A/N: Hello all! It's good to be back and you all noticed a reference. A reference. Which was the more obvious one. Yes it was Annie Leonhart and Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan, I just ship them because I like it. But what no one saw was Brendan's one little line. "Kick her in the balls!" I must not have any Scott Pilgrim fans as that line was a reference to Wallace Wells, Scott's gay roommate. During the movie, as I can't at present find him saying it in the graphic novels, Ramona fought her 4th Evil Ex: Roxie Richter. During this fight was when Wallace yelled out the line. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Word, coincidentally, is my favourite movie ever. So missed references out of the way (it was a bit obscure I'll admit) let's get to the show.
I'll be honest here, I never thought I'd be in heaven. But here I am. I lean back in my thrown, legions of loyal fans around me, girls surrounding the golden throne I sit upon, a crown on my head. I smile. This is the life. I see someone walking up to the throne. It's none other than May, wearing the skimpy dress I ordained she wear. It was a nice pink, showing the top of her bust and split down the front, exposing the underwear I had her wear.
"Oh Champion of the League" she began, curtseying. "I hope you find me acceptable." I chuckle modestly, as a champion should.
"Of course my dear. Now come, sit on your champions' ever expanding throne." I pat my lap and May walks towards me, hips swaying, booty rockin errwhere. I close my eyes and lower myself in the throne, the girls hands on my legs, rubbing and stroking slowy as-OW!
I feel a sharp pain in my nethers, causing me to look up. It's no longer May in her skimpy dress. It's Thalia, eyes blazing. Everything around me withered in fired. My throne melted, the girls turned to ash, and everything became hell.
"Wake up shit for brains!" I heard her yell, her voice booming like that of a deity.
"I said wake up dumbass!" My eyes jolt open and I look to my left. Thalia's there, mad. "Arceus almighty, do you have to be a fucking pervert in your dreams too?" she points to the pitched tent.
"Well" I begin "when the ship sets sail…" Thalia pressed her index finger against the tip. Hard. I bite my lip, groan of pain getting through.
"It's so taut it looks like it'd break if I bent it too far." Thalia remarked before realising what she said. Her eyes widened and she smiled.
"Nononononononono." I rolled over away from her and I sat up. Thalia smirked.
"So that's the limit?" she asked smugly.
"No. I mean it's one but not the one." I stood and stretched my arms out, yawning, the sudden awakening energy leaving me. "But what's your issue? Last I checked, you gave me quite the meal yesterday." I raised an eyebrow at her. Thalia scoffed.
"I was just" she waved her hand in a circle "stressed. I needed some release. Nothing more." Thalia glared at me. I swear she's gonna kill me.
"Well then." I popped my neck. "That is just fine and dandy." I curled my toes and sighed. "What's new this morning?"
"Not much. The old guy says we should reach Slateport by the afternoon or so. He predicts late afternoon since the weather's nice again." Thalia let her arms fall to her sides. "The hell was that dream you were having anyway?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I was the champ, girls all over, basically what I predict will happen when I do become Champion." I flashed her one of those celebrity smiles that sparkle on TV. Thalia rolled her eyes and I chuckled. "Anyway, I need to let the boys out."
"What!?" Thalia looked at me as I started for the stairs. I turned to her.
"And you called me the pervert." I said, holding up my Pokeballs. Thalia blushed hard and looked away.
"Sorry." She muttered. I smiled in victory.
"No biggie. Come on up, you can meet the group." I made my way up the stairs and… holy Arceus. The sun was out, clear sky as far as I could see, the water rocking the boat gently like a cradle, Wingull flying all around, various fish Pokemon I could see under the water's surface but couldn't get a view of what they were.
A truly beautiful summer sight.
"Well then, guys." I hefted three of my Pokeballs. "Come on out." They opened and Torchic, Totodile, and Aron appeared. I was still iffy on Gyarados. He seemed… volatile. He was volatile. Honestly if I let him out I'm afraid he'll either run off or trash the boat.
"Brrrrrrreeww" I heard at my ankle as Aron nudged me. I crouched down.
"Have some fun little guy. Play with Torchic and Totodile if they're being friendly." I looked at them. The two looked at me blankly. Totodile's right eye was still milky and clouded from whatever injury he'd had from his previous owner. Yish. "Go on." I patted Aron on the head and he walked over to them. They made some sounds and seemed happy enough.
"Not letting out the sea serpent?" Thalia asked, making me jump a bit. I turned and she was leaning against the bulkhead.
"I'm…" I pulled the Pokeball and looked at it. The sphere reflected the sunlight, shining red on the ship. "I'm nervous."
"Scared?" I looked at Thalia and her eyebrow was raised, a smug smile on her lips. I frowned. Was I scared? After all I did raise him. Kinda. He evolved surprisingly after a few days. And after I yelled at him. Then when I tossed him out he attacked Thalia and Davis without any hesitation or stopping for an order. What if he turns on me? What if he deems me unworthy or a threat? Too many variables.
"I guess. Lot of stuff can go wrong with him out is what I'm afraid of." I stared at the ball.
"Well if I'm gonna be honest here" Thalia sighed, looking up. "When Davis found his Mightyena, he had to face it a lot. He had to yell and assert his dominance over her and become the alpha. After a lot of arduous fights and stuff, his Mightyena finally came around and obeyed him." Thalia looked at me in the eye. "What I'm saying is" she sighed "you're not gonna get him to listen or know if he will if you keep him in there." She pointed to Gyarados's ball. I looked at it, then to my other three. They were getting along great. Enjoying the outdoors, such as they were on a ship. Here I was in Gyarados's element and I was keeping him in a ball.
That needs to change. I took a deep breath.
"Gyarados!" I opened the ball and it let out into the ocean. It was clam for a second before a rumbling was heard and Gyarados shot up with a roar. I felt my heart rate speed up. I forgot how big he was. He stopped roaring and turned to me. Aron, Torchic, and Totodile were running around, not caring. I had a sea serpent looming over me. I swallowed. "O-okay Gyarados!" I thought of something. Something he could do. "J-just swim around while we sail, stay by the boat, and fend off anything that's a threat!" I stared at him. His eyes glared down at me, as if they were piercing my soul. His mouth was open and his fangs visible. I heard Thalia behind me trying to keep her composure. This wasn't a Mightyena but that didn't mean her story wouldn't work.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!" he roared, turning and diving underwater with a huge splash. The salt water sprayed up in my face. I dried my face on my sleeve and looked out at the sea. Not far from us Gyarados shot up, roared, and shot down under water again.
"He, uh, seems to have listened." Thalia commented. I looked and her legs were shaking slightly. She was scared too.
"Yeah. But I wonder how he'll feel if I give him an order in battle." I gripped the railing as the little trio ran behind me. I looked and it seemed Torchic was chasing Totodile and Aron. "I wonder if he'll listen or just rampage around. That's not good." I felt a hand gently land on my shoulder.
"Listen, Brendan." Thalia held the railing and looked out as Gyarados swam around. "Just make sure you aren't too afraid of him. Remember: you're the trainer. Not him. Besides, if you're worried about him running off" she held her arm out at Gyarados as he arced out of the water quite majestically. "He'll be hard to miss." I chuckled and Thalia patted my back.
"Thanks, I needed that." I smiled.
"Don't go pussy on me boy" Thalia retorted. "Just take me to Sootopolis and we'll be done."
"The way you make it sound, we'll be travelling together a lot." I looked at her and she frowned.
"The only thing from you going in me is your tongue, keep the gun in its holster." Thalia sneered and walked over to Mr. Briney, probably to ask him questions. I leaned back against the railing, staring out at Gyarados as he swam around. He was keeping pace with the ship and must be enjoying the fuck out of being free. So maybe he wasn't so bad. Maybe he thought me keeping him in the ball was some kind of punishment.
Maybe that ship heading towards us wasn't a Team Aqua ship. What?
I perked up, staring out at the ship. It kept its distance but sure as shit, they were observing us. The Aqua bone A was painted on the hull. I saw a flash of light from the boat. They had binoculars or something.
"Thalia!" I raised my voice.
"What now!?" she yelled back. Lovely girl.
"We got Aqua!" I answered. The words that Thalia uttered I'd rather not repeat.
"Sic Gyarados on em!" she yelled. I turned and she had a hand on her hip, ready to draw Pokemon. True, sic'ing Gyarados on em would be a good idea. But…
"Gyarados!" I yelled out. He was just rising from the waters and turned to me.
That was fuck up number 1.
A black fin appeared from the water, screaming towards Gyarados. It parted the water like a knife. My yelling distracted Gyarados enough for the fin to sneak up on him and the attached Pokemon leapt out, nailing Gyarados in the face and disappearing underwater so fast it was just a black blur.
"What was that!?" I gripped the railing. Gyarados looked around, angry now.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he roared at the water as two black fins shot up from either side.
"Gyarados!" I yelled "Get underwater and over here!" I yelled. Gyarados dove underwater and started swimming to me as the black fins shot past each other, but curved around and aimed at Gyarados.
"Damn it!" I heard Thalia yell behind me. I just needed Gyarados close enough. He was swimming fast but those fins were closing in much faster. Closer, closer… the fins dipped underwater right as they neared Gyarados. Then Gyarados shot up, roaring loudly as two black and white fish Pokemon were attached to him but sharp teeth. They held on despite his scales as Gyarados tried spinning in mid-air to dislodge them. I'll be the first to admit that was one of the most badass and majestic things I've ever seen in my entire life and ever will see.
As Gyarados spun he dislodged them both, sending one to smack right into the railings face-first with a loud pang before splashing into the ocean. The second one flew off but landed in the sea and swam around. The one that hit the railings was floating in the water, the metal bars still vibrating from the impact. Gyarados crashed into the water and I felt him swim under the boat since he went straight for the incapacitated Pokemon. While it was floating I scanned it.
Sharpedo: The Brutal Pokemon. The vicious and sly gangster of the sea. Its skin is specially textured to minimize drag in water. Its speed tops out at over 75 miles per hour. Well that news isn't the best.
"They got Sharpedos!" I yelled. Thalia cursed vulgarly again.
"Motherfucker! I hate it when we're on their turf!" I turned and Thalia just stood there, looking pissed.
"Mr. Briney!" I yelled "You have binoculars or a telescope?" Mr. Briney reached under his dash and pulled a pair of binoculars. Thalia grabbed them and tossed them to me. I caught them, heavy pair, must be expensive, and put them to my eyes. I saw the boat with Aqua members on it. They had different outfits from before. A guy had the bandanna but it was black. His shirt was blue and white striped horizontally and went down to his legs. Must be a wetsuit. He had loose jeans over them that were torn up to mid shin. His female companion wore a similar get up but her top stopped above the stomach and had blue armbands on her upper arms. Her legs had the rest of the wetsuit thing going on with shorts torn so they were short shorts. They both looked angry.
"Well!?" Thalia yelled.
"Two of em! Guy and a girl!" I kept watching and the girl was yelling something, binocs in her hand. She yelled at the guy and he looked like it was grating him. Serves you bastards right for attacking Gyarados. Then the guy turned the wheel and the boat started heading… towards us. "Get ready!" I yelled, pulling the binoculars down. "They're headed to us!" I looked and that Sharpedo was still floating there, unconscious. They were at least coming to retrieve it. The boat sped more towards us.
"Damn those Aqua assholes!" Thalia yelled while running at the railing.
"What are you-" she stopped and opened her Pokeball.
"Zubat!" out of the ball came little Zubat from yesterday. "Go over to that boat and annoy the hell out of em!" Zubat flapped vigorously and made his way to the Aqua boat. I held up the binoculars and watched as the girl kept swatting at Zubat as he dove around them, flapping in her face.
"Nice one you got there. He's just like you." I commented.
"Yeah. Caught him when…" I could practically hear the clicks in her neck as she slowly turned to me. "Shut up." The boat was still drawing near as Mr. Briney wasn't going too fast.
"Anyway, go tell Mr. Briney that we need-" boom! From behind us where the Sharpedo was, Gyarados shot out, head-butting the unconscious shark out of the water and through the air, on a direct course for… oh my Arceus I love this serpent. Zubat flew out of the way of a slap just in time as the Sharpedo landed on their deck with a wet thump. It was great, the girl was freaking out. She returned her Sharpedo quickly but still, it was funny. Gyarados roared but was cut short when the other Sharpedo jumped out of the water and bit him, the force of the impact sending both into the water.
"Arceus, that was great!" Thalia cackled. But then Gyarados shot up in front of us, the Sharpedo latched on for the long run, as they both crashed into the waves. I needed to do something. But none of my other Pokemon were water types. And the Aqua boat was closing in. Hm.
"We need to deal with that Sharpedo." I said, looking at the water, which was being disturbed by the struggle below.
"Yeah, Gyarados is putting up a fight. But that Sharpedo's obviously experienced." Thalia sounded grimmer now. That was a bad sign. Damn. Now the rumbling of the Aqua boat was audible and the people yelling over Zubat as well. Hm. What can I do? Totodile wouldn't be able to help, neither would Torchic or Aron. Not against that Sharpedo.
"Oi!" I heard. I turned my head and saw the Aqua girl with her hands around her mouth. "Stop the boat in the name of Team Aqua!" Thalia opened her mouth but I opened mine first.
"How about you get your Sharpedo off my Gyarados you cunt!" I yelled back. Juvenile, yes. But satisfying? Oh her face of rage made it worth it.
"How about you just give us what you've got!" she yelled back.
"Shut your cunt mouth and piss off!" Thalia screamed. "Aqua assholes!" the girls face got darker.
"Magma slut!" she yelled.
"Okay, for serious, is that you team girls ever call each other?" I asked Thalia and she glared at me.
"The fuck else am I supposed to call her?" Thalia asked genuinely. She hefted a Pokeball. "Just gotta wait til they're close enough." Thalia muttered. It hit me. Of course!
"Thalia, I've got a plan!" I grabbed her arm. "It'll let all our Pokemon help and I'll help Gyarados!" I said excitedly as Gyarados and his attached Sharpedo leapt out of the water again. Gyarados looked tired, he wasn't used to fighting and thrashing about. But his still looked pissed and that's all I needed.
"So what's the plan, whitey?" Whitey?
"Whitey?" I asked. Thalia smirked.
"White hair bro." oh.
"My plan is this." I explained it to her. Her face went from smug to confused as I detailed my short plan.
"Are you stupid?" she asked. "You'll get your ass killed." I smiled. I liked doing stupid shit like this sometimes. I took off my backpack and all electronics. Didn't wanna ruin them. I handed my Pokeballs to Thalia.
"Of course." I called my three Pokemon over. I crouched down and gave them the gist. "Basically you guys listen to Thalia here while I'm doing something else. Got it?" they nodded and Aron gave me another nudge.
"Brrreeeeewwww." Cute little guy. Wonder what he'll evolve into.
"Well right, it's settled. I'm gonna help out our resident Gyarados." I smiled.
"They're coming up on us!" excellent.
"Go guys." I stood and they went to Thalia's feet. I went over to the bow of the boat and I waited. It might happen, it might not. But I hoped-
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gyarados shot up and stayed above water, the Sharpedo still latched on, to the top. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. I backed up, crouched and waited until the boat had gotten close enough. Gyarados even dipped to try and shake off the shark. Perfect.
"AAAAAHHHH!" I screamed as I ran, leaping up onto the railing with my right foot and propelling off of it, onto Gyarados' back. I landed hard and had to grab a scale to hold on, which made Gyarados roar. I pulled myself up onto his neck slowly as he thrashed around. The Sharpedo was holding on with a vengeance. Here goes nothing.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!" Gyarados roared as I ran up his neck.
"Hey shark!" I yelled, making one of Sharpedos' eyes look right at me. I raised my fist. "Get off my Pokemon!" I threw the punch, hitting the beast right under its eye. It felt like hitting a soft but sharp wall of meat. I pulled away my hand, noticing the many little scarped I had on my fingers due to his skin. Sharpedo held on though. "Though that'd work." I commented. I had hoped for that typical show trope of the adrenaline helping me out. Time for Plan B. I ran at Sharpedo again, a few steps, but this time I grabbed it in a full body hug, putting all my weight into it.
Miraculously, I tore the thing off of Gyarados and fell through the air, punching it as much as I could as we crashed into the ocean. I held on to its nose and kept punching as much as I could under water, but it made my movements sluggish. But I wasn't letting go. The Sharpedo shook around, trying to dislodge me as I punched its nose. This is what you get you piece of shit! I kept up the assault on its nose until Sharpedo shook hard to one side, then the other, pushing me off. It jetted away a distance before circling around and coming at me, mouth wide open. I swallowed as much as I could in the murky water. My eyes stung like hell and my lungs hurt from holding my breath and my hand stung from the scrapes that bled into the water. This was so stupid. Sharpedo closed in and- fwoosh! Out of nowhere something grabbed Sharpedo and shot up to the surface before crashing down again. My vision was getting dark, I let out my breath, my lungs finally getting to relax as I tried not to inhale. I floated there, out of energy, waiting for the ocean to take me until I felt something under me, lifting me slowly up through the water until we broke the surface.
"Ghyaaaa!" I inhaled loudly, the oxygen burning my lungs for a second before going back to normal. I coughed violently, my chest heaving as I turned over onto my hands and knees. I saw light blue under me. Blue? I raised my head and saw that the blue was long. Wait. I turned around into a sitting position and saw Gyarados's crest.
Gyarados? He turned to the boat and went towards it where Mr. Briney had stopped. Thalia looked surprised but the sun was bright so I couldn't get a good glimpse. Gyarados lowered his head and I sorta stood sorta tumbled off his head and onto the deck where Thalia caught me.
"You fucking moron." She said. Lovely girl.
"What…" I panted. "can I say?" I took deep breaths and doubled over. Thalia held onto me so I didn't pass out.
"Well it was idiotic. But it seems to have worked. Take a look." She turned me and I saw the Aqua boat capsized, the two Aqua members attempting to climb on it. "Thank Gyarados. When you fell with the Sharpedo he went back under and came back up and threw it at them. Then he fucking rammed their boat until it tipped." Thalia chuckled. I chuckled too but my chest hurt.
"I…. need…. Rest…" I panted and Thalia grunted.
"Yeah, come on big guy." She put an arm around me and took me down to the beds. I got water everywhere.
"I'mma… just take this off." I said, unzipping my soaked jacket and letting it fall.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning." Thalia retorted angrily, but I heard her footsteps leave before she did anything. I did strip down to my boxers and grabbed a towel, drying myself off as much as I could before taking those off. I grabbed a fresh pair from by backpack, which Thalia had tossed down here before I got back. I slid them on and fell onto my bunk, promptly falling asleep.
6 Years Ago
"Come on dude!" a young Brendan egged Ethan on. They sat in front of his parent's computer, the search engine up, ready to explore the internet.
However despite Ethan's curiosity, he was reluctant. His small fingers hovered over the keyboard nervously. Brendan, who'd generously lent him the chair, was growing irritated.
"But… what if we get caught?" Ethan wondered aloud, concerned. Brendan rolled his eyes. They were 12, not like much was gonna happen.
"So what? We get yelled at. But my parents are away for a couple days and my babysitter is asleep." She'd drunken herself into that sleep but Brendan never sweated the details. He only sweated Ethan's hesitance. "So go on, type." He pointed to the monitor.
"Okay…" Ethan slowly typed the words and they appeared in the search bar: Big boobied ladies. Ethan pressed enter and the images popped up onscreen, showing various women with large breasts. "Whoa." Ethan was suddenly enthralled, almost awestruck.
"Oh yeah." Brendan smiled. He grabbed a chair and sat while Ethan scrolled through the images. They stared at the screen until their eyes hurt. And then they wanted to search more.
"What now?" Ethan asked, curious. Brendan smiled. As long as you got Ethan to actually do something, he got into it. The issue was making the horse drink, so to speak.
"Here." Brendan reached over and typed in vaginas and hit enter. They were greeted with the most taboo part of the female anatomy and enjoyed the sight. "Beautiful, eh?" Brendan cracked his 12 year old knuckles. He was enjoying every bit of- the door opened and they heard footsteps.
"Guys?" they heard a girl call out. It was Krys. Ethan's face went from happy to stunned to scared to frightened in about a second and a half.
"Nononononononononononononononono!" Ethan frantically grabbed the mouse and tried clicking the X button in the right corner, missing it several times, more times than Ethan would later admit, but he finally got it closed just before Krys walked in. She wore a simple blue t-shirt with a little blue plaid skirt that went to mid-thigh.
"Hi guys." She greeted, smiling. Then she noticed Ethan, who was still staring at the desktop, sweating. Brendan had faced her, hand raised in friendly greeting while Ethan was still facing the computer as if it was the light of Arceus himself. Krys looked at Ethan, confused. "What's with him?" she jerked her thumb at the seemingly catatonic Ethan. Brendan shrugged.
"I dunno, I let him on the computer." Suddenly Ethan straightened up and turned to Krys.
"H-hey Krys, how's it going?" he asked nervously, chuckling nervously too. Krys just stared at him skeptically.
"Uh huh." She turned to Brendan. "So what are you two doing for the rest of the day?" she smiled as she usually did. Ethan turned red and lowered his head.
"Well…" Brendan put a hand to his chin. "We weren't doing much of anything really. Why?" he leaned back in his chair as Ethan's head finally rose a tad. Seriously, he wasn't going to get anywhere with Krys acting like that. Krys smiled.
"Wanna go to the park and hang out?" she asked excitedly. Ethan actually perked up.
"Yeah, sure!" he smiled. Brendan smiled as well, but more for Ethan actually saying something. Good on ya Ethan. Ethan slid from the chair and Brendan followed suit. They walked down stairs and Krys pointed to Brendan's babysitter.
"You know she's passed out drunk in the early afternoon right?" she turned and Brendan scoffed.
"She's like that all the time. I'll just leave a note, but we'll be back before she wakes up." Brendan went to his kitchen and scrawled on a piece of paper about how he'd be back and left it on the table. He rejoined Krys and Ethan as Krys stared at him, eyebrow raised.
"I thought you'd grab a sneaky squeeze in." she commented dryly. Brendan rolled his eyes.
"Krys I'm not a pervert 24/7."
"You are."
"No I'm not." Brendan sighed. "But I did that when she first started, I'm satisfied." He started past her and opened the door, walking out.
"And how long did that la-" Krys started before Brendan turned back and glared at her. Krys laughed at his reaction. "Dude I'm just bustin your chops."
"What's that?" Brendan asked, having never heard the phrase before.
"Well" Ethan replied "it's basically teasing you about your faults." He scratched the back of his head.
"Oh." Brendan shrugged his shoulders. "Well then let's get to the park."
New Bark town wasn't very large but it contained houses sparsely separated and a park nearby the small library with a nice fountain. The trio went there, a short walk, and found the usual ice cream vendor, sitting at his shaded table. They all made sure they had their money beforehand. Ethan, in his panic from earlier, had forgotten if he had any.
"Well then I guess you're not getting any." Krys smiled sadistically as she watched Ethan pat his pockets frantically.
"It's here somewhere…" he said, getting nervous as he shoved his hands in his pockets, his shorts containing too many of the things.
"Still comfy and easy to wear?" Krys teased and Ethan looked at her, at first to glare, but his face became surprised as he pulled out a few bills.
"Aha!" he crushed the paper in his hands and smiled. "Told you!" he readjusted his cap and he followed Brendan and Krys to the ice cream vendor, who greeted them warmly.
"Oh, you three again!" he was middle aged, short brown hair under a white cap with a white t-shirt and beige pants. His kids were off in the world and he needed something to get him out of the house or else his wife would yell. She was nice enough but having no kids around, she had once said, gave her no one to yell at.
"The usual John!" Brendan started at the images of character themed popsicles. But these three never cared for those ones much, they liked a single flavour. John reached under the table and handed the three the vanilla/chocolate marble popsicles. John made them, and a few others, himself and he always kept three for the trio. They each paid the man and thanked him before going over to the fountain and plopping down on the edge.
"It's always nice on a day like this." Brendan immediately bit a nice chunk of popsicle off the top, regretting it right away as his teeth suddenly felt like they had been set on fire. He quickly swallowed the hard ice cream and kept his mouth shut to warm his teeth up. Ethan and Krys, to his left, laughed at his pain as they always did.
"Dude, you do realise that your teeth are sensitive right?" Krys asked, still giggling.
"I know that but..." Brendan stared at what was the bane of his dental records. "I just like taking a big bite first, y'know?" He looked at his friends and they nodded.
"That's because you're headstrong." Ethan said. "You always go for offence in our games." He took a few licks of his popsicle before using his lips to bite the weakened bit off and swallowing it. Brendan sighed.
"And you always think everything through." He relented.
"Doesn't mean I'm smart." Ethan sighed, staring at his treat as if it had all the answers. Both of them received a hit on the shoulder from Krys, Ethan getting some ice cream on his shoulder. "Hey!" he said "That's cold!" Krys smiled.
"You two have to realise you can't be everything." She said, comfortingly. "I mean we're gonna be good at something but not everything." She said, spreading her arms out.
"Yeah." Brendan smiled. "Like closing out computer screens." His smile only widened when Ethan became stiff and his head plummeted straight into his chest out of embarrassment.
"What are you talking about?" Krys asked, looking at Brendan, whose smile was wide and sadistic. He chuckled.
"Oh nothing Krys." He went back to licking his ice cream treat. "Just something I've seen." She stared off at the woods that surrounded half the park. Krys raised an eyebrow at Brendan and went back to eating her ice cream as well. Ethan was stiff until he finally got around to finishing his popsicle along with Brendan and Krys, eating until they each had a stick in their hands.
"Another for the collection." Ethan mused, they collected each stick to keep memories or something, and Brendan just went along with it. Krys bothered to date each stick and that was fine. He remembered their time together anyway, stick or no stick.
"Mommy!" Brendan looked up and saw a kid was reaching out to a balloon he'd gotten, without helium, was carried by a breeze over to them. The breeze gave out and the balloon landed right in front of Krys. She get off the fountain and bent over without bending her knees revealing… huh.
Brendan raised an eyebrow and looked at Ethan, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Brendan smiled as Krys gave the balloon back to the boy and sat back down with a sigh.
"Kids are cute." She lamented. "I want one or two when I'm older."
"You hear that Ethan?" Brendan said with a smile "You'll have your work cut out for you when you're older." Brendan's pleasure grew as both Krys and Ethan's faced turned a shade of red he thought impossible. They liked each other so much they were both too nervous. Brendan could get them together but… he wanted to milk the joke opportunities for all he could. A fact Ethan would later dislike, but Krys got a laugh out of.
"You're so mean." Krys said, her face still red.
"Relax" Brendan said still chuckling. "We've got time to worry about that later. For now, I just wanna sit here with you guys." Brendan felt that the moment had gotten really cheesy but that's what happen with friends, things get silly and corny like that.
At least he was having fun.
Present Day
"Damn it!" a fist slammed against the console, the owner shaking with fury. Maxie stared at the screen, a projection of the entire Hoenn Region. Team Aqua was pushing them back, deeper inland. Their territory, yes, but home field advantage wasn't always present or even half decent. He scanned the screen over and over, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to figure something out. Reports were scrolling on a screen to his right, various squads of Magma Grunts were reporting defeats and victories, but the former was more present. Defeat, defeat, DEFEAT!
"I will not lose to that water loving buffoon!" Maxie growled at the screen. He tried formulating a plan but his mind was bent on fury. Deep breaths Maxie, deep breaths. He inhaled through his mouth and out his nose, slowly. He felt his pulse slow down, his body temperature cool down, and his rage subside, for now.
"Excuse me sir." A cool, female voice asked behind him in monotone. Maxie turned and saw his two Admins standing there. The girl was somewhat tall and slender, her red hood covering most of her purple hair, bur her purple eyes were blank, emotionless. As was her face. Her hood had yellow horns on it and was a part of her sweater-dress that went to mid-thigh. Courtney.
"What is it?" Maxie asked. She checked a data pad she had on her.
"I've gotten reports of Aqua making a break for the Weather Institute, I believe it would be prudent to intercept them and figure out their plans, such as they are." She replied in monotone.
"Possible, but we're stretched thin as it is. Tabitha, what's you're report?" Maxie turns his gaze to his male Admin, despite the name. Tabitha was a pudgy guy, stout and short. He wore a Magma coat with pants, tailored to suit him. His head held short black hair, a constant sneer, and a devious brain. Maxie was sure Tabitha was almost as smart as him.
"We've found the meteorite sir!" he reported happily. "We can begin our project with Mt. Chimney as soon as you're ready!" Tabitha's sneer seemed somewhat genuine now.
"Excellent." Maxie turned back to the screen and stared. The Weather Institute was so far neutral territory. If Aqua made a dash there, Maxie could have an elite ambush set up, he was closer than Aqua's squad that was snaking its way around. This wasn't like Archie, to use tact. He was boastful, brash, brutish. Maxie was worried, but he had the foundation for a plan now that Tabitha had recovered the meteorite.
"Courtney, you're taking a squad of yourself plus nine more to the Weather Institute and intercept team Aqua, take the people there as hostages if need be. Aqua may need them if Archie's going for them." Maxie turned back around. "Tabitha you'll remain here with me, we need to get the machine up and running, is that clear?" both Admins saluted and replied
"Yes Maxie." Maxie's frown lessened. Slightly.
"Good. Now go." Tabitha and Courtney turned and left Maxie's control room as he turned to stare at the screen again. "What are you planning, Archie?" he mused.
A/N: Welp that took a bit longer than I thought buuuuuut I had a couple hiccups in days where I had plans and had to miss out on writing. I'm curious as to one thing: should I do anymore flashbacks to Brendan's youth, should I go with the third-person perspective or keep it first person? I kinda keep the first-person perspective with current Brendan but I wanna know if you guys think it should extend to his younger self. Also to note Courtney doesn't actually appear in Emerald but I decided that since she's a combination of Yuki Nagato and a very sedated and toned down Yuno Gasai, I had to include her. Anyway, tell me what you guys think and be ready for the next chapter!