So, I'm totally nervous about this chapter. It's kind of out of my league of knowledge and is probably kind of unrealistic. However, for this story to work, the scenes here had to happen. Please don't bitch at me too hard for it! D: I did my best and realism or not, it should at least be entertaining...
Also, this is the chapter with no May or May POV at all, so enjoy!
Chapter Ten: Neanderthals and Frenchmen
May went home shortly after finishing her meal. Archie could tell she was tired and it was getting close to that time when he would have to round up Matt and a few other grunts to accompany him to the Keystone, a shady little pub that was frequented by both Magma and Aqua members. The Keystone was run by a man named Aarune, who was something of a mediator between the two gangs when it came to issues better settled with diplomacy, what few there were. He detested violence, so while the Keystone was definitely a dive bar where only the most daring of people went if they weren't affiliated with one of the gangs, it was also a place where fistfights and shootouts were enough to get one banned for life. Given the Keystone was a veritable treasure chest of new clientele and connections for both gangs, it was one rule that would never be broken under either Maxie or Archie's watch.
Matt approached Archie outside the Keystone. Since it was his idea to meet up, Archie would use the advantage of getting there first to scope out who was already there. With the luck he had been having lately, first with that little shit Trent's attempt to snitch about them to the police and May getting sucked into Maxie's drug dealing business, it was completely likely that the place would be overrun with Magma members and only a few of his own.
Archie had vowed to obey Aarune's rules, but by god if there wasn't an alleyway just off the property. If it escalated to violence, he wanted to have the upper hand, which meant more manpower.
"Boss, Maxie just got back to us. He'll be here in twenty."
Archie grunted. "Good. That son of a bitch needs to be put in his place."
Matt chuckled, but keep a wary eye on the salivating pit bull held tightly on Archie's leash. Kyogre, while she seemed to be particularly fond of May, was actually trained as an attack dog. Archie himself had been more afraid of May's throat being shredded when Kyogre got out, not so much the licking to death that she had managed to receive. The pit bull was drastically large for her breed—possibly so much that it was record-breaking, although Archie had never bothered to check—standing at almost thirty-four inches at the shoulder and weighing almost one hundred and forty pounds. Archie no concerns for his safety when she was around, although his wallet's wellbeing was another matter altogether. The enormous dog ate about as much as a small elephant.
Then again, it was probably a good thing that Kyogre was so monstrous. Maxie's pet 'cat' would give her a run for her money if Kyogre was anything less.
Fortunately, Aarune was flexible enough to allow animals onto the premises, although this was only allowed to trusted customers. While Archie was glad to have this to his advantage, it was too bad that Maxie had also been allowed the same privilege. Keeping his hold on Kyogre's leash tight—she was trained to attack Magma members at the first sign of trouble—he passed the bouncer at the door, Matt right behind him, and quickly made his way towards the VIP room.
At a glance, it looked like the spread was rather even that night. Magma members noticed him enter and quickly averted their eyes, not eager to draw attention to themselves, especially when Kyogre was on the scene. A few Aqua members saluted him, to which he saluted right back, and then he opened the door to the room, where Aarune and his girlfriend Lisia were playing poker.
"Hey, man," Aarune said, nodding at Archie and not paying Kyogre a second glance. Both he and Lisia revealed their hands and Lisia whooped when her straight flush beat his four of a kind. When Aarune noticed that Matt was there, he stood up. "Yo, dude! What's up?"
Archie was not surprised. Matt and Aarune had grown up together in the Boston suburbs before Matt moved to Los Angeles when he was ten. However, upon Matt's return to the Boston/Cambridge area three years ago, they had been reunited through Aqua. Matt was a likeable guy, if not a bit arrogant. Archie used to think that having Matt on his side gave him an edge on Maxie, but Aarune had proved in the past that he kept business and pleasure quite separated. Friend or no, Aarune was an unbiased mediator.
As the two men clapped each other's backs and made small talk, Archie took a seat at one of the chairs on the back patio of the VIP room. Lighting up a cigarette, he rested the hand holding Kyogre's leash on his thigh and took a long drag.
"Sit," he absentmindedly commanded the dog. She sat immediately, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.
After Aarune and Matt had finished their little 'bro talk', Matt looked over at Archie for confirmation. Archie nodded and Matt took up a post not too far from where Archie was sitting, close enough to see but too far away to hear. It was an unspoken rule between the two gang leaders that when business was needed to be settled diplomatically, it was discussed between the two leaders and no one else.
Maxie was punctual to a fault, thankfully. He arrived with his loyal henchman Tabitha at his side, who took one glance at Matt and scowled before positioning himself in an equivalent position. Maxie took his leisurely time strolling over to the table Archie had occupied, Groudon following warily behind him.
Kyogre immediately began to growl threateningly at Groudon, whereas Groudon hissed and arched his back, tugging slightly at his leash. He swiped a few times and Kyogre barked at him, ears flattened and teeth bared.
"Looks like ole Groudon's PMSing," Archie commented with a smirk as Maxie took his seat. Casually, he flicked his cigarette and some of the ash on the tip landed on Maxie's hand.
Maxie did not deign to comment, commanding Groudon to lay down before regally brushing the cigarette ash off his gloved hand. "Smoking is a disgusting habit," Maxie sniffed. "But I'm not opposed to you killing yourself before I do."
"Ha!" Archie grinned at him, but it was more like a baring to teeth. "If you could kill me, you already would've by now. So save the shit-talking for your little pussy grunts."
Maxie smiled a little back, his lips curling disdainfully. "Such crassness. I only haven't killed you because it will be much more satisfying watching your stupidity end up doing the job first." He looked pointedly at the cigarette before continuing, "Enough with the pleasantries, however. What is so crucial that we couldn't have settled it…away from here?"
Archie was quite aware that Maxie was not fond of the club scene, especially the dive bars and specifically the Keystone. Maxie utterly loathed Aarune, but acknowledged the usefulness of the bar and therefore had not had it burned down yet.
Stamping out his cigarette in the ashtray, Archie leaned forward. All playfulness was gone from his eyes.
"You're trying to take somethin' that's mine," he told Maxie lowly. "And I don't take kindly to thieves."
Maxie rolled his eyes and looked exasperated by Archie's dramatic antics. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"May Andrews," Archie said simply.
The scathing look on Maxie's face disappeared and was replaced with stony apprehension. "May Andrews," he repeated flatly.
"Yeah. The one you just had do a deal tonight. She's leaving your shitty little bakery tomorrow and you're not gonna put out a hit."
Maxie frowned. The expression came easily. "I had no idea that your lack of intelligence had truly reduced you to a Neanderthal, my triste petite sotte," he said calmly. Archie glared at him. He hated it when Maxie spoke in French—usually because it just meant he was being insulted in another language. "May Andrews is her own person and free to do as she pleases. If she chooses to work with me and mine, then she is certainly free to do so and you have no choice in what she does. The fact that I employed her first has nothing to do with thievery." His glasses glinted a little in the dim lighting, revealing a particularly smug look on his face.
Archie smirked. "Whether or not she wants to work for you ain't the problem—she's already told me she's gonna quit. I'm just concerned for her safety afterwards, your Highness."
Maxie had obviously not been expecting this because he flinched a little, and Archie could all but hear that super-powered brain of his whirring at high speeds. He recovered quickly, however, and said, "Convince her to stay and you will have no need to fear for her safety."
"Oh, swell!" Archie said sarcastically. "If had just realized that earlier, then we wouldn't have even had to come down here!" He mockingly slapped himself on the forehead as though he'd had a revelation before leveling Maxie with a deadpan look. "You're missing the point, ya little prick. She doesn't want to work with you, I don't want her working for you, and if you're just worried about getting snitched on, I can assure you that won't happen 'cause I won't let her." It was a well-known fact that if one of the gangs went down, so did the other, so it was truly to Archie's benefit to keep May quiet about the situation.
"That is not the issue," Maxie responded. "It is clear you have formed some sort of attachment to May Andrews and in any other case, I would not want to go anywhere near one of your whores." Archie's hands clenched into fists and he made to stand up. He told himself he wasn't going to hit Maxie, not yet, but he was sure as hell damn close to dragging him outside so that he could. Kyogre began to growl and snapped in Maxie's general direction, to which Groudon half-heartedly swiped back with his large paw. It was not in the nature of a big cat to protect its master, independent as they were, but Groudon the cougar had been trained well.
The redhead went on as if Archie hadn't had a reaction.
"However, May Andrews is not a whore, nor will she be yours. She has a rather splendid mind, doesn't she?" Maxie smirked a little at the thought of the eighteen-year-old. Archie slowly sat down, realizing that there was clearly much more negotiation to be done. "A little young, but she has so much potential! With the right guidance she could be transformed into a beautiful and intelligent woman, perfect for a man of my caliber." He glared at Archie then. "I will not have you polluting her mind with your idiocy. It is you who will stay away from her. She has the potential to do great things, and with me by her side, she will do a great things. Your presence is not needed."
Archie scoffed. "I thought May was her own person and was free to do as she pleases?"
Maxie glowered when his own words were used against him, but had the grace to acknowledge his rival's victory. "So then we have come to an impasse. I will not allow her to be with you, and you will attempt to keep her away from me. What, then, do you propose?"
"Why, Maxie? You're coming to me for ideas? Fuck, I shoulda been recording this shit. The 'great Maxie' is coming to 'treest petty sot' for an-"
"Triste petite sotte," Maxie corrected firmly. "It means 'sad little fool,' which you are. And no, I am simply allowing you to have input."
Archie lit up another cigarette and made sure to blow the smoke into Maxie's face. The redhead coughed a little and waved his hand in front of his face.
"Must you be so vulgar?"
"I dunno," Archie returned. "Is it even possible for you to grow a pair?"
The two glared at one another for a long moment before Maxie sighed and cleared his throat. "Never mind. I have come to a suitable solution. She will continue to work for me-"
"May ain't gonna join Magma."
"-yes, yes, if you would let me finish," Maxie said, coughing again when Archie blew more smoke into his face. He cleared his throat once more and regained his composure, blinking a little to get the smoke out of his irritated eyes. "As I was saying, May will continue to work for me. However, I have recently come to the conclusion that a brilliant mind like hers is wasted on the pettier workings of Magma. Cassandra has informed me that you live near her and have constant access to her. I acknowledge that I cannot prevent you from interacting with her, but you will also not prevent me from interacting with her. As long as she continues employment at my bakery, there will be no need for violence."
"So that's how it is, huh? She either works for ya or you're gonna kill her?" Archie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like your 'claim' is coming from the right place."
"It is not May who will be the target," Maxie replied stiffly. "Aqua as a whole will be."
"So now you're growin' some balls," Archie laughed darkly. "As much as I like May, I can't say I'm willing to go on an all-out war for her—and you shouldn't be willing to, either. I ain't gonna get into a pissing contest over a chick."
"Then simply leave her to me," Maxie retorted. "It is obvious my conviction is stronger, so I will be victorious in the end either way."
"Bullshit," Archie snapped. "I'll show you some motherfucking conviction!" He raised his fist threateningly.
Suddenly, there was a gasp from Lisia and both of the gang leader's attention went to her. It turned out it was just a particularly large cockroach that Aarune crushed easily with his booted fot, but it was enough of a reminder to Archie that violence wasn't allowed here. He lowered his fist.
"So when does it end?" Archie grumbled, his hand still tightly clenched into a fist.
Maxie looked a little smug about the fact that his rival had been reminded that he couldn't attack him physically, which was where Archie truly had the upper hand. "When she makes her choice. For as long as she is an available female, these conditions are in place. Once she is in a relationship, then the truce ceases and all continues on as usual."
"Listen to you," Archie scoffed. "'Available female.' What are you, a Discovery Channel narrator?"
"Vous avez le corps d'un chien et le QI d'une durée de cinq ans."
"Sorry, I don't speak Pansy."
"You have the body of a dog and the IQ of a five-year-old," Maxie clarified, rubbing his temples in exasperation. "Do you agree to the terms?"
Archie decided to ignore the odd insult—it wasn't anything less than he would expect from his rival—and thought about it for a few moments. It sounded fair enough, but…
"No outside interference."
Maxie frowned and Archie immediately knew that he had caught on to one of the redhead's loopholes.
"Just you and me. Anybody else interferes, we go back to the drawing board or I blow up your goddamn bakery with you in it, whichever comes first."
The redheaded frowned even more deeply but relented. "As you wish."
"Then we got ourselves a deal." Archie stuck out his hand.
Maxie stared at the proffered appendage distastefully, but eventually they shook hands. And then, as though there had never been a conversation, both stood up abruptly and headed to their respective second-in-commands.
Archie watched as Maxie stalked away with Groudon and Tabitha as quickly as he could, his disdain for the Keystone never more apparent. He heaved a sigh and turned to Matt, who was sipping a beer and watching his boss with mild curiosity.
Archie snatched up the beer and downed it in one go. Matt was about to put up a fuss, but then the gang leader said, "I'll pick up the tab. Your job is to get us both so fucking drunk we can't walk straight."
Matt laughed. "Did it really go that well?"
Archie sighed dismally and they began to make their way over to the bar. "Doesn't matter how well it went. I always need to get shitfaced after dealing with that son of bitch."
Yes, Maxie speaks French. I don't know, it just made sense to me, since Parisians are so arrogant. Maxie seems like the kind of guy who would be intelligent enough to speak many languages, so keep an eye out for third and fourth ones!
Wow, as far as 'showering Of Healing Love with reviews' goes, you all basically overwhelmed me with love. THANK YOU! So, as promised, this was the Thursday update. As far as a Friday update, I'm not so sure, just because I'm not that far ahead yet. I always like to be at least one chapter ahead of what I'm posting, but if there isn't a Friday update, I promise that there will be a Saturday update! :)
Review time!
Special thanks to: TrueIchiro, reshiramu, MizukixTsukiyomi, DragonkynNatKiasu, JetravenEx, EnigmaUniverse, Felicity Dream, Akatsupure, bambam411, the cerulean samurott, L van Am, Pikas, Ninten-fan143, Senom299, Skyblu7, mupp3tbab3h, terracannon876, Alex T. Wallman, F. Flotsam, MasterShortPantsx3, Princess Mononoke 503, EndlessStorm, Okeanos-heart, j2jackson321, loli-belle, and Erika Elencia! You all are fantastic! I think this may be the most reviews for a chapter yet, so you all get a bag of Sour Patch Kids (yummm) and a Pokepuff of your choice!
YES, everyone, Groudon is not just your average kitty; HE'S A MOTHERFUCKING COUGAR! :D Groudon FTW. And I'm pretty sure Kyogre's size IS record-breaking as far as pit bulls go. But she had to be that big or else Groudon would easily kick her ass, which is totally not cool. They have to be equals!
TrueIchiro - If this story ever even starts to rival One Piece, I'm going to be left wondering where my life went. xD
DragonkynNatKiasu - My favorite starters are: Grass - Snivy/Servine/Serperior, Water - Oshawott/Dewott/Samurott, and Fire - either Cyndaquil/Quilava/Typhlosion or Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard. Don't ask me to choose between the Fire types. Fire is my third-favorite type and I love all of them.
JetravenEx - I'm particularly interested to see your reaction to cougar!Groudon. You'd better let me know what you think! ;) Personally, I would be horrified if Pokemon came into our world. So many people with bad intentions...they would probably be abused and mistreated and at first, they would be scientifically experimented on, which would piss me off so bad...So, if that happened, I'd make my team the strongest ever and make it a point to free abused Pokemon. I'd probably become N 2.0 and would kick the asses of anyone who dared to harm Pokemon. So yeah. I'd basically become a Pokemon vigilante. In the Pokemon world, everyone is peaceful enough to appreciate Pokemon. In this world? Not so much. So I personally hope that Pokemon never become real in our world. It'd be terrible. :(
Felicity Dream - How do you feel about Maxie calling out Archie's claim on May and calling him a Neanderthal? I, personally, appreciated that greatly. I wonder if you do, too? By the way, I'll be PMing you real soon!
bambam411 - As I've said in previously chapters, I live to convert people to new pairings. Thank you for being a successful experiment! :D Just kidding. I'm glad you like it!
L van Am - Friends with a protag? Definitely Calem. He's such a hottie... lol Either him or Brendan, just because Brendan's expressions in ORAS are just *squeal* ADORABLE!
Senom299 - Oh, gosh, you are just too sweet! Well, I'll never object to cookies OR reviews, so they're both greatly appreciated! You're awesome, too, just for reviewing! I adore all of my reviewers!
YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE?! I ADORE ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!
Alex T. Wallman - Technically, Archie DIDN'T put her under his protection. However, it was implied last chapter that both Magma and Aqua spy on each other and so Archie is surprised that Maxie hadn't been told that Archie had already "claimed" May. I hope that helps! It was a little vague, so I definitely understand the question.
F. Flotsam - "She nosedived down it blind folded with no helmet on." No truer words have been spoken about that chapter. LOL Consider that sentence appreciated!
Question: (Stolen from the cerulean samurott) If you could be best friends with any one protagonist from any version (not the anime/movies/manga) who would you pick?
Until next time, my lovelies!