Reaching the two team leaders at the mouth of the volcano, May steeled her resolve as she went to face not just one, but two team leaders. The higher she climbed, the hotter things got, and it wasn't just from the active volcano.
Seeing the rigid posture of a man wearing a long, red and black coat, May internally winced at just how stiflingly hot the man was feeling, though his body gave none of his discomfort away. Even from where she was standing, she could see the stern glare of Maxie as Archie, wearing an equally uncomfortable looking blue, white and black spandex suit, a matching cloth attached to a gold belt gave him a semblance of modesty, though May could barely look at him.
Forcing her eyes on his face, she winced as the man smiled at her in sheer amusement. His outfit definitely did not leave a lot to the imagination and May had no idea where was could look.
Clenching her fist, the gym leader reminded herself that they were humans who had powerful pokémon to make it this far up the ladder in their respective teams. If she didn't diffuse the situation, who knew what would happen?
Unfortunately for her, she knew that most men wouldn't take a younger trainer seriously, especially a young woman at that. Most people didn't even take her seriously as a gym leader, and here was as a vassal for the champion.
First impressions would be integral for this.
As soon as she reached them, May cleared her throat. Instead of even glancing at her, the duo stood, glaring daggers at each other.
Scowling at the two men who didn't appear to be taking her seriously, May stomped forward, her face flushed from the blistering heat. She definitely was going to give Steven Stone a piece of her mind for sending her out here. Why couldn't he face this heat in his impeccable suit? Knowing the entrepreneur, he'd manage to remain cool, calm and collected under these conditions—the exact opposite of her.
Had Mount Chimney always been this hot, or was it just the summit?
Arceus, she wanted a nice, refreshing lemonade. She hadn't even packed anything since she hadn't even expected it to be this hot today.
Maxie sneered once at Archie who let out a booming laugh, and it took May a moment to realise she was pouting like a petulant child.
'Krmph! You made it up here by yourself? Why do you look familiar?' Archie chuckled before stepping towards May.
He assessed her obviously, not at all perturbed by the sweltering wave of heat which came up from the cavern below them. He glanced towards the boiling lava and, in his booming voice, he said, 'the great swell of power that sleeps deep in the magma… And it's the key to controlling the super-ancient pokémon's power?'
The Team Aqua leader glanced contemplative at May before clicking his fingers, a look of triumph covering his tanned face.
With an eager grin, he chuckled, 'ah! You… Uh… No… Oh! Now I know how I know you! You're the little scamp that got in our way in Slateport's museum! If you made it here to me, you musta swept right past Shelly, huh? Heh…hehehehe… Krmph! Bwahahahahaha! I figured you were a big deal the first time I laid eyes on you, but…whoa!'
Seeing him laugh, it took May all of her resolve not to snap at him. Who did he think he was, just laughing at her? She knew that he must be strong, but it was absolutely disrespectful for him to be guffawing at her like a pack of mankeys.
Clenching her fist, May reminded herself to keep a cool head. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of reacting. Even though he was the head of Team Aqua, she wasn't going to react to him like some wilful child. That would be disappointing everyone who relied on her and just handing him the win.
The man, in response, blinked upon noticing her refusal to react. In a pensive tone, he continued, 'heheh. Well, since you are the real deal, I s'pose I could let you in on just what's going on. See, this meteorite that I just got from your friends who were to guard it for good ol' professor high-an'-mighty back there… With the right bit of work, it seems we could turn it into a real nice, valuable bit. Like maybe a mega stone. Or maybe…even a key stone. And as long as we're here at Mt. Chimney…'
Hearing Shelly hiss, Archie chuckled, 'hyup! Bwahahahahah! Look what I nearly went an' did! If I give away all my secrets, all the thrill'd be gone from our relationship! I think I'll just leave you hanging here.'
'Relationship?' May muttered in disbelief as Archie rubbed the back of his head, unaware of Maxie's unimpressed glare, his eyes narrowed behind his steel glasses.
Did Archie think she was a kid or not? And wasn't he far too old to be even making sick jokes like that?
'Well… It's not the details that matter any old how. We've got a thing we gotta do, ya see. From our point of view, scamp, you're a dirty villain who's gotten in our way one time too many. I'm still leader of Team Aqua, so I'm afraid it's the rope's end for you and your pokémon,' Archie beamed before taking a pokéball from his belt.
'Now come!' He grinned before releasing his fluffy, black and grey pokémon. It let out a ferocious growl, its red eyes narrowed in anger at her, baring its fangs.
Recognising the dark type pokémon called mightyena, May released her Wartortle, scowling, 'aqua tail followed by rapid spin! Let's make it a combination that'll knock them out!'
'Mightyena, assurance!' Archie snarled, none of his previous humour evident on his expression as he rested his hands on his hips, exposing his body that little bit more.
Arceus, she had to end this battle and quickly. Every time he spoke, she was going to instinctively want to look at him to try and see what he was planning.
'Come on, Wartortle!' May muttered as she saw her pokémon unleash the water attack before withdrawing in his shell, swirling towards his opponent, who readied his paw.
Her pokémon attacked the dark type, though was knocked back, very close to the volcano's edge.
'Wartortle!' May squeaked, though her pokémon jumped out of his shell and landed on his legs, crying out his name in triumph.
Placing a hand on her heart, May sent the water type a disbelieving look. If he'd gone over, she would have charged right after him.
'Snarl, Mightyena! We'll teach the scamp to get involved with Team Aqua! Bwahahahaha!' Archie chuckled, only inciting May's irritable anger.
'Wartortle, bubble followed by ice beam!' May snarled, knowing that her pokémon would be feeling the heat dreadfully. Water moves weren't as effective in this heat, especially with evaporation drying them off.
May pointedly didn't look at Archie, keeping her eyes fixated on the man's pokémon. Watching the dark type rush forward, Wartortle unleashed a bubble attack followed by his ice attack, which froze the dark type's paws.
'Rapid spin, rapido!' May grinned before her Wartortle withdrew in his shell and tackled the panicking Mightyena square in the face.
'Mightyena, return. Go, Golbat!' Archie said before letting out a booming laugh, his head billowing back, exposing his neck.
'Wartortle, return. Go, Beldum!' May cried as her psychic and steel pokémon hovered over the ground before her.
'I know it's hot, but let's use hold back followed by iron defence!' May beamed as Archie scowled, 'wing attack!'
Watching the two pokémon clash in an explosive cloud of dust, May grimaced before calling out, 'zen headbutt while you're up close!'
'Swift, Golbat!' Archie retaliated, though May's pokémon's attack landed first, leaving the poison and flying dual type knocked out.
Beldum must have sensed how uncomfortable Archie was making her and landed a critical hit for her.
'Return, Golbat. Go, Sharpedo!' Archie scowled as Maxie began to chuckle from behind him.
Not looking at the red haired man, May focused on conversations she'd had with her brother. Sharpedo was a dark type, so Beldum would be at a severe disadvantage. She had to get her pokémon out of that situation before it could escalate.
Seeing the Sharpedo, May returned her Beldum and sent out Shroomish, calling out, 'you know what to do!'
Shroomish let out a growl before absorbing the Sharpedo's energy.
'Ice fang, Sharpedo!' Archie scowled triumphantly as May blanched. She hadn't considered that the pokémon would know an ice type move.
'Dodge it!' She hissed, though her Shroomish was too slow.
'Absorb!' May cried, her eyes widening in fear as Archie scowled, 'assurance!'
Just as Shroomish used absorb, the dual water and dark type's fin hit Shroomish in the face, knocking him out.
'Shroomish, you did great, return. Go, Glaceon, use shadow ball, followed by ice shard! Teach him what it means to knock out one of our team!' May snarled before Glaceon unleashed the dark, pulsing orb, sending it towards the Sharpedo.
'You'll need to do more than that to hurt my Sharpedo,' Archie laughed, though Glaceon's ice shard shattered the ball, creating a combination that startled the dual type.
'Now, ice beam!' May scowled as Glaceon bound forward, freezing the Sharpedo with a close-range ice attack.
'Oh! You went and did it, didn't you?' Archie grimaced as he returned Sharpedo.
'Heheheh. Ya little scamp! I knew you were the real deal!' He laughed before clasping May on the back as though they were actually buddies.
'Real deal? I'm a gym leader,' May responded, blinking at him in confusion.
'A gym leader? Brilliant! Then my team won't hold back this time! Mega evolution, how I've missed you! It's been ages since we got to let loose!' The man laughed eagerly, rubbing his hands together before the sound of his Xtransceiver could be heard over the stillness of the volcano.
'Tch. Scamp, I'm gonna have to ask you to hold that thought. I've gotta use my time-out,' the man grimaced before pulling out his device and placing it to his ear. Turning away from May and Maxie, he scowled, 'huh? That you, Matt? You have the worst timing―What? Hoh! So Mount Pyre's the real―Got it. Guess that orb's not just some fairy-type tale after all!'
His voice became clearly elated as he continued, 'all right! I'm on my way!'
Turning back to face May, he grinned, 'sorry, scamp. When you're a grown-up, y'see sometimes things crop up. Gotta put our battle on hold till next time. Take this. Should help keep ya busy till we settle the score. Have fun with it, hey?'
Blinking, May frowned as the man gave her the meteor fragment that the two groups had been fighting for.
'Let's meet again somewhere. I'll be sure to remember that face,' the man winked at her, his eyes lingering on hers for a bit longer than what she could deem comfortable.
Grimacing, she turned her attention to the remaining man—Maxie. Somehow, he still seemed completely unfazed by the overwhelming heat.
The man seemed unperturbed by his rival rushing away from the volcano, rather he seemed intrigued by the item which she was left to hold. In his cold voice, he scowled, 'the power contained in the meteorite... If we merge the explosive energy contained within the planet's core with the meteorite's power...'
Walking closer to her, his enlarged eyes focused upon hers. With a frown, he muttered, 'I remember those eyes. And the indomitable will that seems to burn behind them. Ahhh. Now I recall. You are the one who defied Team Aqua at Slateport's Oceanic Museum. And, your presence here tells me that you have defeated Tabitha, Archie's team and now Archie. Yes, I see now that the stirring of interest I felt was not misplaced. Hmph. You show true promise. Fine. I will attempt to educate you.'
Upon hearing his cold, calculated words, May suddenly wished that Archie hadn't left. Sure, the man wasn't dressed in anything she ever wanted to see, but at least he didn't wasn't robotic like Maxie. Even then, as the representative of Steven Stone, she had to gather intel. And, she highly doubted that Maxie would deem to educate her if his rival was still there, especially considering how jovial the man was in comparison to Maxie's stern glower.
The former made her feel far more at ease than Maxie. He reminded her too much of an extra-mature Max who'd strayed down the wrong path, and she didn't feel comfortable with that notion one bit. At least his fiery hair wasn't anything at all like her brother's.
'Thousands of years ago, there lived a most powerful being that was said to be capable of creating new lands on the planet. The power which we in Team Magma seek—this power, which can expand the available landmass, belongs to a legendary and super-ancient pokémon. Though now it slumbers, having lost the source of its power and been trapped in a deep sleep. So what is it that we must do to awaken this slumbering giant? Our research has led us here, to Mt. Chimney. Yes, here... to this very meteorite. If we create the right conditions, we should find ourselves able to alter this meteorite's qualities. Yes, even into a mega stone. Even into a key stone. And here, at Mt. Chimney—hmph... I should not say too much. That is the end of today's lesson,' the man scowled, not seeming to notice just how disinterested May was by his dry tone.
He was literally just repeating everything Archie had said.
'Now then. I believe it is time we begin. The time for the purge has come. I do believe that I made myself quite clear when we were last in Slateport. I warned you that any fool standing in our way would be met without mercy!' Maxie scowled, causing May to blink.
'You're on,' May scowled back, glancing at her glaceon, who growled in response.
With a heated glare, Maxie retorted, 'very well, I will bury you by my own hand. I hope you appreciate this honour!'
'Likewise,' May responded, not appreciating the man's haughty demeanour.
She had to teach him a lesson.
A/N:
I'm going to be 100% real with everyone. I'm writing heaps of chapters in advance and I've just written a few scenes for both MBJ and MGL that I'm so excited for. Also, there's so, so much more than I was anticipating :/
Also, I said it in my other stories, but I've started uploading to my Pat r eon, posting under the name LSS Russell, but looking up LS2L will bring my profile up too. I've put up two sample chapters of my stories I'll be uploading there so if they pique your interest, please support me over there too :)
Thank you so much for all of your support!