands were filled with sparkling sensations, as if trails of sands were draining from them. He felt as if his entire body could turn to earth, trickling down in pieces and down through the floorboards and deeper and ever deeper.

He felt a hard bite on his arm, and had to hold back a grunt as he came back to himself. Crobat released his bicep, and looked at him sternly. Maxie, before he could become distracted again, put the orb into the bag, then took it from the pokemon, giving it a silent thanks.

The redhead left the house as fast as he could, holding the bag by the strings. He trudged down through the sand, and met Gyka near the line of the ocean, where he had left him.

He held up the sack, smiling self-assuredly. "Here it is. The blue orb!"

Gyka opened his mouth into a wide grin as he stared down at the bag, something in Maxie jumping when he swore he saw that his teeth were much sharper-looking than before.

"Show me."

Maxie carefully pulled apart the strings of the bag, revealing just a bit of the radiant jewel. Gyka looked at it, hunger in his eyes, and put a hand right over it. A strange blackness spread through the pure orb like ink, twisting in tendrils. Through the bag, Maxie could feel its energy changing. Then Maxie pulled it away, and put the bag out of Gyka's reach, and the orb was plain and blue again.

He put the bag behind him then, and stood in front of the much taller man. "Now, aren't you going to give me my reward?"

A flash of irritation went through those yellow eyes, but soon was gone. "Aren't you impatient…Take off your gloves."

Maxie put the bag behind him, and removed them.

"Now, take out the orb."

The redhead hesitated. "With my bare hands?" He looked down at his pale fingers. "Didn't you warn me—"

"Just do it."

Maxie crouched over and untied the bag again, and carefully scooped up the orb in his hands. Immediately, he felt its energy, but this time, even more so. The feeling of falling apart into tiny pieces now was much more than a little ticklish—it burned in tiny dots through to the bones of his palms. He could barely think, the power aching through his muscles. All he wanted to do was be still like a rock and sink…and sink…and sink…

It was then he realized that he had gone much too far. However Gyka had intended for him to lose his feelings, this could not be it. Something was very wrong.

"Gyka," he said, and he felt as if it took an eon to say that single word, "I'm putting down the orb. I can't…I can't…"

He was about to force himself to let it go, to release it onto the sand, when he felt Gyka's arm grip him from behind, cool metal going up his shirt. Through the fogging in his head, he saw that Gyka was holding that long knife once again, right against his stomach.

"You will not put it down," said the smooth voice behind him, right against his ear. "You may wonder what I'm doing, Maxie…where shall I start…" His breath was cold against the side of the redhead's neck.

"Do you recall the myth I told you the night we met?" Gyka chuckled. "I lied to you before. There is so much more to the story than that. For when the orbs stopped Groudon and Kyogre's epic fight, it transferred their—or our, I should say—souls not into the jewels, but into the bodies of the children instead."

Maxie shuddered as his lagging brain slowly understood what this meant.

"That means you are…"

"Yes, that's right, you smart, smart boy." He slid the blade gently against Maxie's skin. "I am not the child who defeated Kyogre, no…I am Kyogre himself."

"After the battle, I had to grow accustomed to my new fleshy shell. But once my human form had become fully grown, I traveled around for thousands of years. I will admit, it was quite fun to be free from that giant godly frame. I met many who showered me with their kindness, and I would stay in a village for a while. But soon, I would leave again, but not without leaving a bit of myself behind…humans should be proud to know that so many of their kind have been fathered by Kyogre!"

"All was well for many long years. Until a tad more than two decades ago. To my horror, my beautiful body started to rot." He tore open his tunic with his free hand, and forced Maxie's head back. The skin of his body was thinnest there, looking as if only a leaf of flesh held him together.

"For the last twenty years, something in the universe has changed. I knew it was time to retrieve my orb, and go back to my original form, for it is time to begin the battle again."

Maxie's awareness was beginning to return to itself, though his arms still were filled with pain. It seemed that the blue orb wouldn't take control of him yet, for his mind was strong.

"Isn't the red orb the one you need, then?"

"Yes, yes, I would have preferred to have found the red jewel, so that I could be reunited with myself sooner. But, now I can do something even better." He pressed the knife harder into Maxie's skin. "For if I kill someone who is fully possessed by the power of the orb, Groudon will be awakened, but empty of herself. While the hollow shell of Groudon will emerge again, once I discover the location of the red orb, I will be able to defeat my hideous sister without any effort at all…"

The redhead struggled against Kyogre's grip. "And what makes you think I would be so foolish to let you do that?"

The human pokemon held him tighter. "Didn't you say you wanted to be free from your heart's aching for that beautiful boy? He betrayed you, but he loves you still…and wouldn't it be the greatest revenge…wouldn't it make him hurt like nothing else…if you just died?"

Maxie gritted his teeth. He saw Kyogre's point…but no...no…He may have wanted to never feel that love again, but he didn't want to die!

"…Gutted and then eaten up by the sea he loves so? Don't you think that would haunt him every day?" Kyogre stroked Maxie's hair with his other hand. "You may have gotten a bit of control of the orb, but let it take you, Maxie…"

The redhead shook his head, trying to see where Crobat was, but the pokemon was out of sight. Not that it could've helped him anyway, for Crobat had never seemed able to get close to the other man, and now it made sense.

"No, Gy—Kyogre. This is too much. You're going to have to find someone else!"

"Is it?" He whispered.

Maxie felt a whooshing in his stomach, and suddenly he was upside-down and hanging only inches from the surface of the swimming pool. There were the frat boys, laughing at him in his lacy dress all over again, but this time, Kyogre held his legs.

"Remember this?" He said, his strength able to cause Maxie to swing back-and-forth sickeningly, "See the man who loves you?"

He hadn't seen Archie at first, for he looked just like the other boys, laughing as hard and pointing to the man suspended over the water. The memory of that night set his throat on fire, and he desperately wanted to free himself so this time, he could tear at them until their horrific laughter just stopped, STOPPED!

Then, suddenly he was in the apartment, splayed on the bed while the bodies of Archie and Shelly writhed naked on top of him.

"And what about now that you're gone from him, and he can no longer pleasure himself with you? You really think he would stop his bedroom urges because you have left?"

Rage exploded through his veins, and he clawed at the man and woman but his hands touching nothing.

As he landed back on the beach with a gasp, he realized his hands were still empty. And running through his hand and down length of his arm, ripped through his sweater, was a violently red pattern, pulsing with light.

"Good boy…" slithered Kyogre's words behind him, "…as I told you before, your anger really is your most magnificent strength…"

Maxie felt power all through his one side, and his rage, which still had not quieted, made the pressure under his skin no longer agonizing, but absolutely incredible. He breathed hard, wanting nothing else than to feel that way all over.

He should just give in…

"What's going on here!?"

With great effort, the redhead focused his eyesight on the source of the voice.

Kyogre laughed, taking the knife from under his sweater to wave it around.

"And you must be the mother! What excellent timing…You can witness as I help your son get just what he's been wanting!"

Maxie grunted as he felt a sharp pain through the haze of overwhelming power, right over his heart. He looked down. The knife had barely gone into him, but Kyogre was holding the blade in place, as if he intended to go much deeper.

"Mum?" His vision finally cleared, and he saw her up on the bank, her puff of hair flying freely. At her feet was the Espeon, and Crobat was circling above her.

"Get away from my son." she said firmly, coming down the bank. She took two poke balls from her belt, pressed them, and two older-looking pokemon, a Typhlosion and a Furret, came out, standing strong beside her.

Kyogre released Maxie, taking a gliding step towards her. "Oh my, how frightening…a housewife come to battle me with her little pets?"

Maxie tried to move, but his feet were stuck into the earth, the orb still beating through him. "What are you doing? Go back home, mum! He's too strong, please just—"

"Be quiet, Maxie. You're breaking my concentration," she said darkly, coming towards Kyogre with a look that the redhead had never, ever imagined she could possess. It was sharp as stone, and her burgundy eyes burned bright. "So which one of the gods are you?"

"Well I am surprised…" Kyogre grinned, teeth clearly now sharp, "Kyogre. You must have met one of my brethren before, female."

She nodded stiffly, her pokemon stalking along with her. "The eyes give it away. The yellow, yellow eyes."

Maxie just watched on in wonder. His mother had met someone like Gyka had been before?

"To think that this housewife once had adventures." Kyogre hacked out more laughter. "For a female, you impress me."

Jenna smiled back at him. "If the myths are true, for a thousand-year-old bratty whale, you impress me too." With that she stopped, paused for what seemed like a long time, then suddenly snapped her arm forward.

"Espeon! Sunny Day!"

At this the human pokemon sprinted toward the ocean, as a burst of fake sunlight sliced through the night sky, and spread all around them. Kyogre turned and extended his arms, and the waves began to churn behind him.

"What was the purpose of that silly move?" He laughed, as water lifted from the sea and gathered around his arms like cloth. His head turned to the pudgy Typhlosion, who was waddling towards him on the beach. "Especially because water clearly rids of fire, so let me just get this fool out of the way…"

Maxie looked to his mother as the water gathered into larger and larger wrappings around Kyogre, but her expression stayed confident, though the Typhlosion was running quite literally to its demise.

Just as Maxie was about to ask what his mother thought she was doing, she sent the Furret forward. "Furret! Helping Hand!" The pokemon slunk forward with incredible speed, tapped Typhlosion on the tail, and climbed on its back. "Typhlosion, use Earthquake!"

Kyogre started laughing at the show before him, until the earth below him moved up, and Maxie couldn't help but snort as he landed—very ungracefully—onto his ass. The seawater he'd been collecting collapsed and ran back into the ocean.

"How powerful are you?" He cried out, trying to get up, but his damp robe twisted around his legs and he fell over again into the sand.

"One more, team!" She shouted, and Maxie saw more joy in his mother than he had ever seen. "Typhlosion, Furret…fry that fish two ways!"

Jenna rushed over to Maxie and stood in front of him as the beach was filled was blinding light and heat. He peered over her head as he watched lava gush from the Typhlosion back and onto Kyogre, while Furret pointed its tail to the sky and an enormous thunderbolt crashed into him, the sea around him only magnifying the electricity.

The sunlight faded and the night sky became covered in stars once again. The heat fell from the air. He saw Kyogre push himself towards the sea, and before they could attack again, he was just a rippling shape underwater, going far from sight.

Once the sea had calmed, Jenna met her pokemon as they raced back to her, gave them a treat from her hand, then called them back into their poke balls.

But Maxie still could not move, and his right shoulder was the center of the orb's power now.

His mother, seeing this, picked up her Espeon and brought it over, then patted his cheek, which kept his now exhausted self from slipping.

"Espie, Dream Eater. Quickly."

The lavender pokemon crawled up Maxie's sweater, so that their noses touched. Maxie saw a flash of black, and he felt the power being sucked from him under.

He fell over onto the sand, the orb rolling out next to him.

Before he could say anything, his mother was on the sand too, shaking his shoulders.

"What were you trying to do? Did I not give you the common sense to know to never make a deal with a demon like that?" She sat him up, and he blinked tiredly. "Nothing he could have given you is worth you killing yourself in the process. NOTHING."

He shook his head, trying to speak calmly to her. "No, mum, no. It was the orb. I never would've…I never would…"

"Arceus…I almost lost you." She pulled him upwards much too hard, then pulled him close to her. "I know that it hurts, darling. Heartbreak is called what it is for a reason. But it is up to you, as my wonderful, strong son, to put the pieces back together."

Maxie looked at her, surprised she had known what this was all about. She seemed to know the question he was about to ask.

"Dearest, I'm your mum. I'd never seen you happy before when you were with Archie." Her voice cracked. "Even I thought you and he seemed to fit perfectly together…"

After all these months since he had come home, he finally told her what had happened. Everything that had built up in him, like steam in a metal balloon, but now it popped, the sharpened shards littered all around like pointed grass.

They avoided stepping on them as they gathered the orb into the bag, Maxie surprised that when he touched the orb for just a moment, he felt nothing this time, but for a soft pulling inside him.

Though it was late at night, his mother took the bag up to Terese's house, and Maxie went home, exhaustedly brushed his teeth, and got into bed.

That night, he dreamed of a memory that he had almost forgotten…


He was young, so small that he only knew a few words. There was a little pair of swimming trunks on his waist, and he was in the sea, clinging to his mother. She pulled him from his safe spot, and he whined as she put him a foot in front of her, holding him by the arms.

"Maxie, you can do it!" She moved his arms so that they splashed, and he giggled. "Isn't that fun?"

It was fun, so as she held him by the waist, he moved his hands and legs against the surface of the water, happy when he mother smiled at him for doing this, so he did it again.

After a bit of this, she slowly let go of him. But without the warmth of his mother, the sea made his skin much, much too cold, and he whined and held onto her again. However, he starting getting used to it, and soon could stay afloat for just a bit.

"Well done, Max." She nuzzled him. "Well done, my Maxie-Maxie."

"Get 'im swimming yet, Jennifer?"

Maxie's turned his mum's arms and saw his daddy. He loved his daddy too. Even though sometimes he sounded more like one of the monsters from his bedtime stories than a dad. But Maxie just thought all daddies were like that.

"He's floating a bit, now," she said, and let go of Maxie again. But this time, a wave of cool came through the water, and Maxie whined instead, not enjoying the cold a bit.

His father growled, then hiked up his shorts and came into the water. His mum's grip tightened on Maxie, but he was lifted from her arms anyway by his daddy's soft hands.

"The only way the bloody boy'll actually learn is just to force him," he growled. He held Maxie up to his face, who laughed at his ugly father and poked his nose.

"Who's me little boy?" He cooed, "Who is it? Who's me little boy? Let's find out, shall we."

Maxie was about to coo something when he was lightly tossed from his father's arms, into the ocean. He was so shocked that he forgot what his mum had taught him about floating, and sank like a stone.

It wasn't so bad though, down underwater. The sand was pretty, and there were some smooth rocks he'd like to touch.

A Tentacool came out from behind some plants, holding out his tentacle as if to say "Come play with us!". Maxie really wanted to, even though he was getting dizzy, so he was entirely too disappointed when he was scooped up by his mother.

She pounded on his back, and only then did he remember that breathing was important too, so he did.

"What is wrong with you? How evil do you have to be to throw your own goddamn son into the sea to drown!"

As his ears cleared of water, he could hear her shouting to his daddy, though he had no idea of what she was saying.

He laughed. "I have high expectations of my son, Jenna."

"He's a baby, Harvey!" Maxie didn't like how loud she was getting, so he covered his ears. "Our son is a baby!"

She rushed out of the water, holding him close to her. "Arceus…if I had never been so foolish to follow you back to Rocket HQ, then none of this would have ever happened…"

"You gave yourself to me willingly, my dear." His father's voice followed them. "You were in loooove."

"I was a young girl! I was naïve! All I thought I wanted was—"

"Adventure, and I gave you just that," he said mockingly, "It was only a year ago, Jennifer. And you're still in love with me, aren't you? Besides, without your little mistake, you wouldn't even have a son."

"And maybe, for his sake," she said, words now hushed, "that would've been for the best…with a father like you." She went onto the porch, and opened the screen door to go inside.

"Remember this, Jenna, you brought this on yourself," His father's voice was cold. "After what you did to my team, after you set that pokemon free on us…this is the punishment you chose. The Madame was damn kind to allow you this much mercy."

She tried to go inside, but he got in the way of the entrance. "Either way, you better start learning to put up with this, woman." He reached down and let Maxie grab his finger. "For your son's sake."


The next morning, he felt as if someone had emptied all the grime from inside him, and filled him up with sweet fresh air. He had slept well at last, and though he didn't remember what it was that he had dreamed, he knew he had dreamed deeply. Everything felt new, and he felt solid inside for the first time in a long while.

The first thing he did was to open the letter.

Maxie—

I hope this is everything. If you need me, you know where to find me.

I love you,

-A

He just started laughing at the scrawled-out words, laughed until his ribs were sore. It was just too ridiculous. It was such a short and meaningless letter.

Most of all, those three final words.

…Yes, all the grime was gone.

Maxie chose today to finally put away all his boxed things. Clothes were unfolded and refolded, then slid into his drawers, pots and pans returned to the kitchen, a stuffed Teddiursa he held out the window and hit with a book until any black hairs fell out of its fur, and put it on his pillow.

As he emptied the final box, a crumpled up paper fell from out of a sock. He unfolded it and smoothed it out…a business card. His smile became as crooked as the creased paper.

He went downstairs to the kitchen phone and dialed the number.

"Mr. Aogiri! This is Maxwell Matsubusa…yes I'm sure you do remember me…Ah, I've never been better…Look Mr. Aogiri, do you remember you once asked me to tell you if your son was up to no good, and straying away from the Aogiri family path...Mmm yes, do I have some things to tell you…"


At the end of the morning, he put down his pen and sighed happily, his mood still high as the sun in the sky. He folded the paper he had been writing on and put it into an envelope, licking it shut, then gave it to Crobat, who took it with his feet and flew off.

He leaned back in his chair, breathing in the cool summer air and thinking over what he'd just written with a satisfied grin.

Dear Yardley,

Sir, I hope that this isn't of any bother to you, but I have I feeling it won't be:
After much thought and contemplation, I've changed my mind about the trip to Mt. Chimney.
As you may have noticed, I was going through a number of difficulties when I denied the request to join you this coming semester.
But now, I assure you, that distraction has been
burnt out of my life, and I want more than ever to go. I hope it isn't too late, sir.

(I don't know if this makes sense, but I think I am starting to understand what I need to do in this life. Going to Mt. Chimney seems like the first step towards—what I feel may be—my grand destiny.)

Your student and friend,

Maxie


To be continued…