Disclaimer: I'm way too lazy to come up with a funny one.
Chapter Eight: The Fire of Battle
-Route 110-
"Tabitha," the red-haired woman said, perched on her tree branch as if she were sitting upon a throne. The ex-Team Magma admin looked up from his binoculars. "I'll have your report now."
Tabitha nodded from a different branch. They'd taken shelter in this tree not long before the golden-rimmed carriage had made its dramatic appearance on Route 110. Neither was a stranger to the spectacle, having followed it from Fallarbor. "Target Giovanni Cliff appears to have attracted…His attention. As planned."
The girl smiled into the back of her hand, cocking her head deviously so that her bangs fell into her indigo eyes. "Excellent," she lilted. "Not that I expected any differently. Oh, the little King…" Here her upper lip curled into a sneer. "His reputation exceeds him. Our darling Tuesday isn't as brilliant as they think he is. How predictable. How boring."
"We didn't expect him to withdraw Aisha Keyre and Marceau Morin from Fin's side, though," Tabitha volunteered. True, they'd expected the girl and boy – Tuesday's mutts – to keep guard on the siblings, but it hardly put a damper on future plans. Tabitha smirked.
"Point," his mistress conceded. "Although I had already considered he'd choose to post guards around Hoenn after what you stirred up in Fallarbor. Who did he send to play clean up?"
Tabitha gave a dark chuckle. "The two professors, Magnus Carleton and Jeremy Hawthorne. Supposedly two influential figures in their field; geniuses, although I suspect what they'll find when they reach Fallarbor will be…startling. At the very least, they'll be preoccupied for a while."
Below them, in Route 110, the crowd was beginning to disperse as it became evident that nothing would follow the carriage's departure.
The girl crossed her legs as she watched with idle interest. "Awfully large risk this king has taken, assuming Cliff will even ever meet our dear Fin."
"I've taken the liberty in looking up Giovanni Cliff's file," said Tabitha. "He has absolutely nothing going for him. His few accomplishments are a result of luck and circumstance."
"How often I've heard that," the girl sighed. "Of course, it was misfortune that defeated Fin during the Ever Grande Conference. I shouldn't…" A sadistic grin painted its way onto the girl's delicate features. "Oh, but I want to. This meeting… Our King probably thought I'd be interested."
"Ma'am?" Tabitha asked. "Our next course of action?"
"I don't care what you do. Ensure dear Fin runs into Giovanni Cliff," the girl commanded. She waited until Tabitha confirmed his orders and called his Golbat to fly him away; when she was sure she was alone, the girl leapt down from the tree.
"Don't worry, dear Tuesday," Victoria smiled, her eyes darkening. "I'll play. I'll play right into your little game, but don't think for a second I'll let you win."
Behind her, a lone Vibrava took to the skies – north, toward Mauville.
…
-Route 110-
I don't know why I just assumed that we'd part ways the next morning – Dina and I off toward the nearest gym in Mauville, and Lydia the journalist off to pursue more exaggeratedly awesome headlines. Apparently she thought we'd be her next bestseller (or whatever journalists did these days), because Lydia Wist was still tailing us.
"Are you sure you never felt abandoned after your brother left you, leading you to run away on a journey to become the best trainer ever?" she questioned Dina, her omnipresent notepad in hand. "Or that you escaped your tragic domestic life by studying battle strategy intensely, contributing to your prodigious debut against the Slateport gym leader?"
I refrained from commenting that anyone who watched Dina battle could see that the only studying she'd ever done was watching old journey films, or that Slateport hadn't been her debut and the battle had been anything but prodigious, or that technically Lily was only the gym leader's daughter. The gleam in Lydia's sunset eyes told me that anything I said would be distorted in her mind and used against me.
"No, I'm sure," Dina said.
Lydia looked a bit too crestfallen that her history was pretty spotless when it came to tragic. Since she wasn't getting good material from Dina, Lydia turned to me with an evil smile.
"Fin," she purred. I stared at her, mildly horrified. I was probably developing a deep fear of redheads. It seemed that all of them were psychotic. "You used to be a trainer, right?"
"Right," I agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Once upon a time."
"Were you any good?" she pressed.
"The best!" Dina chimed in. "Fin made it all the way to the Ever Grande Conference. He was fantastic!"
Lydia looked surprised and impressed. It was clear she hadn't expected me to be a conference veteran, especially since she'd just watched me get bossed around by a small child just yesterday. I didn't blame her. I wasn't proud of either of those things.
"Really? Did you rank? How high?" Now her questions took a more predictable turn.
Dina fell quiet, not willing to offer any further praise. Of course, there wasn't much praise to offer now. "I lost," I said. I hoped I managed to keep the bitterness out of my tone. It wasn't their faults that I hadn't been strong enough to win. "I was eliminated in the preliminaries."
It was a battle I'd never forget, burned into my memory and history forever.
Surprisingly, Lydia didn't push the topic for scandals. She probably sensed that it was a touchy topic for me. Was that pity? Should I be offended?
Then she said in a thoughtful voice, "Actually, I thought your name sounded familiar. I think I saw you on one of the conference rosters."
I scoffed. No one remembers the names of the losers – not if the losers lost as pathetically and early as I had. I wasn't exaggerating. Later, I'd heard an audience describe it as less a battle and more a slaughter. Thoroughly trounced and humiliated – that was me. "You don't have to pretend; it was years ago. I'm pretty much over it."
"No, no," Lydia said, "I really do remember. Um, I think it was in one of the articles…" She trailed off, scouring her brain for the relevant details. It clicked and she practically jumped in delight as she remembered. "Oh my gosh! Fin Commons! Tuesday King!"
I froze as everything from that day – that battle – crashed over me like a wave for the five billionth time. I felt hollow, but I didn't interrupt as Lydia plowed on.
"It made the front page and everything! Four years ago, sixteen year old Tuesday King, first time challenger, swept the floor with the Ever Grande Conference. They called him a prodigy! He was renowned for—"
"His complete victories despite overwhelming odds against him," I broke in through gritted teeth. "I know."
Lydia paused to look me over, realization dawning now that her enthusiasm had broken. "And the first person who lost to him was…"
"Fin Commons." I started. This time, I hadn't said anything, and that voice…
Dina tilted her head and stared at me with an unreadable expression. Then she offered a small, world-weary smile as she turned to face the road. "I watched that battle with Mom and Dad, you know," my sister said, quiet.
But no, I hadn't known. I hadn't known because Dina had never once showed a special interest in any of my battles. I stopped to dwell on this fact; it felt so foreign to realize that Dina hadn't always hero-worshipped me. The more I thought about it, though, the surer I was. As a child, Dina had looked up to me as a brother only, and she'd never been all that excited about being a trainer.
When had that changed?
Suddenly, the world was rocked by a large explosion. A flock of Taillow took flight in alarm, scattered but all heading vaguely north. The scarce trainers present on the route gave shouts of alarm, and somewhere behind us in Slateport, several sirens set off. None of this prevented the second explosion, louder and infinitely closer.
"What was that?" I demanded, turning around to face the port city. One of the larger buildings had smoke erupting from its second story – the floors above that were completely demolished.
"Run!" snapped one man as he fled from the wreckage. He ran past us and headed west, toward the river, while we stood and watched him in shock. Although he looked annoyed, the man seemed to decide that if we wouldn't cooperate, he'd leave us behind. The other trainers had dispersed with his yell.
Then a hover copter reminiscent of a UFO darted overhead, zeroing in on the man's silhouette. It was composed of three pods: the central pod which housed the controls and the controller, and two lesser pods which stored the engines and rotary systems. I recovered first, recognizing both the device and its controller.
"Tabitha," I snarled to myself. His appearance would make that UFO a Team Aqua relic – the mini-copter Archie himself used. How Tabitha, a former Team Magma member, acquired such a thing, I had no idea. I knew he was with Vic, though, and that was enough for me.
"You mean that guy Lute and Marceau were talking about?" Dina asked me. Lydia ignored us, instead pulling out a camera and snapping some pictures and scribbling notes down on her hand.
Tabitha easily caught up with the man – who was actually less of a man and more of a tall teenager, now that I got a better look. The bottom of the mini-copter opened up to drop three bombs, each exploding into a mass of gray smoke upon contact with the ground. His path blocked by the smog, the guy turned around and ran straight towards us.
The mini-copter paused in its pursuit as it approached us. I ushered Dina and Lydia behind me, taking the typical trainer stance, hand on a warm Poké Ball. I felt Mawile's body heat reassuring me through the plastic surface. The man took a defensive position behind me, slouching now that he wasn't under attack. His dark brown hair fell over his eyes, obscuring his face, but he seemed to be watching me.
The central pod of the mini-copter suddenly opened up, allowing Tabitha to stand from his seat. "Hello, Fin," he said amiably, a ridiculous feat as he waved down at me from a flying contraption fifteen feet in the air. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Fin?" repeated the dark-haired guy, peering at me in disbelief. "Like, Fin Commons?"
…the last time someone had known my name without my telling them had been when I'd met the professors. As I had told myself then, nothing good could come of strangers knowing my name.
Unfortunately, Tabitha was not about to take being ignored lightly. His mini-copter dropped to hover at face level, although since he was standing, I still had to look up to talk to him. The wind generated by the rotors blew into my face, and I brought an arm up to shield my eyes.
"You beat me when we last met," he continued conversationally. "That's the only reason I let you leave. You caused a lot of problems; you know that, right?"
I growled. "Leave us alone. I'm not in the mood for niceties. In case you didn't realize from the thrashing I gave you, I don't want anything to do with you or…or V—that girl."
"No niceties? Have it your way!" Tabitha cried, and two beams of red light shot toward the grown. A Crobat emerged from one, fluttering its wings rapidly and jeering down at us; the other beam faded to reveal a Torkoal pawing the ground.
"Mawile!" I summoned, throwing her Poké Ball into the air. My friend appeared in front of me while I sized up her opponents. I could tell she outclassed Tabitha's Pokémon in power and skill, but it was two-on-one, and Torkoal had a type advantage. It'd be a hard battle; last time, Tabitha had only used two Golbats. I didn't know what his Torkoal could do.
The sound of another Poké Ball opening startled me almost as much as the sight of a Nidoking materializing beside Mawile. The guy stepped up beside me, eyes (or what I could see of them through his bangs) intent on Tabitha.
"Name's Gio," he grunted, slicking his hair back and out of his face. "I suppose I'll…have to fight with you on this one."
I looked him up and down, trying to discern if he'd be any help in this battle. Sure, I'd destroyed Tabitha's team last time, but that didn't mean the ex-admin was anything to laugh at. Dressed simply in jeans and a fleece overcoat, Gio wasn't an impressive sight. Then again, it was a Nidoking he was sending into battle…
"Suppose you'll have to," I told him. He muttered his resignation, and our Pokémon braced themselves for battle.
"Done yet?" asked Tabitha lazily. He'd assumed a lounging position in his seat to showcase his apathy. "Good. Torkoal, Flamethrower on the Mawile."
"Iron D—" I began, but Mawile cut me off with a meaningful look towards Gio. She wanted to see how he'd tackle a tag battle. There were several strategies that could be used in a tag battle, and which one a trainer chose could give a deep insight into his personality.
"Intercept with Take Down," Gio commanded. "Follow with Mega Horn!"
"Air Cutter," Tabitha said with a firm nod, as if he'd expected such a counter. When Torkoal launched a torrent of fire at Mawile, Nidoking charged towards the attack. Take Down would have shielded him from the brunt of the damage, along with his Ground-type resistance, but just then Crobat swooped down and shot a series of air blades into Nidoking's face. The large Pokémon veered off course, arms raised to protect his face from further damage. Flamethrower broke through and hit Mawile, who winced as she rose. The fire had done its job – scorch marks laced her front – but my Mawile was too strong to be taken down by one hit.
"Want to attack now?" I commented offhandedly as Nidoking struggled, trying to nail Crobat with his horn. The bat Pokémon danced circles in the air around him.
Mawile grinned with both mouths, one delicate, the other bloodthirsty. "Mah," she rumbled, glaring at the Torkoal. If Tabitha was dead set in pitting Torkoal against Mawile, I'd simply have to show him that fire wasn't something that could stop us.
"Faint Attack, then Crunch," I said, sparing a glance at Nidoking. The Poison-type had abandoned Mega Horn in favor of Earth Power and was launching large chunks of the ground at Crobat.
Gio was standing his ground, and though the battle wasn't necessarily in his favor, he concealed any worries and instead focused on combing through his attack repertoire.
"Fire Spin, followed by Lava Plume!" Tabitha cried. "Crobat, Supersonic and Haze."
Mawile sprinted at Torkoal but found her path blocked by a spiral of red flame; smirking, she vanished and reappeared behind Torkoal. The heat of the inferno around them weakened her, but the fire in her eyes prevailed. Her second mouth reached out and clamped around Torkoal. The turtle chose that moment to switch techniques, quelling the Fire Spin and retreating into its shell.
Meanwhile, Crobat opened its mouth to emit some sort of screeching sound; it hurt my ears to listen to, and Nidoking stopped in his tracks, staring vacantly at a spot over Crobat's left wing.
Gio cursed, calling for another Earth Power, but the remnants of Nidoking's previous attack fell useless at its feet. Crobat cackled and breathed out a cold, white mist that whipped through the area, obscuring our perception of the battle. I could see faint shadows through the Haze that indicated the positions of our Pokémon and could only guess as to which shadow as which.
The rotors on Tabitha's mini-copter began to sound more distant, and I realized he was gaining altitude so his engine didn't blow the Haze away. I looked up, searching for him. Above us, I could make out a small red light scanning over the battlefield, but it didn't appear to do any harm.
He had some sort of visor, I realized, that allowed him to see through the Haze. That shifted the battle hugely in his favor.
"We're going to lose," I muttered, squinting to try and spot Mawile. Nidoking and Crobat were easy to find, thanks to the former's size and the latter's wings. There were two silhouettes locked in close combat to their left. I could make out Mawile's mouth refusing to let go to her prey when Torkoal's shape began glowing red.
"Get out of there, Mawile!" I roared, but Torkoal's shell had evidently become too hot to hold on to. Mawile flung the Pokémon away from her just as fire tore out of its shell in a frightening Lava Plume. A wave of flames hit Mawile anyway; she buckled under the attack but remained conscious.
"C'mon, Nidoking, snap out of it!" Gio was urging his Pokémon, but Nidoking didn't react to his words. Crobat kept firing long-ranged attacks at him even without Tabitha's orders, lingering just outside the Poison-type's reach.
I heard the rotors of Tabitha's mini-copter from above as he descended, the ghost of a victorious smirk on his face. "Is that all you have, dear Fin?" he asked, taking a page from Vic's book because he knew I hated the pet names. "Here I was, thinking maybe you'd improved some behind my back, but no. Victoria was right; you're still weak. And you always will be."
I clenched my fists and glared up at him, the Haze finally fanned away by the combined efforts of the mini-copter and Crobat's wings. Mawile was on her knees, in pain, and Nidoking was just beginning to shake away his stupor.
"Tabitha…" I muttered, refusing to look at him. Instead I studied the battle, trying to find some hole I could slip through to win.
"You can't win," Tabitha said simply. "These Pokémon have undertaken a thorough…training regimen." That meant Vic had brainwashed them. Although she was insane, even I had to admit the girl was a genius with Pokémon. Somehow the Pokémon she trained managed to surpass the limitations of their species; not even…Tuesday King could match her prowess.
I slumped. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this.
"Overheat," Tabitha said so softly that I almost thought his Pokémon couldn't hear him. "Crobat, use Hyper Beam."
I watched in icy anticipation as Mawile was blown off of her feet, crumpling as she hit the ground again. Likewise, Nidoking disappeared in Crobat's Hyper Beam, golden light enveloping his form. The Pokémon fell face-first into the dirt and didn't move again.
"Tch." Gio looked annoyed at the turn of events as he returned Nidoking to his Poké Ball. To his credit, he didn't ask about my exchange with Tabitha. He either didn't care or he didn't think it would affect the outcome of the battle. "I've got a Snorlax and a Shellder," he said. Now that one of his Pokémon was down for the count, his hair had fallen back into his face, and he looked detached once more. "Plan to continue this fight?"
I looked down at my belt where I had one more Pokémon in reserve. I sighed and returned Mawile, patting her Ball absentmindedly. "Don't worry now," I said, feeling a cold ball of rock forming in my chest. "I've got this. Take care of them."
I nodded toward Lydia and Dina, who had sat this battle out and were now looking at me, something akin to shock in their faces. Gio also paused before shrugging. He figured I must have my reasons, and boy, did I…
The Poké Ball hung heavy at my waist, colder than the Haze and the feeling in my heart. I didn't want to do this, but fight fire with fire. Fight Vic with…
"Let's get this over with," I said dully, pushing the clasp on Camerupt's Poké Ball. It appeared by my side without expression, as always. Tabitha's surprise was visible on his face.
"Th-that thing…" He flinched as if seeing Camerupt physically hurt him. "How did you…?"
I sneered, although not with mirth. "Did Vic not tell you?" It wasn't in my nature to mock people. I wasn't sure what had come over me, but at the moment, I wanted nothing more than to show Tabitha I wasn't one to be toyed with. I had been the major player in the Apocalypse Project for a reason. Vic had chosen me, not him. "I suppose she didn't see any reason to. Vic gave it back to me. It seems she still favors me over you, even after everything I've done."
"Shut up!" Tabitha seethed. "That's a lie. You know absolutely nothing, Fin Commons! Skull Bash, Torkoal! Use Cross Poison, Crobat!"
"Punish them," I called, lowering my voice. I didn't want Dina to hear me like this, even though I knew she would. "No mercy."
Camerupt said nothing but kept watching its two opponents. Torkoal withdrew into its shell, hurtling toward Camerupt like a bullet. Crobat followed suit, glowing violet as it arranged its wings into an X formation.
"Now," I said.
Camerupt lowered its head and met the Skull Bash head on; Torkoal's shell slid up its face, and Camerupt abruptly shoved it toward the incoming Crobat. Torkoal was sent flying into the Cross Poison, and the two Pokémon landed in pile, Torkoal atop Crobat.
"Fissure," I commanded. The stone in my chest disappeared with a flare of pain. How I hated this technique, but if times called for it…
The ground opened up beneath Crobat and Torkoal; both Pokémon were too startled to react quickly. It was over before I could blink. Betrayed by the constant under their feet, Tabitha's Pokémon slumped over, utterly defeated.
I tried to ignore Dina's scrutiny on the back of my head.
Tabitha recalled his Pokémon without looking at them; since they'd lost, I expected they'd be receiving some sort of punishment to discourage the habit. Vic's program. Ruthless, but it'd worked on Camerupt.
I returned it as well without a word of thanks. Camerupt didn't need one.
"Don't get cocky," Tabitha ground out through his teeth. "This victory meant nothing."
"I know," I said. "You lost again. Nothing has changed since before."
"You understand…nothing," Tabitha hissed, repeating his earlier words. "Nothing of ambition, of power, of consequences. Don't you dare—"
I cut in. "I know. I understand nothing of the Apocalypse Project. I don't understand your reasons for it, and I don't want to. It's a nightmare to me. That's all it is. I don't care about your beloved Project, so don't suggest that I do!"
…I would have said more, but just then, a warm hand touched my arm. I turned to see Dina's soft face.
"That's enough, Fin," she said. "That's enough."
Tabitha composed himself, but not without sending me a venomous glower. "No matter; I accomplished the mission objective anyway. I expect to be seeing more of you, Fin Commons."
He flew away. It was only Dina's support that restrained me from ordering Camerupt after him.
"You're really Fin Commons, huh?" spoke up Gio.
"I'm Dina Commons!" Dina volunteered eagerly, waving her hand in the air. "I'm his sister."
"Unfortunately," I muttered. Her voice lifted weights off of my back. Dina playfully slapped my back. I raised my eyebrow at her antics. "How did you know my name, may I ask?"
Gio shrugged, flicking the hair out of his eyes so he could look at me. "Some guy came up to me yesterday and asked me about you."
"Some guy?" I asked.
Gio frowned. "He was really weird. He had pink hair. And a carriage."
This guy was certainly sounding strange. Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. It seemed that everyone I dealt with these days was crazy.
"And he called himself Tuesday," he added.
I fell on my face. I don't know how it happened. One second, I was walking along with the rest of them; then at the T-word, I found myself inexplicably with my face in the grass.
"Fin, are you okay?" Dina said, worried.
"I hate my life," I grumbled through a mouthful of dirt. I spat it out and dragged myself to my feet. Lydia was taking pictures. I looked upward and asked every Pokémon god I knew to smite me now.
I faced Gio, who was trying to keep his face straight. It was very apparent that he thought we were all nutcases.
Who could blame the fellow?
"You don't have to stick around," I told him. "Just pretend you never met us, and we won't say a word otherwise."
Of course, then Dina butt in with a, "Are you headed to Mauville? You should come with us! I mean, it couldn't hurt, could it?"
"No, I was just going to…" Gio tried to say, but Lydia cut him off, looking up from her notepad and camera.
"Oh, possibly some sort of avoidant personality disorder," Lydia mused. "Maybe a bad history with traveling companions? Is that why you adamantly refuse to make new friends?"
A normal person would have gaped at her, but Gio's shock was shown only through a brief period of silence. Lydia and Dina continued to bully him until he caved, which didn't take long. I could tell he only wanted to get the girls off his back.
"I'm Fin," I said eventually. "But you already know that."
"And I'm Dina!" my sister said again with just as much enthusiasm.
"Lydia Wist, journalist extraordinaire," said Lydia, twirling her pencil through a strand of red hair.
Gio regarded us with caution. "Giovanni Cliff," he eventually introduced himself formally. "Just Gio will do."
Wait, what? A Fin update twice in the same month? Even I don't know how that happened.
So Fin now has a cool Wae cover. :3 Originally I wanted to make him smaller and include Mawile, but drawing Mawile on Paint is a bad idea for the technologically challenged. Plus, Wae's more representative of the craziness, methinks.
I really had no idea what to call Archie's/Tabitha's flying thing, but Bulba and Serebii both referred to it as a mini-copter. Regardless, it's that thing Archie used in The Scuffle of Legends, which is episode 372 or something.
I'm sorry if I've offended any redheads in the making of this story. I didn't plan for it. It's just that a bunch of OCs happen to be redheads who happen to be weird/crazy and Fin just happens to be in the general vicinity. And my sense of humor happens to be really horrible and it happened to find the redhead thing really funny. /shot
Random fact (since people seem to be interested in Pokémon Fin had in the past): Fin has trained a Pokémon of every type except Fighting. When he challenged Ever Grande, he had a total of nine Pokémon. Currently, his Pokémon are either with his parents in Dewford or training with Brawly. Only two, excluding Mawile, have a planned appearance in this fic.
Credits
Giovanni Cliff belongs to Ano-chan
Aisha Keyre belongs to Jigglypuff's Pillow
Marceau Morin belongs to Megg Shizuka
Magnus Jasper Carleton belongs to Maecenas
Jeremy Hawthorne belongs to Shadowdragoon32
Lydia Wist belongs to Windy Rain
Tabitha belongs to Nintendo
Tuesday, Vic, Dina, Fin, and Lily belong to me
