(Author's Notes)
So, in this chapter, we meet some new faces! Namely, Lisia and Archie. I hope you will enjoy it!
Onto reviews~
archnemesisnae: Thank you, and you definitely should! I would love to read it! And I'm glad you are enjoying the story. =)
lightxhope2124: Yaay, I'm glad! As for how he got that information... well, Steven's a pretty connected guy, I imagine. ;) And I know right?! I love him too! Steven and Silver are my all time favorite Pokemon guys!
"So, the question is, how much do you plan to get involved with this?" Steven's voice resounded in May's head, much to the girl's annoyance. She glared at her pokenav.
"Hah?! You bother calling me just to spout random garbage in my ears?!" May growled, about to hang up the device.
"Actually, I called to ask you if you would deliver the devon parts to the shipyard in Slateport. Oh, and to hear your voice, of course." Steven responded with contentedly, and May could hear his smirk in his tone. She was quiet for a few moments.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm not your father's errand girl!" May huffed angrily. The arrogance of this father and son pair was really getting on her nerves. She'd done them two favors already, and yet they expect her to do more without anything in return? Unbelievable!
"Ahh… but, your aim is for Slateport next, correct? Enlighten me. How do plan on getting there? You are unable to use surf, after all."
"Uh… well…"
"I am quite certain that Mr. Briney, a man who is indeed indebted to my father and this company, would be more than happy to give you a ride to the port town on his boat again. But, of course, only if you agree to deliver the parts for us." Steven reasoned, his voice even. May sighed frustratedly, rubbing at her temple with her free hand.
"Fine, fine, I get it!" May grumped, her brows furrowed. She hated being backed into a corner like this, especially by this guy.
"Wonderful. Mr. Briney already has the parts. I hope that we will meet again soon, Princess."
"Ah… thank you." May said quietly, as Mr. Briney helped her off his ship and onto the dock in Slateport a few hours later. May had found herself dozing most of the trip, but upon her arrival, it had begun raining rather heavily. May clutched the stem of her pink umbrella a little tighter, as the raindrops fell from the gray sky and scattered around her.
"It's no problem, lass! After all, you did rescue my Peeko." The man commented with a smile, as his Wingull fluttered it's wings happily.
After saying her goodbyes to the old man and his Peeko, May carefully made her way through the wet beach, and into the heart of Slateport. She pulled out her pokenav and activated the map function, as she had no idea how the city was laid out. She figured it would be best to deliver the parts first, before it got dark, and then head to the Pokemon center for some much needed rest. May yawned while she waltzed into the large, lively city, twirling her umbrella idly as she made her way to the shipyard. On her arrival, however, she was told by a very apologetic staff member, that the man she needed to meet with was currently at the museum. He requested that she bring the parts there. May had departed only after the giving the poor staff member an earful to vent her frustration.
May found herself further irked when she arrived at the museum, damp and tired, only to find that she had to pay an entrance fee just to deliver the stupid parts. As soon as she crossed over into the museum's main hall, however, May realized that something was seriously off. The few patrons hanging about looked normal enough, but their behavior seemed weird. None of them were paying any attention to the exhibits — they were clustered in small groups of two or three, staring off at the walls or floor. It was almost like… they were waiting for something. It gave May the creeps, so she hurried up to the second floor, where she was supposed to meet the man who needed the devon parts. The upper floor was largely empty, but she spotted a man gazing at an exhibit towards the back, and she quickly approached him.
"Yo! Are you Stern?" She called, now standing before the older man. The man looked up.
"Ah… yes…"
"I have the devon parts for you." She chirped, glad to finally be wrapping this errand up, as she handed over the parts. She froze, however, when they were interrupted by a throaty chuckle.
"Sorry little girl, but we'll be taking those!" A husky voice called, and May found herself grabbed roughly from behind as someone tried to wrestle the parts from her grasp. May growled and bit down as hard as she could on the man's exposed arm, the tinny taste of blood filling her mouth. The man shrieked and released her, stumbling backwards.
"Crazy bitch!" He yelped, and May turned to face her assailants. As her eyes fell over the two men, she recognized their clothes as Team Aqua's uniform. Then... were those people downstairs grunts as well? Her heart began pounding. They were in her way. It was time to take action.
"Hmm, I like sound of that title! Now… about the parts. You're out of luck! It was a lot of trouble getting them here, so like hell I'm just letting you steal them!" She shouted, giving them a wide, charming smile.
"You're going to pay for that!" The injured man called, clutching his arm. The two released their Pokemon, but their Carvannah and Zubat duo were no match for Tsubaki and Kanato, who surprising fought very well together. May felt emboldened by her victory; she felt like, just maybe, she would be able to leave her weak self behind. This was her time to shine! May grinned.
"Now… if you value your lives, I suggest you get out of here! Quickly, before I change my mind~ Unless, of course... you want to be bitten again?" May shouted, her pokemon hovering over the two defenselessss men menacingly.
"What do we have here?" A deep voice echoed throughout the room. May immediately saw a change in the grunts — they began trembling and exchanged worried glances. When May looked over towards the sound of the voice, she saw a tall, muscular man approaching her with well-timed steps. His eyes were what sent shivers down her spine, though — they were cold and dead; it looked as though they belonged to a corpse. Whoever this man was, his presence was terrifying. He was on a whole different level, she could feel it. However, May refused to cower.
"I came to see what was taking so long, and I find you simps are getting beat up by a little girl?" He questioned. His voice was quiet, but there was a threatening tone held within it, that demanded respect. May glared viciously.
"And you are?" She asked pointedly.
"Heh. That's quite a fierce expression for such a wee little scamp." He commented drily, as his gaze shifted to the girl.
"Hah. You're these guys' boss, then? I might take you seriously if you didn't look so ugly." May retorted with a smirk. The man laughed heartily.
"The name is Archie. I created Team Aqua, and unfortunately these idiots are my men. But don't worry, they'll be punished thoroughly for wasting both of our time." He said eventually. So this man… was the one behind everything? Her brows furrowed. Could she really take him on with her current self?
"So, tell me then. What is Team Aqua's goal?" She began, clenching her fists, "Then… I can decide for myself." The man looked thoughtful, as though he were considering her words. Then he smiled cruelly at her.
"To return… return to the unspoiled beginnings of this world. To a time before these disgusting humans. In short… to bring about pure chaos. That is my dream."
"So… that's your answer? Honestly! I didn't expect it to be something so stupid." May said flatly, staring Archie directly in the eyes. He chuckled.
"Haha, what a ballsy lass! For today, we will withdraw. I can see you're no threat to us. But understand this, you pathetic little girl… If I see your face again, I won't hesitate to kill you. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to hearing your screams." He said, his voice cold. May found herself frozen by his words. There was a power that emanated from them, and it chilled May to her core. This man was the real deal. He was bloodthirsty, and merciless, that much she could tell. And such a man… was now her enemy.
May's Pokemon looked towards her for an order, as Archie and his men retreated. But May only hung her head.
"I'm not strong enough yet…"
Brendan sighed as he made his way through the bustling Slateport city market. It was an overcast day, and after the rain the day before, a light chill had settled over the port city.
Brendan had a lot of things on his mind as he walked. After two battles with Brawly back in Dewford, he still had no badge to show for it, and he had decided to move onto to Slateport out of pure frustration. He had been thinking about it a lot on the way here, but… maybe he wasn't cut out for gyms? But was there really anything else that he could do?
However, more than that, he was immediately concerned for a certain cheeky, pink-clad girl that he couldn't get out of his head. After seeing that bruise on her cheek… and then hearing about her run-in with Team Aqua in Rustboro, he really wondered if she was doing okay. He found himself feeling iritated that May was being so reckless.
"OUTTA THE WAAAAY!" He suddenly heard a voice shout through the crowd, but as he turned to face the commotion, a frilly pink mess collided head on with him, a loud "smack!" sounding out through the market, and the two of them went tumbling to the ground. Brendan groaned as he opened his eyes, and realized with a start that he was now lying on top of the very girl he had just been worrying over. He could feel his cheeks growing red; their faces were so close! He could see her long, sooty lashes knitting together as she blinked up at him, and the way her bright pink lips glimmered as they caught the sunlight, had him momentarily hypnotized. And then, the moment was completely shattered as those big eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"STUPID BRENDAN! GET OFF, YOU PERVERT!" She shouted into his ear, beating on his chest repeatedly with her tiny fists.
"Hey, stop! It's not my fault you ran into me!" He defended himself as he crawled off of her. She jumped to her feet so quickly, that Brendan was left wondering where in Hoenn she got all that energy from.
"Ugh, of course you had to get in my way at time like this!" She shouted angrily.
"Well, you were the one who ran into me…" He mumbled, but May completely ignored him and quickly looked around, shifting her body in all directions.
"Dang it, it's gone!" She whined with a pout.
"What's gone?"
"I was chasing this really cute pink Pokemon! It was adorable! I really wanted to catch it…" May fawned, a loving look in her eyes. Brendan marveled at how much this girl's opinion of Pokemon had changed since their journeys began. May closed her eyes in frustration, and an incredibly awkward (at least on Brendan's part) silence ensued. Then, she cocked one eye open that proceeded to stare at him accusingly.
"So, how are you going to make it up to me?"
"What?! It wasn't my fault!"
"Hmm… maybe you'll treat me to dinner? No, that's not good enough…" May mused, scratching her chin thoughtfully.
"Jeez… and here I was worried about you! You seem fine to me." Brendan complained, and May gave him a startled look.
"Worried…?" She repeated, almost as though she didn't know the word's meaning.
"Well, yeah. You've seemed really beat up lately… not to mention the buzznav was saying you narrowly avoided being murdered by those Aqua guys…" He mumbled, and, suddenly, a shadow fell over May's pretty face.
"… You shouldn't worry about someone like me. I'm not worth it." Her voice was unusually cold as she spoke quietly, almost in a whisper. He couldn't see her expression, but her tone sent shivers down his spine. Suddenly, Brendan's attention was drawn towards two guys shouting towards the edge of the market.
"Huh? Lisia is doing a shoot?! We have to go!" One shouted to the other, and they quickly headed for the contest hall down the street. When Brendan looked back at his companion, she was grinning like normal.
"Sounds like fun! Let's go~" She shouted, before grabbing the poor guy by the hand and dragging him off into the city.
"And so, today, I, Lisia, will be choosing my own protege!" A rather flashy looking girl with bright teal hair was exclaiming as May and Brendan approached the little crowd that had gathered at the entrance to the contest hall. There was a rather elaborate looking crew filming the woman as she spoke.
"Huhu, well if it isn't Wallace's big sister." May commented quietly. Even Brendan could definitely see the resemblance between the two. May knew Lisia well — being the sister of her mentor, May had met the woman a few times. Brendan seemed rather confused. Pokemon contests? He didn't know much about them.
"Hmmm… now then…" Lisia murmured quietly, her gaze shifting around the crowd. She walked up to a few people and examined them closely, but when she came to May and Brendan, she paused. May rolled her eyes. What was Lisia up to this time?
"Ahh! This boy will do nicely!" The woman exclaimed, suddenly grabbing Brendan by the arm and dragging him in front of the camera. Brendan looked entirely shocked, as he glanced around wildly.
"There you have it, everyone, this pathetic looking boy is my new protege! I hope you all will enjoy his transformation!" Lisia shouted into the camera with a little wink. The crowd erupted into cheers. Well, except for May, who was laughing hysterically.
"W-wait! I don't really—" Brendan began, but Lisia clamped a hand over his mouth and leant down to whisper in his ear.
"Now, now, boy, don't think of refusing… after all, I can help you!"
"W-what?"
"That girl you're with? I know her well. You want to have her attention, don't you?"
"Of course no—"
"With an attitude like that, you'll never win her over, boy. After all, there's already three others gunning for affection now… you don't have long. But, I know just how to get that girl's attention!" Lisia explained quietly, as the camera panned the crowd. Three others were interested in May!? How did she even know that? But more importantly… when did he become interested in her? Somehow, he found himself unable to deny it after today, though. Slowly, he nodded. And that was all Lisia needed. She took the teen by the hand, and dragged him inside the contest hall. A few moments later, Brendan found himself sitting in a rather elaborate looking dressing room, with this equally elaborate woman.
"There is only one way to May's heart these days, boy." She related, her hands digging through a make-shift closet. Then, looking satisfied, she removed an outfit and held it up to the mortified teen. "I've had exactly one-hundred proteges before you, boy, but with this, I have confidence one-hundred-and-one will be the last."
"You mean…"
"Yes! We're going to have to give you whole new look! A make-over!"