Warning: balance! This chapter shall balance out the sugar overload of last chapter.
Also, this is a part of the "Triple Blue" update. The second part will be in the form of a Tumblr post… in 3 days. The third part will be posted a day after, in the form of SC #001.
Also check the current post for something… interesting. Remembering those forgotten! If your ID is on that list, it's embarrassing for both of us.
And of course, new poll on profile. A survey, really. I have never stated my gender to anyone. Yet while some believe I'm male, the others are adamant that I'm female. So a quick survey. Don't say things like: "I'm guessing you're male because so-and-so said you were male." I have NEVER stated my gender to anyone. Ever. So what you see on someone else's story (such as SA2), it's merely that creator's assumption. So be honest. Because I'm really curious.
Primary: Green & Blue.
Façade:
Blue slowly got off of her Wigglytuff. Another peaceful day in Pallet Town. Another peaceful day in the research lab. Another boring day, perhaps. Another day of doing nothing but research and clobbering hapless challengers for Green. It was time to see if he was willing to do anything with her today. … Yeah, right.
Blue knocked on the door and entered, knowing full well what the reactions would be. Probably bothered, annoyed that she came yet again. Even though her visiting days were seemingly imitating the consecutive terms in the Fibonacci Sequence. Though not exactly. Her visiting days were following a geometric series, actually. She'd wait twice as long before the next visit. She visited Green 128 days ago. If Green told her to go away, she'd visit 256 days from now. And after that, she just won't visit him at all because there would be no point. Visit him 512 days after, 1024 days after that, and even right then, visiting someone once in a 3 year gap wasn't exactly… visiting. It was more of passing by.
Anyways. Would Green greet her at all? Probably not. Blue gave it a 95% chance that he'll say something along the lines of: "not right now, I'm busy". Even Crystal said something like that the last time she visited her. And that was 8 months ago, with a mere 25% chance of her saying something like that. Nice to know that her luck was so good with this kind of thing.
Blue put on a fake cheerful expression as she quietly made her way towards Green's research room. She gently knocked on the door and opened it a little. She peeked around it with a faked smile.
"Hi, Green," she said in a faked cheerful tone.
As expected, Green was busy typing up something on his computer. He sighed and glanced over at her. His expression clearly told her that he was already annoyed from her presence. "Not now, Blue. I'm very busy."
Yep. Just as she thought. She instinctively pouted but quickly stopped. "Too busy to just chat with me, huh?" she asked, her expression and tone changing to how she actually felt.
"What do you want, Blue?" Green asked with a more blatantly obvious annoyed expression.
Blue clenched her hands into fists from behind the door. It was painfully clear that he wanted her to leave him alone. Again. But she forced a laugh to prevent the mood from darkening.
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to see what the super busy researcher was up to these days." She pulled back from the door and closed it so that Green wouldn't be able to see her expression. She couldn't fake being cheerful any longer. "Well, I don't want to keep you from your work, so I'll leave you at that." '… Is it so wrong to just be… wanted? Is it so wrong to just try to spend time with you, Green?'
Blue soon left the lab and got back onto her Wigglytuff. She didn't even know why she bothered to continuously come here. Green never had any time for her, and understandably so. So why did she keep coming? … Maybe it was time to change that. Screw the geometric series. There was a limit on how many times she could be told to go away before she did so permanently.
…
1.51 years later…
…
Green got off of his Charizard and glanced around a little. It's been a long while since he came to One Island. More specifically, he hadn't been here since that whole Deoxys thing a long while back.
But he was here now, and for only one reason. Blue. Why was she missing? Silver had come to him to ask about her whereabouts. And that fact alone was enough to get Green to worry. If Silver didn't know where Blue was, and what she was doing, then no one else would know. He didn't really give too much thought into her whereabouts. She visited every now and then, inconveniently timing her visits to overlap his work days. But recently, she just vanished. Crystal had suggested in a Dex Holder meeting, and Blue wasn't there either. How odd…
Green had to think for a while to remember the last time he saw Blue. That brief moment some time ago when he told her that he was busy and she promptly left. He had a sinking feeling that that wasn't the only reason why Blue was missing for all this time, but was a big part.
He first visited the girl's house. He remembered where it was because of the same reason why Gold remembered Crystal's birthday. He was told once and he chose to remember it because he felt that he would need that information some day.
Upon arriving at the girl's house, her parents told him that she was nowhere to be found. Apparently they had a bit of a fallout and Blue left the house 9 months ago. That didn't explain the 9 months of absence prior to that point.
Having failed in his task to find her, Green returned to Kanto mainland so that he could scout around the Vermilion City harbor. He assumed that Blue would be traveling around by ferry, since her Wigglytuff had one of the worst gas mileage… er… distance per effort among Pokémon capable of flight. Drifting in air with a miniscule thrust would not cover much distance. Especially if there was a slightest gust of wind going the opposite direction. It was like trying to fly with helium balloons, or with a kite.
His plan proved to be successful, as he spotted Blue entering the harbor a couple of hours after he started "camping". The odds of finding the girl within two hours of camping in a random spot, in a random day after the girl was missing for 18 months were atomically tiny. … Lucky him. He quickly chased after her.
"Blue? Is that you?"
The girl slowly turned to look at him. "Oh. … Hi, Green," she said rather quietly, her voice devoid of joy. She didn't seem to be surprised to see him here. Either that, or she just didn't care.
"Is something wrong?" Green asked. "I haven't seen you for a long while."
"No, nothing's wrong," Blue answered. It wasn't very convincing. "A little decision I made, I guess."
"What decision?"
Blue let out a long sigh. "Nowadays, I keep looking back on my life. Mask of Ice, the escape, how I had to survive, meeting Red, and all that stuff. And I don't know. I just think that the way I've been acting… needs to reflect all I've been through."
"What do you mean?"
"All I wanted when I was young was to have friends and family. I now have both. So what more do I want? I have no right to demand anything anymore. I have no regrets." She let out a bitter smile. "I know I sound old, but… this is how I feel."
"And this has something to do with you not visiting anyone in Kanto how?"
"I don't know. I just don't want to see anyone."
Green crossed his arms and examined her expression. "… What do you gain from this? What are you planning? 18 months is a long time to be planning something…"
Blue suddenly looked hurt and angry. "… This is precisely why I didn't want to see anyone. No matter what I do, someone always thinks that I'm planning something. That I'm gaining something."
"I'm sorry," Green said, admitting his mistake. "But it's true that you used to do that."
Blue looked even angrier. "When was the last time I tricked you? When was the last time I planned something that involved you? I know I had to trick people to survive and those habits stuck for a while. But can't you see that I changed? Can't anyone see that I'm different?" She suddenly smirked. "A better question for you, though. When was the last time we just had a nice chat? Every time I try, you always suspect I'm planning something."
"… So this is what's been bothering you."
"I don't want to see anyone because I don't want to be suspected. Just once. I don't want people to think that I'm being greedy. Because is it greed when you want to stay with your close friends because you never had them before? It apparently is." Blue let out a frustrated sigh in an attempt to calm down. "Everything just seems… pointless. Why bother spending time with your friends when they're going to suspect you of tricking them? Why bother trying to change their views if they're never going to change? Why bother living from day to day like this when nothing ever changes? Why bother hoping for a better future when there's nothing to hope?"
"… Blue?"
"Sorry… but… I don't want to talk anymore. And I have a ferry to catch…"
Green felt quite worried from Blue's sudden change. Or what he thought was a change. Though he didn't know how to get her to revert to normal, he did know that he had to stall and prevent her from leaving. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know. Somewhere," Blue answered. "Somewhere different. Unfamiliar. Who knows, maybe I'll finally find something I can look forward to. I haven't had that feeling in years. I've been to Sinnoh and Kalos for a long while. Nice regions. Maybe now I'll go somewhere else."
Blue didn't wait for his response and walked past him. But Green quickly stepped in front of her and blocked off her path. The girl didn't even blink and tried to step around him, but he stopped her yet again.
"Blue, I can't let you go like this," he said. "We need to talk."
Blue simply glared at him. "… No, we don't. That time came and went years ago." She glanced at the large clock on the wall. "… Are you going to make me miss my ferry? Do you even know how much it cost me to get that ticket?"
"I'll pay you however much it cost," Green said.
Blue suddenly looked very angry. "Why? So you can say that I tricked you again? That I'm using a fake ticket to rip you off of however much I say it cost?" There was a large whistle from the harbor. And before long, the ferry left, heading towards its destination. Blue saw it depart and sighed. "Shit…" She took her ticket out of her pocket and threw it to the ground. She glared at Green and clenched her teeth. "I hope you're happy." She then swiveled around and began to storm away.
Green picked up the ticket and noticed that it was a one-way ticket to Castelia City of Unova. And it was authentic. Or at least it appeared to be. But right now, he couldn't doubt Blue. Obviously, she was sick of being doubted all the time. If there was any time he had to trust her words, it was now. Of course, he could doubt that her anger was a show too, but the chances of that were remote. … Maybe it was this type of attitude that angered Blue so much. Doubt after doubt after doubt.
Green chased after her. Blue kept walking, but Green caught up with her very quickly. Blue sighed as she stopped walking.
"Blue, listen," Green started. "Whatever happened, we should talk."
Blue simply glared at him with resentment. "Why do you hate me so much? All those time when I just wanted to talk… you kept telling me to go away. And now that I don't want to talk, here you are, stopping me from going anywhere. Why?! What do you want me to do? I tried to be close to you, and you push me away. I leave you alone like you want and you're here now, stopping me from going away! So what the hell do you want with me?!"
Green didn't know what to say. Needless to say, he never saw Blue like this. She was usually cheerful and happy… Was that just an act? If so, why? And for how long? Green began to realize that he didn't really know Blue at all…
The girl didn't wait for him. She simply shoved him backwards and immediately threw something at him. Green caught the object, and realized that it was the girl's Pokédex. He looked at her in surprise and she threw something else. This time, it burst into a thick purple cloud that completely covered his vision. He quickly held his breath and backed out of the thick cloud. But by then, Blue was already gone. So this situation was far worse than he imagined. He had to get her to talk. She had to vent out her anger, even if it was on him. He had to find her first. But where?
…
Next day, Ecruteak City, Johto…
…
Green knocked on the door to Blue's secret base. Well, it was a secret base. But ever since Blue had moved in completely, it was more of her home now. A crappy home.
He only managed to find this base because of Silver and his own knowledge. He asked Silver of what Blue would do in this kind of situation. But unfortunately, the Johto Dex Holder was completely unaware that Blue was like this. So the girl even kept him in the dark. Despite being baffled, Silver did tell him that Blue kept a couple of secret bases here and there.
Green found a few thanks to Silver's tip, but discovered nothing there. He thought about Blue and her current actions and soon realized that she might have kept some sort of memento to her days under the Mask of Ice. Her personality was a lot… darker than he had imagined, so it was definitely likely. And if anything, she might have even built a secret base around the Tin Tower.
And now, here he was, knocking on that secret base, having found it after a lengthy search throughout the surrounding forest.
There was no answer so Green opened the door. It had no locking mechanism quite yet, after all. As half expected, he found Blue sitting on the corner of the base, drinking from a bottle. … Was that liquor?
"Blue?"
The girl looked up at him but didn't seem to care. She simply took a swig from her bottle. Green moved to sit beside her and glanced at the bottle. Yep. Liquor.
"How nice of you to visit," Blue said flatly. She didn't sound drunk at all. But the bottle was almost empty.
"I don't think you should be drinking like this," Green said.
"Hey, I've been taking care of myself all alone since I was 5. I think I know what's best for me better than anyone else," Blue snapped at him.
Green glanced at the makeshift table in the base and saw another empty liquor bottle. "… I didn't know you drank like this. I know you used to smoke, but…"
"What do you know about me?" Blue retorted as she took another swig.
"Admittedly, not much, as I realized," Green said with a sigh. Blue didn't say anything and finished her liquor bottle. "Feel like talking today?"
"I just have a lot on my mind," Blue muttered with a sigh.
"Such as?"
"Life."
"Care to be more specific?"
"My life. From the kidnapping all the way to today," Blue muttered with a distant look in her eyes. "… Lots of memories… all the bad memories… and a handful of good ones. Maybe if I kept drinking, they'll all fade away."
"You don't like your memories."
Well, duh. What, was this a statement, a question, or a repeat?
Blue turned to face him. His eyes met hers and he realized that she didn't have her usual brightness in them. They weren't dull, but her eyes contained unfathomable amount of pent up depression and frustration.
"Green. I'm 23 years old," she started. "And already I'm regretting a lot of things. I've been through more than most people would in 60 years, and that's not a good thing." She let out a long sigh and stared at the night sky through the windows. "… Pointless…"
"What?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she went outside, which got Green to follow her. Blue didn't go far and simply lied down on a grassy hill. Green sat beside her, waiting for her to start talking.
"… Loving and caring friends and family," Blue muttered with a bitter smile. "… That's all I ever wanted when I was 6."
"And you have them," Green said.
Blue smirked. "Bullshit. No. What I have right now are parents who want me to go back to being 5 and simply those who know of me."
"Blue, that's not true. … And since when did you swear?"
Blue ignored him. For a while, she simply stared up at the sky in silence. Green didn't know what else to say and just waited for her. As a result, the two Dex Holders remained silent for several minutes until Blue finally spoke. "… Green… why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you," Green answered. "I always thought you were a good friend." He didn't know if that was true or not. Right now, he felt the need to reflect on how he had treated the girl, and whether he actually thought of her as a friend.
"You must hate me," Blue said quietly. She sounded very sad right now, as if she was letting her emotions run free. Which was good, given the current circumstances. "… Green? … Am I really that annoying and bothersome? When I try to talk to you… am I really annoying you that much? You keep telling me to go away… do you hate me that much?"
Green looked at her eyes and was surprised to see tears falling from them. But the girl wasn't crying. She just had a few tears falling. Then again, she never really cried. Perhaps the alcohol was having an effect here. It either helped someone overcome depression (by getting wasted), or it would amplify it. It was probably the latter situation, which was good. Then Blue would be willing to talk about things. He focused on the task at hand.
"Honestly, no," he said truthfully. "I admit that I repeatedly told you to leave every time you came to see me. And I'm sorry. I was always preoccupied with research and I never paid any attention to you. But you always looked so happy. I didn't think you were like this."
Blue turned away from him, lying on her side on the grassy hill so that her back was turned to him. "I didn't want to bother anyone. If I stop pretending to be happy and cheerful, people might get worried and I didn't want that to happen." She let out a sigh. "It was probably me being selfish again, thinking that everyone would notice my every change…"
Green decided to try a different approach. He cleared his voice and tried to sound stern. "Blue, I had enough of this. Enough of your moping. You keep talking as if you have no friends. But what about us? Red, me, Yellow… we're all your friends. Crystal looks up to you as a senior. Gold's just kind of there, but still. And then you have Silver. And though we only met once, we have the Hoenn Dex Holders as well looking up to you. You are not alone. Stop thinking like this. You have friends."
"Again, bullshit," Blue said slowly. "I know that everyone thinks I'm being annoying. You more than anyone. Every time I try to get close to you guys, you just look annoyed, as if I'm interfering in your lives. It's probably my fault. I never had friends before, and I never saw how normal people meet friends and develop stronger bonds. And you guys were my only friends so maybe I tried extra hard not to lose you. Was that… so wrong?" She suddenly let out a sniffle. "But you guys kept pushing me away…" Without warning, she started to sob. "All I wanted was friends who cared for me… Is that too much to ask?" She soon calmed down and resumed venting her pent up feelings. "I tried putting some distance between us. I stopped trying so hard and just… acted like an acquaintance or a neighbor. I only visited once every few months, and only for a brief moment. But everyone thought I was planning something, as if it was a guilty act. Again, you more than anyone. Even Crys… the one person I thought would never say such a thing… So I stopped going to Kanto mainland entirely and didn't call you guys for months and no one called me. No one visited. No one cared. And you call that a friend?"
"I came," Green tried.
"And you immediately suspected me of planning something." She rolled so that she could face him. "… The months I spent in Sinnoh and Kalos… they were the happiest moments of my life. No one hated me. No one suspected me for anything. People were nice to me. I only came back to see if anything changed and so I could pick up a few things, and immediately you suspected me of planning something." She turned away again and sighed once more. "Everything… is right back to the moment when I escaped kidnapping. Everyone hates me and I have no friends or family. Nothing changed. At least Silver has a happy life… so my escape at least has some meaning."
Green heard her sniffle again and a flood of memories suddenly came to his mind.
Blue rarely shed her tears. Real or fake. She stopped with the fake tears over 10 years ago. But it was true that he still suspected her of doing such even today. He only saw her true tears 4 times in total. When Prof. Oak gave her a Pokédex, when her parents were kidnapped right in front of her, when she rescued and reunited with her parents, and… right now. And out of those 4, she only cried when she got the Pokédex. All the other times, she just shed a few tears, or like now, sobbed a couple of times instead of breaking down into tears.
But when she actually cried during the Pokémon League, he recalled how she looked much happier shortly after. So that was her venting her pent up feelings. The cause of the venting being the fact that someone had finally trusted her. With this realization, suddenly a lot of Blue's actions and reasoning were understandable.
Throughout the years, Blue strived to obtain all that she lost thanks to the kidnapping. Family, friends, trust, and care. She cried when she finally got trust. She passed out because her family was taken from her again just when she got it. He recalled hearing from Red that Blue once sincerely thanked him for being her friend. An odd thing to say all of a sudden, but it made sense. Now all Blue had left to obtain was care. Personal care from someone close.
And admittedly, he was… denying her that. And he had been for years. Green looked away from Blue and focused on his memories. He saw Blue countless times before she started to wander around the world, looking for a purpose. Almost every incident involving her coming to visit him either in the Gym or Prof. Oaks' lab. Every time, he told her to go away because he was busy and she was being bothersome. And every time, she pouted, put on a hurt expression, laughed about it, and… left. Even that sequence told him of her personality. She first pouted because that was her natural response thanks the years she spent being forced to use her looks to trick people. She put on a hurt expression because that's how she actually felt and her façade hadn't kicked in yet. She then laughed about it in order to hide her feelings and fake cheerfulness so that the mood would be lightened. And then she actually left because she was either doing what he wanted, or she was too hurt to stay around for long.
Green glanced at Blue's face (she had rolled onto her back) and noticed the longing look in her eyes as she simply stared at the stars. Blue… was a lot more sensitive than he thought. And hell of a lot deeper. Much more than what anyone thought. No one knew about it because she never showed it.
He let out a long sigh as he berated himself for failing to notice this. He always thought that Blue was quite deep, but he never thought she was this deep. And come to think of it, Blue never went to him or anyone about her problems. He never even knew that she had problems to start with. The only one he knew of was her parents' kidnapping. Which she fought for herself. Another aspect of her personality that he noticed way too late. He was tricked by the façade she had up and running for years. Damn.
"Blue, I think I finally understand you," he said slowly.
Blue slowly turned to look at him. "… Do you?"
"Yes. I asked Silver about why you were acting like this, but he had no idea. That alone told me that you don't keep your problems visible to anyone else. And knowing your past, you would likely hold on to your friends as best as you could. I'm sorry that I didn't realize it and was cold to you. You would have done your best to stay cheerful around us so that you could build fond memories." Green put a hand on Blue's shoulder. "Blue, while I understand why you did that, let me tell you that you were wrong. Friends are supposed to share things. Happy moments, sad moments, everything. We were there when my grandfather gave you a Pokédex. We were there when your parents were kidnapped. We were there when you reunited with them. We're supposed to share our problems so that we solve them together. That's what you tried, isn't it? You tried to help others with their problems. But because you weren't sharing yours, we mistakenly thought you were just being annoying."
Blue stared into his eyes, waiting for him to continue. Green took it as a hint that he was on the right track.
"I know that you still don't want to lose us. And we don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you. So Blue, come back to us. Give us a chance to treat you the way you deserve."
Blue let out a short laugh as she sat up. "Do you honestly expect me to believe you? Do you really think that I'll agree to stay with you just because you said a few things? And do you really believe that I would want to stay here after I had to tell you what was bothering me for these past… 6 years?"
"… Blue, I really care for you," Green said, measuring the effects of his words. "If you leave us, I will have to follow you. Because you are more important to me than anything else. So Blue. Do you really want to leave us?"
The girl sighed. She got up to her feet and stared up at the sky. "… Don't make me choose… You're making me choose between two bad options. I either follow my emotions like a sucker and live with the shame that I had to tell you of how you neglected me so that you start caring for me, or I leave everything behind, including all of my handful of good memories." She looked over at Green again. "You're right, Green. I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with you, and be happy together. But the fact that I had to explicitly say this to you… … I don't know, Green. I really don't know."
Green glanced at the secret base. "Maybe you need to rest up first. Two bottles of liquor can't be helping at a time like this."
"… Five bottles, Green. I threw out three on the way here." Blue rubbed her eyes for a second. "… But you're right, as always. Everything you say is right. … I'll make up my mind after I wake up."
"Perhaps you should just sleep over at my house. I'll be at the lab."
Blue smirked. "No thanks. I'm fine here. Now listen. I'm going to have to trust you, and you're going to have to trust me."
"Of course," Green said. "I trust you."
Blue considered in responding to the lie, but decided to let it slide. "… If I decided to stay with you… I'll go to visit you in the lab or your Gym by the end of tomorrow. If I decided to leave, you will not see me. So, can you wait for me without trying to look for me?"
Green nodded. He grabbed her hands as a way to let her know that she had his word. He then reached over and gave her a brief kiss on the lips, in order to nudge her towards making the right decision.
"Don't take too long," he said quietly. "I'll be waiting."
Blue simply blinked as Green flew off on his Charizard. She put a hand over her mouth and thought about the sudden kiss, and why Green did that. She soon let out a bitter smile. Green just wanted to make things more difficult for her. Now it was even harder for her to decide. Blue looked up at the sky once more as Pryce's words echoed in her ears from all those years ago.
"Don't get attached to anyone or anything."
"Don't get attached…" she muttered. "… Too late for that…"
…
Next day, 11:55 pm, Pallet Town…
…
Green sat in his research room in the lab, waiting for Blue to arrive. He was getting more and more anxious. Either Blue had decided to leave and as such would not be coming, or she was purposely stalling until the very last possible minute.
He had told the other Dex Holders of everything that happened. While Red had no idea that things were as serious (since he never considered Blue to be annoying at all), the others were equally anxious as Green. Yellow and Crystal berated themselves for not showing enough care for Blue. Silver hated himself for not realizing that his pseudo sister was in such turmoil. And Gold… didn't care, but only pretended to so that he didn't get murdered by Silver.
Minute after minute passed. And even as the 5 non-Gold Dex Holders stared at the clock, hoping that time would slow, the minute hand reached the very peak of the clock, indicating that it was midnight.
Green let out a long sigh. Damn it. Blue actually left. He was really going to take care of her too, whether it meant that he would be her closest friend, a shoulder to cry on, or someone who showed deep care for her. But it was pointless now…
Eventually, the other Dex Holders scattered. No words were spoken, as no one was in the mood to talk. Green remained in his seat, staring at the clock as if he was turned into stone again.
Another 30 minutes passed, and Green still remained frozen. He couldn't stand it. All those times when he could have treated Blue better, but didn't for reasons that he couldn't understand now. Those memories were haunting him now. Thanks to him, everyone lost a valuable friend and fellow Dex Holder.
He snapped out of his trance when he heard his Pokégear vibrating. To his surprise, it was a message from Blue.
"Green, I don't know if you were actually waiting for me. If you weren't then ignore this message, and good bye. Else, I'm sorry. I left for Kalos at 7 in the morning, and I'm telling you now so that you don't chase me. At least not yet. I don't know if you really care for me like you said. But here's a way for you to prove it to me. Green, come find me. I don't know how long it'll take you, but if you take the time and effort to look for me in a completely foreign region all by yourself, then I'll know that you truly care about me, and I'll have a reason to go with you. So please. If you do care about me, come find me."
Green smiled as he read the message again and again. This was it. His last chance. And it was clear to him that Blue wanted him to find her (otherwise, she wouldn't have sent him the message). This was the only way for her to return to him without being embarrassed for basically telling him to take better care of her. Green would spend days and possibly months to find Blue in a completely different region, and then Blue would be "convinced" due to his effort, and "reluctantly" return to Kanto.
"Challenge accepted, Blue," Green said quietly. He immediately looked up the earliest departure times for a ship to Kalos. The earliest one was at 7. So Blue would have a 24 hour lead, and she would use the 9 months she had spent on Kalos previously to her advantage. Finding her would be a significant challenge. But he accepted it. He would find her, no matter what. And he would bring her back to her old life, but with a few differences.
Next up: I think it's time I tackle a full Rakutsu & Faitsu. I may not give a damn about either of them, but I like their pairing. It has all the ingredients of a disastrous relationship. I don't even need to fix/find my doom hammer for this one.
