The fire could be seen from the other side of Littleroot Town. Any Hoenn citizen knew one thing to be true: where there is smoke, there's fire.
And where there is fire, there is Magma.
Brendan was too young to be a firefighter. Honestly, he was too young to throw his life away for any number of sparks or fireworks. But here he was standing before another uncontrollable fire. This time, the fire was so bright with red and orange streaks that it damn near blinded him.
"Fantastic," he muttered as he wiped away sweat from his brow. Even from this distance, it was so damn hot.
This time, it was Dewford Town. The trees caught fire, but not by natural means. What a sick joke — water everywhere, but not a drop to help stop the blaze. Probably to symbolize that the sea could only stand by and helplessly watch as the rest of the world burned.
Brendan hated Maxie's stupid statements. The man was full of shit and metaphors, which was the most annoying combination of delusional psychosis. Even worse, his followers ate up that same bullshit like brainless sheep. Team Magma's rampage and terrorism across the region of Hoenn had brought the people to their knees more than once. It was only by luck and fate that they had not fallen — perhaps because their rival, Team Aqua, would not take a bent knee when Team Magma stirred up nonsense.
Since there was no firefighting team capable of handling Team Magma's wild inferno, there would always be Brendan to stop the destruction. Even though the teenager knew that it would consume him if he was not careful.
Brendan also drew the stick to handle Magma while May got Aqua. It was only fair, Steven claimed, as he tucked the straws of fate back into his jacket. After all, both of the teenagers had their separate beefs with both organizations and there was no time to determine the better person to handle them.
May joked that she would drown and Brendan would burn. Lucky her. At least drowning was quick and painless whereas fire would feel like eternity. May could also swim two seconds faster than Brendan, so there was that going for her.
If only water could help Brendan out here. Where was Archie's stupid statments when he needed them?
"We gotta put it out!" one townsperson cried out, vexed by the nearby ocean water, "There's gotta be water, gotta be —"
"It's Magma bright fire. Regular tap water won't put it out," Brendan grumbled, feeling the searing heat settle onto his sleeves, "It'll have to be suffocated or burn out by itself."
"Bright… fire…?"
"See how bright and colorful the fire looks? It's made from chemicals. Throwing water on it makes it worse. Maxie plans for everything," the teenager snapped, aggravated at all the questioning, "Evacuate people until they come with the extinguishers."
Bright fire, comparably speaking, wasn't the worst that Team Magma could come up with. It was actually less difficult than their infamous Fire Blessing or even their Golden Flames. Still, it warranted concern and killing people was still on the table. Something Maxie was sure to toast to the end of the night.
Brendan could count every burn on his skin at this point and tie it back to a crazy story. Even his own Pokemon were startled by flame sparks at this point – even Mumu, his Swampert, trembled at the idea of going another round with the cult.
Fire in Hoenn always spells trouble. There's no way around it. The bigger the flame, the worse the trouble was going to get. And like everything else, there wasn't a damn miracle in sight for the young trainer.
He flung out his Pokeball, calling upon his powerful Swampert.
"Mumu! Time to go!"
Mumu bounced out of the bright light, spraying powerful streams of water at the flames. The fire burned brighter, absorbing the liquid before mud began to form around the Pokemon. In quick work, massive mud boulders were tossed upon the flames to finally cease their wicked energy.
"C'mon, Mumu! Stop it from spreading!" Brendan darted around the perimeter, keeping an eye on the hungry flames as well as taking stock in his own energy. He couldn't gas out or lest he wouldn't be able to outrun the fire if needed. "On it! Come on!"
Another burst of mud to cover the spread. This might be easier than Brendan thought. Hopefully, Brawly could get his butt over here and get his Pokemon to toss more mud on the fire. Of course, the Gym Leader could also be dealing with his own troubles if he ran afoul of Magma sheep.
However, right as his relief surged through Brendan's veins, another spark of fire beyond the trees. Someone was… someone was in the fire and just igniting everything in their path. But how? It was so hot, not even…
Her. She was the only one who could withstand the heat and flame. Not even Maxie in all of his alleged godhood would walk through the flames.
"No, no," Brendan muttered, bitter at the thought of a fight with an Admin, "Why now? Why tonight?"
Judging by the blazing inferno, she was creeping closer and closer to his location. Fumes and smoke filled Brendan's nostrils as he covered his face. Now playful embers started to lick the sides of his face as if it was a puppy greeting him after a long day.
No escape now. She was here. By the looks of it, excited to see him too.
"Brendan…" a giggle sliced through the fire, "Oh… you're just as real as I remembered…"
Magma Admin Courtney in the flesh and brimstone. Brendan cursed his luck, knowing that he was in for another strange and bewildering conversation that could easily be mistaken for a hallucination caused by smoke. No doubt something that Maxie considered when he convinced the woman to join his cause.
Courtney glided through the hellish landscape like she was an angel dancing across the clouds. This was her element, no doubt, and a weaker man would have fallen to his knees at the sight. However, Brendan was too annoyed and bitter to treat her as anything but a strange fae-like nuisance.
Congenital analgesia. That's what Steven said when Brendan was first astonished by Courtney's superhuman ability to withstand any damage without flinching. It wasn't superhuman at all; merely a defect that prevents her from feeling or perceiving pain. Couldn't even feel the intense temperature from the way she glided through the flames.
The fact that she survived as a child was surprising. A true miracle that Courtney herself touted as proof of a god. Shame she attached herself to the wrong god — specifically, a doomsday god that couldn't wait to destroy the earth.
Destruction paved the way for something beautiful. In this case, a beautiful disaster.
"Not today, Courtney," Brendan snapped as he grimaced, "I'm not in the mood."
The Magma Admin grinned, revealing a brilliant and glowing smile. Brendan could see chips and cracks in her teeth and gums, as if someone had smashed her face in. Maxie could have done it — he liked followers, but he had a nasty temper — but it was also possible that Courtney smashed her own head in during some distraught psychosis.
Courtney always reminded Brendan of a broken doll. Visible cracks, disjointed limbs, and discolored skin, but still played with every day. Her body was so deeply scarred from injuries that it became a mesmerizing beauty. While other women spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars to cover up the tiniest blemish, she welcomed all of her pain and trauma as badges of devotion to Maxie. Part of Brendan was fascinated by her resistance to accept "normal society", but deep down, he knew that all she wanted to be was Maxie's doll.
"Brendan…" Courtney rasped out again as her throat caught the smoke, "Let me touch you. You are so beautiful. A beautiful boy, a beautiful real boy…"
"You can stop this," Brendan threw back at her, ignoring her ridiculous request, "It doesn't have to end like this."
Another laugh. Her voice was raspy, a symptom from frayed vocal chords and fiery smoke clogging up her lungs. In Brendan's darkest nightmares, it sounded like a banshee foretelling his death.
"Everything will end when Father Maxie has grown tired of us," Courtney said as if it was so obvious, "You're so much more beautiful up close. I just want to hold you forever. Touch you forever…"
Creepy and right up Courtney's alley. Brendan shook his head as he smashed his cloth against his mouth to keep smoke out. Mumu spat more water to give him an escape route, but the flames soon blocked his path as ashes fell around him.
Heat. If he stayed in here any longer, Brendan would succumb to the fire. It was time to fight the doll once more.
"Mumu, Muddy Water!" Brendan shouted, pulling his limbs close to avoid severe burns, "Make a path!"
"Camerupt, Lava Plume," Courtney said sweetly, as if it was music, "Dry it all up."
The Camerupt snorted as lava spewed forth from his back, evaporating some of the muddy water. However, Brendan motioned Mumu to spew more mud so at least the mud could smother the flames around him.
Courtney's face twitched into confusion as she realized she had been tricked, but she took it in stride.
"What a clever boy," she cooed, clasping her hands, "Clever, clever boy. Come here, Brendan, darling boy… let me touch your hair, your face…"
"Hard pass," Brendan said, "Mumu, Supersonic."
Before Mumu could respond, Camerupt tossed a boulder at the Pokemon to distract his move. Mumu knocked it away but a burst of fire took him by surprise as he toppled over from the sudden pain. While it wasn't enough to derail the Pokemon, it was enough for Courtney to make a point.
"Why do you fight, my little Brendan?" Courtney asked, taking notice of Brendan's furrowed brow, "The fire consumes us all. Water is a parasite, an invasion of the earth. Why defend such a terrible thing? We can live in Paradise together, Brendan, under Father Maxie if we just sent it all away…"
"Courtney, you're crazier than Maxie if you think," Brendan stepped back, clenching Mumu's Pokeball, "I would ever side with you or agree with any of Maxie's stupid rantings."
Part of the Magma Admin simply laughed, but another was peeved at his cavalier response.
"Father Maxie made the earth and you must be the stars," Courtney stated, "Because you're so far away and brilliant, but I could never reach you. No matter how tall I am or how far I stretch… but you still burn so brightly, Brendan."
"I'm freaking sixteen, nobody made the earth sixteen years ago," Brendan spat, his voice stronger from the anger, "Knock some sense into that brain for once."
Courtney's grin returned, "Camerupt, Earthquake. Ashes to ashes and you'll become dust. After a while, you'll rust."
What the fuck was with that stupid chant? Some incantation? Every time Brendan messed with Magma, it was something weird and new. Truly a cult of bizarre proportions — did Aqua do things like this or just the rejected freaks of society?
The earth began to fall under his feet. Brendan had only two options: jump towards the fire or be swallowed up by the ground. Both highly unfair. And Courtney didn't care for either, judging by her lack of movement.
"Get away from me!" Brendan snapped, jumping towards the edge of the flames, "Courtney, stop! What the hell is wrong with you!? We'll both be dead, you stupid moron!"
"Good!" Courtney trilled, her squeak now louder, "It's where we belong! Where we all belong in Father Maxie's design! Ashes to ashes, back to the earth, and all the while we're here in the hearth!"
Religion was the worst idea humanity ever had.
"Mumu, Water Gun! Spray it down!" Brendan howled as the scorching heat burned at his skin, "Get me a way out!"
Mumu spat a powerful stream of water, spraying the area as much as possible as the earth started to collapse from the weight. Brendan could feel the water drench through his hat as Courtney's clothes became soaked from Mumu's attack.
Courtney screamed as if she was in real pain, much like a witch melting from water. Her hair streaked down the sides as her body flew into a powerful rage.
"Water! Water, water!" she spat at Brendan, frenzied at the sensation of being wet, "You filthy bastard! Horrible, wretched boy! How dare you baptize me in unholiness!? How dare you take away my Father Maxie's love!? How could you do this to me!? How could I face Father Maxie in such a state and be buried as such!?"
"You looked like you needed it," Brendan retorted, now free to throw himself out of the fire's path, "Guess you can't go into an earth casket all wet, hm?"
It did occur to her that was true, even if Brendan wasn't aware of exactly what he jested about. Courtney threw a command at Camerupt and the earth stopped moving, making the ground still once more. Brendan caught his breath once more, relieved that he wasn't about to meet his fate here.
However, Courtney then turned counter-clockwise and threw herself into the fire. Brendan heard himself gasp in shock as he instinctively rushed forward to stop her.
"No! Courtney, no! It's not worth it!" he screamed as trauma ripped through his mind, "Maxie isn't worth it! He's not worth this!"
The Magma Admin didn't even cry out. She thrusted her arms into the fire, allowing her clothes to catch fire. Her feet began to burn as flame started to rise up around her. Courtney threw a look back at Brendan with another brilliant smile, as if she truly found nirvana in her little world.
"I'm not real," she rasped out, "Until I burn away."
Brendan wanted to hate her. He did. But at this moment, he couldn't. All he could think of was to rescue her. If Maxie was a god, he was a cruel one to allow this to befall his most devout priestess.
If there was a god out there, they were also cruel to ignore this woman.
"Courtney, no…!" he could only scream again as her body started to walk towards him, "Stay back! Stay back!"
The image of Courtney caught in flames and cooking alive in the fire of her own choosing would haunt Brendan forever. Her grin, perfectly content, as her skin started to boil and tear across her body. Her hair burned away into nothingness as her uniform cooked directly onto her slender frame.
She was a broken doll, but she wanted to be more broken until Maxie threw her away. What sort of preaching did Maxie do in Magma to make her think this way?
Courtney lurched forward towards the young trainer. Her burning hands reached out towards Brendan's face before he backed himself into a burning rock. Scorching pain went up his spine, making him screech in pain as he jumped off to the side.
"Oh please," Courtney begged, much like an enamored child, "Let me hold you. Let me feel you. You are so beautiful and real… oh, Father Maxie would love you so much… I would love you so much…"
"Stay away!" Brendan's voice grew hoarse as her fiery hands inched closer, "Stay away! Stay away!"
"You're real," Courtney repeated, "I never thought Father Maxie would make a real person… a person to play with us until he grows bored… but you are beautiful… I wish I could take you home and sink my hands into your organs and feel your heart truly beat… Father Maxie loves you as his rival, his villain…"
Her hand touched Brendan's face, making him shudder from the intense burning pain. He wasn't even sure he was screaming anymore.
However, something else came from the fire.
"Phado! Rollout!"
Before Brendan knew it, Courtney was knocked away by a heavy wrecking ball. The flames bounced right off it, making her attempts worthless as the flames were doused by more muddy water.
"You!" the Magma Admin hissed, "Wretched girl!"
"So it is," a young teenage girl with a blue tied bandana said, "You're Courtney, aren't you? The crazy bitch who likes little boys?"
Brendan wanted to laugh, but his body fell to the ground as mud pooled around his head. His burns ached now as he slipped into a deep shock. Figures that his rival would have to come save him in a stitch like this.
"You know nothing!" Courtney snarled, "How dare you interrupt my Brendan's baptism! You denied him heavenly pleasure!"
"I've had a long night, nobody is going to heaven on my watch," the teen girl said, "Especially not Brendan. Personally, I don't think he deserves it."
Courtney was about to say something but she could hear loud noises in the distance. Now moving towards her survival, the Admin gripped a hidden smokebomb from her uniform and tossed the contraption at the teenagers.
And in seconds, Courtney was gone along with Camerupt.
The teenage girl crossed her arms before taking a look at the still burning fire, deciding that had died down enough for her to tend to Brendan. She knelt down towards her rival as she picked him back up.
Brendan regained his senses, seeing her face. "May."
"You're welcome," May replied, "You're lucky I was able to handle Matt so fast. He was very ready to throw me into a pit of Sharpedos, by the way, so before you say anything, I had the worst night."
He could barely laugh but May scooped up some mud to put on his new burns. After a minute, May dropped her voice down.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Brendan said, but he wasn't sure, "I guess. Is Steven here?"
"Always," May looked over at the fire, "Wallace is taking care of the fire. Sorry we're late, but Team Aqua held us up a few miles from the coast. Matt was raving about something or the other, I don't know. I hardly listen."
How similar. Brendan managed to scoot himself up, feeling the dead stare in his face. Part of him knew he shouldn't be alive, but the other part resented him being alive. He had to face Magma for another day.
"I fucked up," Brendan muttered.
"You're alive," May reminded him, putting more mud on his burns, "That's not fucking up."
"Courtney got the best of me," he said, "I… I don't know what her deal is."
"I don't worry about their deal," May shrugged, "They say stuff, I ignore it. It doesn't matter. They're all crazy. Don't beat yourself up over it."
Brendan knew that was the best advice.
x
"You came back," a deep rumbling brightened up Courtney's spirits, "My darling Courtney, did you spread the good word?"
How Courtney loved Maxie's greetings. She nodded as her remaining clothes were stripped from her, making her shiver in the warm cave. It was luck that she managed back to the current Team Magma hideout in Lavaridge that dwelled deep into the volcano, but Courtney knew Maxie guided her back with his wisdom.
All the Magma Admin could think about was Maxie's touch and his intense gaze.
"Yes, Father Maxie," Courtney bowed, "They saw your true power."
Maxie took her bare arm, inspecting the burns, "You hurt yourself quite well. Yet you still move so beautifully. My darling Courtney, you still impress me."
That praise elevated her. How Maxie breathed life into her! But of course he knew that she would still move — he did not want her to burn just yet. Only sometimes to give her meaning in life. Give her meaning in her otherwise empty shell.
Maxie was a god. A kind god who loved his creations. But Courtney had to teach his other creations to obey and burn, just like a true crusader. Blood and fire weren't so different under the circumstances, after all.
But Courtney loved him more than that. He could give her life. He could give her death. And behind his glasses, his eyes still burned bright red.
The Red Orb gave him the power of creation. Of the earth. Of fire and death. How brilliant he was to create a world that he could then prove his strength by destroying and remaking it? How he could punish the wicked water-dwellers and siren-folk?
"Yes, Father Maxie," Courtney said, "I am here for you still."
"Let me tend to your injuries," Maxie remarked as he took out a few medicinal items, "While you do not feel pain, I suffer for you. To see you like this can wound a man, you know."
Courtney extended her hand out towards Maxie, allowing him to wrap cool bandages around her burns. The Magma leader hummed as his skilled fingers soothed the inflamed skin with a powerful burn salve.
"You must be more careful, however," Maxie scolded gently, "How would I feel if you were lying dead in the field because you were chasing after children? They are nothing to our ultimate goal."
"I'm sorry, Father Maxie," Courtney bowed her head, "I… I was consumed. It won't happen again."
"My dear Courtney, you've said this before," her leader reminded her, "Do you truly believe that boy will be able to stand against me in our glorious hour? He is a child and I am a god."
Courtney's bottom lip trembled as she looked back down at her hand. Did she? Truthfully, the young woman wasn't sure. Brendan was so… so beautiful. When he walked, the earth and the oceans parted. His skin held real blood, muscle, and bone. Even his eyes were full of life, seeing and observing all that laid before him.
But Maxie also had real blood, muscle, and bone. When he spoke, things came into reality. She existed because Maxie willed her into reality. Before him, she was a doll imprisoned in a toy chest and forced to slumber amongst a drug-induced populace. Maxie brought her into this world so she could serve him and better his world through purification of flame.
Even though Maxie found Brendan foolish, she knew they were destined to fight. A clash between gods. The earth and the stars will fight for a lifetime.
Maxie picked up on her thoughts and Courtney knew he could read them. After all, he put them in her brain. She did not do or think without his influence; he tested her faith and she failed him. Oh, how she failed him!
"You appear to be smitten," Maxie mocked her, dropping her half-wrapped arm, "With a child, nonetheless! A child! Over me! You believe he will take my place, Courtney? That he is as powerful as I am! What am I to you, Courtney, a joke!? Your god or a mockery!?"
"No!" Courtney threw herself at him, clinging to his overcoat, "Please, Father Maxie! I am a foolish, stupid woman! I have been bested by my sins! I was not confident in my faith and I…!"
"Your excuses are lamentable," the leader ripped her hands away, tearing over the still-exposed blisters, "I have given you purpose. And yet, you abandon me. He is a false prophet and you are a weak-brained woman. Why waste my time with you?"
Courtney wildly shook her head, ignoring the pus and weeping blisters as she threw her arms outward as if to fully embrace Maxie. She wished she could burn with him, but she knew her place.
"I understand now!" she wept, "Brendan is a devil! A horrible, tempting devil of promises and secrets! But he is not you! You are more powerful! You are the creator and he… he is the evilness you created to teach us! To test us! Father Maxie, please forgive me! I will do anything for your love once more!"
Maxie did not move, "And why, Courtney, should I believe you?"
"Because I'll die without you," Courtney said as pus and tears mixed on his clothes, "And I want to burn for you. Not for the boy. But you. Please forgive me, Father Maxie. I am but ashes to the earth and in your hearth."
The Magma leader reached out and stroked her swollen back, "My darling Courtney. Of course I forgive you. You were weak, but you found strength."
Courtney sniffled as her heart raced with painful relief, "Thank you, Father Maxie."
Maxie then released her, "However, these burns will not impart the lesson if all I do is forgive you, my darling Courtney. Scars teach us better than forgiveness, don't they?"
Her mouth dropped as her eyes began to water. "No, Father Maxie, pl-please…"
"Take her to the ice bath," Maxie turned away from her as her body stiffened from fear, "Let her see how it burns when water violates her."
Courtney screeched in pain as other Magma grunts rushed in, grabbing her by the arms. And even though she pleaded and screamed for forgiveness, Maxie was already halfway across the cavern and ready to preach to his flock.