"Manifest Destiny
Is just a fancy word for murder
I've got this feeling
It's gonna stop"
—"Lotus" from Cage the Elephant by Cage the Elephant
An explosive CRACK ripped Codi out of her 'nap' with a yelp. She jerked around in the water, looking around to find where the explosion came from. No, wait, where was she? Why was the sun about to set?!
Right, Lively Town. Where would that sound have come from, though? She spun around to face the beach and got an answer that made her wish she hadn't made a sound. Right there on the beach, she saw an excadril with a collar on—soldier. What was a soldier doing there?! Were they after her? No, there was no way they knew she was there.
Then, Excadril hoisted a pikachu with a purple scarf up by her throat, and Codi's heart stopped. There wasn't any way. Yet there, at the end of her limp tail, was a black heart. It was Max. She was gasping for air.
"Look at you, little rat" Excadril hissed. "Empty black Tar of Taint in your eyes." He opened the clasps on the straps of her bag and let it fall while Max failed to get a grip on the claw at her throat. Codi was floating closer without thinking about it. "That's in fine enough condition for the next recruit." Saying Max of all pokémon had Taint in her eyes didn't make sense. Codi had to see for herself.
Before she got a chance, Excadril squeezed his claw around Max's throat, whispering, "Ever heard of a carotid artery?" Max's paws fell limp by her side. Excadril slammed her into the ground. She looked lifeless.
"P-Pika," Max whimpered. Codi's blood ran cold. Tainted speech, but how? Why would a human have instincts at all?! Some stupid hero she was! Emphasis on the past tense, as it seemed. Codi would've scoffed if it didn't risk blowing her cover.
After Max started writhing on the ground again, Excadril held her down with one claw while the other traced down her form. Max flinched away from his touch without any strength left. She was helpless. Codi got a quick glimpse of her eyes while they were still open. Tainted. How fitting. It was only fair that she suffered the same fate that doomed Mom. Now, she was about to die to the Expedition Society's paws just like her, too.
Just like Mom.
Weak, helpless, with no one else in sight. No one. Max had no one. She had a team, usually. In that moment, it was just her and the person killing her.
Excadril reeled his claw back and drove it into the ground beneath Max's neck, leaving a slick stain of blood in her scarf as Codi tackled her out of Excadril's hold, the claw slicing down the side of Max's neck instead of through it.
Codi held Max tight as they rolled, putting a paw to the pikachu's now bare, bleeding neck. A pulse. It was faint, but it was there.
"WHAT do you think you're doing?!" Excadril barked. In all honesty, Codi had no idea what she was doing. "Do you know who that is, Private?!" He took a hard step forward, ground trembling beneath his paws. "You better have orders directly from Fara for what you're doing, or your pelt is mine."
"I do!" Codi said. She hopped up to throw her paws up, Max falling to the beach like a bag of soggy sand. Excadril tilted his head with narrowed, bored eyes. "Um." She didn't have anything, but that was fine. She'd just go with the first thing that came to mind. She'd think up something. "The orders are behind you."
Excadril's eyes narrowed even further. Codi shrugged. Worth a shot.
Excadril twitched and Codi blasted him with a stream of water that entirely eclipsed his form. The force sent Codi skidding through the sand until her back hit the seawall. After the hydro pump finished, there was no remaining trace of Excadril on shore. Far in the distance, a fountain of water shot out of the ocean with a splash.
Excadril was a steel type. His bones are made of metal. He was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He was going to drown.
This bothered Codi less than she expected.
Codi dropped down and got a hold of Max. What was she doing? Why did she do this? What was she doing? Max's pulse was still weak. It felt weaker. She was still bleeding from her neck.
Since she only had food in her bag, Codi ran over to Max's, throwing the scarf out of the way. She dug through it for a second before cutting her losses and bringing it over. She didn't have any bandages or first aid equipment, but she had a few orans. Would those be fast enough? She shoved one into Max's mouth and kept looking without any idea why she was helping this stupid fucking human.
"Not even a sitrus? Really?!" Codi barked. She doubted that would even be faster than an oran, but it'd be something. Right before she gave up, she felt her paw graze a seed. Seeds. Bingo. Codi yanked the seed out with fervor, but her heart sank when she got a better look. It was dark and burnt. Blast seed.
That's fine, this was fine. There were at least ten other seeds in there, and keeping that many blast seeds bundled up in your bag like that was beyond dangerous. No one competent would do that, and certainly no human would be so poorly organized. She tossed the seed behind her and reached for another without a second thought.
Unsurprisingly, the blast seed blasted. It sent a storm of sand showering over the both of them, so she threw the next blast seed further. This time, it exploded without bothering her in her very intense duty. Max had to have more than blast seeds. Had to.
After the ninth explosion, Codi was having her doubts.
"WHY WOULD YOU HAVE THIS MANY BLAST SEEDS?! SEASONING?!" Codi screamed. She barely even looked at the next seed before throwing it back. She braced for the explosion as she dug in for the next seed and heard nothing but silence. That seed didn't go off. It didn't blast. She threw away the only non-blast seed.
"Stupid fucking human," Codi barked as she ran to what had become Ground Zero of an all out aerial blitz of blast seeds. It was well on its way to becoming a glass beach. One speck stood out among the rest, though.
Codi snatched the seed and chucked it at Max. With perfect aim, she watched it sail through the air and hit Max right between the legs.
At least she was unconscious. And a girl.
The seed burst into an explosion of light that engulfed Max. Codi yelped in terror, worried she might've thrown another blast seed after all, but the light faded. Codi ran over, and Max started ever so gradually rousing. Codi slid through the sand as she tried to stop the last yard, sending a heap of it right onto Max's face.
Max shook her face off, and her eyes opened. They looked unfocused, dazed, but Codi didn't see any Taint. They looked like any other pikachu's eyes. Well, almost. It was subtle, but they looked blue instead of brown. Humans really didn't know what pokémon looked like, did they? Now that she wasn't panicking, Codi noticed that she seemed a bit short, too.
Max's bleary eyes scanned above her a few times before landing on Codi. She stared up at her for a while before bringing her paws up to rub her eyes. She looked again with slightly wider eyes that she immediately squinted.
"Cori?" Max said. Codi flinched at the bizarrely accurate guess. The motion made her tags jingle, though, and she realized Max must have been reading her tags.
Max. This was. This was really Max.
"C-Codi," Codi said. She dropped down and helped Max up while her mind raced. She'd spent the past week wanting to find Max. All this time, she figured she'd know what to do when they met. Instead, she was equally as uncertain about it all and Max was right in front of her. The human. Max. The human turned pikachu who sat back and let her Mom die.
"H-hi," Max groaned. Her paw went to her neck, and she stiffened. Right when Codi felt like she knew what she should say, she heard a violently loud smack, and Max disappeared from view.
The back of Codi's left paw hurt, too. Whatever hit Max must've hit her, too—oh that was odd. Why did she have her paw open and extended to her left? She turned to look at it and saw Max rolling towards the ocean. Codi's paw seemed to point in the general trajectory, too.
Oh. Oh. She'd slapped the bitch across the face. That probably wasn't a very good first impression.
"MAX WAIT!" Codi shouted at the limp mouse tumbling into the shallow waves. The instant Max's fur splashed into the water, she shot up to her paws and scurried away from it. She must not know how to swim. Codi ran over to her.
Max stopped backing away from the water and looked up at her with scared, empty eyes. Codi froze in place. She'd seen those eyes before.
They were just like her Mom's.
"K-Ka pi chu pi chu?" Max whimpered. She wasn't backing away, though. She stood there, shivering, while staring up at Codi. "Kapi?" Codi could tell she was trying to talk, but she couldn't understand a word. Codi couldn't look away from her eyes. They weren't empty, but only just barely. It felt like she knew who she was looking at—well, of course she knew. No one else was around, so she knew Codi was the one who hit her.
Why could Codi feel betrayal in her eyes?
"Sorry?" Codi said. Max shook her head, but stiffened. Her paw went to her neck again, and she stiffened again. She finally started to intermittently take her eyes off Codi to look behind her. She tried to take a timid step forward, followed by several steps back as she shook her head. Codi turned and saw her bag.
Of course, she wanted her stuff. "Oh, here," Codi said, keeping her voice low and sweet despite a building rage. She wanted to hate this bitch, but that was impossible when she looked so pitiful, helpless, reminding her…
Codi grabbed her bag and heard Max scurry behind her in a break-neck sprint. She jerked around, bag in her paw, and saw Max melting into the scarf she'd just put back on. "Oh, the scarf?" Codi mumbled. She shut the bag up and gently set it down. It was hard not to watch Max clutching that scarf like a security blanket. She looked a bit cute, in a fucked up feral kinda way.
"HEY ASSHOLE!" someone screamed. Codi turned just in time to see a cyndaquil engulfed in electricity slam into her. He slammed his paws into her while Codi slid back from the impact until she grabbed hold of both of his arms.
Codi dropped down and rammed her shoulder into Cyndaquil's stomach to pick him up and throw him into the sand. She slammed on top of him and held both arms to keep him from attacking. Despite the continuing crackles of electricity, she didn't have any trouble keeping him down as she pulled her muzzle up and blasted him with a point blank hydro pump.
The ongoing stream of water dug into the sand like a hot knife through butter, digging itself a trough that used the water's momentum to pelt Cyndaquil's back as well. Codi stopped the blast once his struggling had weakened. She hopped off him and chucked the wet rag into the ocean.
A storm of leaves hit her from the same side Cyndaquil had come from. She blocked the blast with an arm. Once the attack dissipated, she saw a charmander aiming a wand at her. He had more ripped and bruised scales than healthy, barely able to stand on his own, but his eyes blazed with rage. His tail burned white hot while smoke smoldered up from the wand in his paw.
"Get. Away. From her," Charmander hissed out. He looked like he barely had the energy to speak. He should've been a breeze to take on, but Codi could tell he wouldn't give up on a fight until his heart did. Codi pulled her paws in a fighting stance, already sizing up how to do exactly that.
A concentrated stream shot down the center of the wand. Before Charmander could pull his paw back, water had already cut a fresh wound into his paw. He shook it once and sent a sprinkle of blood into the sand before reaching into his bag again.
Splashes smacked out of the water on her right. She turned to see Cyndaquil barreling towards her engulfed in lightning again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Charmander chuck something right for her. They wanted to surround her, then, that made sense. They were feisty, but that didn't change typing, and they were clearly fresh from a close fight. Codi wasn't worried.
Since he looked like he'd make it first, Codi turned to intercept Cyndaquil. She leapt toward him with another hydro pump ready, the explosion of the blast seed helping to propel her forward.
Max slammed her fist into Cyndaquil and sent him skidding through the sand. Codi jerked back in surprise, choking the hydro pump back as she landed a yard away from Max. Max closed the distance in an instant and threw herself in front of Codi, holding her tail up like an aegislash's shield. With a quick, thin bolt, she shocked a blast seed between her and Charmander out of the air.
"Um." Codi mumbled. "What?"
"Pika, chu!" Max shouted at the other two. Her breath was even more ragged than Charmander. The shout alone looked like it might make her collapse. Codi didn't expect backup, and she certainly didn't expect it from Max, but it made her life easier. Max glanced back at her, and Codi caught a glance at her eyes.
Still Tainted. Now, instead of betrayed, she looked terrified. No, that wasn't quite right. She looked worried. Codi didn't get a chance at a good look before Max turned to glare at Cyndaquil.
"Chuuuuu," she growled. Codi could feel her pulling in a charge all around them. She was surprised no stray shocks hit her.
The surprise finally set into Codi enough to shake herself out of combat. Thoughts of how easily she could've killed both of them lingered in her head. For the first time in a while, she could taste bile trying to escape her stomach. She hoped no one noticed while she tried to figure out what.
The FUCK was going on.
"Max, what are you doing?" Charmander asked. His good paw clutched the other, blood still dripping down both. He had a scarf on, too. The same as Max's. These were her teammates, then. "Totodile's trying to kill us!"
"No, wait!" Codi said, throwing her paws up. "I'm-"
Max hopped up and caught a blast seed in her paw, spinning in the air to throw it back at Cyndaquil. The blast sent him skidding back. Once she landed, Max dropped to all fours and ran to her bag, chucking it up at Codi. Codi caught it on instinct. Before Codi could ask a single question, Max had yanked her onto her back like a ponyta.
"W-what, MAX!" Codi shouted. "What are you doing?!" She turned to see Charmander, bent over Cyndaquil, staring at the two of them in awe. Not sure what else to say, and certain she had no chance to explain anything, Codi shouted, "H-help!" as they disappeared around the bend.
Codi started to wonder if this counted as kidnapping when Max started leaping up a set of stairs, forcing her to clutch tighter. Max stumbled a moment at the top with a whimper. She gasped in air while shaking her head and started running again. Of course she was exhausted—Codi had to weigh at least twice her weight. Standing at all would've been impressive, not to mention how injured she clearly was.
Max darted around corner after corner and gave Codi no time to adjust to a direction before shooting in another. She went around in a random path that crossed over itself constantly. Codi had to assume it was prey-instincts, but that only made it stranger that she was carrying a predator on her back.
Max's steps continued to falter more and more as she refused to slow down. Even when she started to limp on her right forepaw, she seemed determined to keep pace. Finally, she darted up to a building's door.
Squeaking out gasps for air, she started shaking Codi off. Already barely able to stay standing under the weight, she couldn't do more than wriggle, but Codi got the message. When she hopped off, Max rushed behind and started pushing her into the door with her head, wobbling more than she was walking. Even while gasping for air, she shoved Codi hard enough to make her stumble.
"Okay, okay!" Codi barked. Tucking Max's bag under her arm, she shoved the door open and went through. She glanced over her shoulder before letting go of the door and watched Max breathlessly amble through.
Max's limp got significantly worse with the slower pace. She winced and whimpered every time she had to put her weight on her right foreleg. Her tail flagged behind her, barely able to stay up off the ground. She took barely three steps inside before collapsing. Codi had to pull Max's tail the rest of the way in for her before letting the door close. When it did, Codi collapsed against it and slid down to sit, sliding her bag to the ground with a thump.
Well, she found Max. Apparently, she'd even convinced her to betray her own team. The way she'd thrown herself in the way of her own teammates' attacks sent a familiar chill down Codi's back.
Her Mom did the same thing her first episode. It had been in the middle of the market, a completely normal day. One minute, Codi was walking happily along with a basket, helping carry as much food as she could. Then, Mom had started digging into a vendor's wares like a starving animal. When they tried to stop her, she'd wrapped protectively around Codi, hissing at anyone who dared come near.
Protect your young, it was a fairly simple instinct. It made sense. The memory dropped Codi's stomach out from under her, but she couldn't shove it out of her mind. She needed to figure out what was going on with Max. Surely, she didn't think Codi was her own young.
"Kachu pi," Max squeaked between gasps. Codi jerked out of her thoughts while Max pulled her bag out of Codi's lap. She threw it open and tossed it on the ground to dive into it face first as she rooted through it.
Codi clenched her paws into fists. It felt intentional, like Max was mocking Mom. These ridiculous mannerisms, acting like some wild animal—as if a human could even have instincts. It made Codi sick. Max couldn't save Mom, so what gave her the right? The right to what, Codi didn't know, but it felt so disgustingly wrong. This selfish, fame obsessed little rat playing sick for pity.
"Pi," Max said, nudging something rubbery into Codi's paw. She glanced pleadingly up at her with frequent glances to the injuries all over Codi. Codi let her put the oran in her paw with a confused look. Max whimpered, nudging Codi's paw up to her mouth. Codi started to acquiesce, but even this amount of effort looked painful for Max.
"Hold on!" Codi barked, jerking her paw out of Max's grasp. "You need this more." She shoved it towards her, but Max yelped and flinched away, pulling her tail up to hide behind.
Codi tilted her head and stared. She had no idea what that reaction was about until she saw Max peeking an eye out from behind her tail to keep close watch on Codi's paws. She must've remembered Codi hitting her. Yet, despite that, she still seemed desperate to help Codi over even her own teammates.
Max hobbled over, still hiding behind her tail. She peeked out from behind it to look at her with that same pleading gaze and nudged Codi's paw with her tail. Exhausted, Codi finally acquiesced. Max squeaked out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks," Codi mumbled. She had no idea if Max even understood her, but she remembered Mom appreciated it when she talked normally during her episodes.
No matter what, Mom kept coming to mind. Codi chomped down the rest of the oran to give her maw something to chomp on. She didn't think anything of it until Max whimpered and cowered away. Right, prey. Great. She couldn't even eat normally around the mouse.
Codi slowed her chewing and gave Max an exasperated smile. "Sorry," she said. Max relaxed a bit, but didn't take her eyes off Codi's many, sharp teeth. After staring for a few seconds, Max slowly limped over to her bag with her eyes still glued on Codi's muzzle. If it was this horrifying for her to be in the same room as a predator, Codi had to wonder why she had a Charmander as a teammate.
Max bent down and chomped up an oran that had rolled out of her bag. With one more worried glance at Codi, she dove into her bag again. After just a few seconds, though, she pulled her head out with a whine. She couldn't even stand on all fours without wobbling.
And this, this, was the hero that was to stop Fara.
Codi shook her head. Max couldn't even stop herself from squeaking. This, this, was the hero everyone had their faith in? Really?! She was no different from any other pokémon. The only difference from any other pikachu was the weird colored eyes and tail. Take those away, she's just another pikachu.
Codi's fists clenched on their own. This was the idiot human that Mom died for. This was the idiot human that ruined her life. This was the idiot human that inspired her and Chimchar to stage a rebellion against Fara's forces that probably didn't even last. This was the idiot human she'd attacked a superior over, signing her own death warrant. This was the idiot human with her head stuffed into Codi's bag—HEY.
"MAX!" Codi barked. She ran around behind Max and tugged her by the legs—wow, she was heavy for a pikachu. Codi wasn't sure which of them weighed the most anymore. "Get out! What are you even doing in there?!"
Max muffled some nonsense behind whatever she'd wrapped her mouth around. Codi realized Max was tugging the bag with her, so she dropped her legs and reached down to snatch the scruff of her neck. Max ferociously wriggled around to get out of the grip, but it was all for naught. Codi ripped Max out of her bag, along with the already half eaten apple in her mouth, and two more in her paws.
Codi tossed her aside and snatched her bag up to assess the damage. The bag itself was fine, though she could feel a few wet spots where Max had dribbled apple. "Gross," Codi grumbled, flinging what she could off her paw. "You little asshole." Out of curiosity, she glanced over to Max to see if she'd react to the insult.
Instead, Max was viciously ripping into every apple she'd pilfered at once. She annihilated the first one fast enough. By the third one, she forwent using her paws altogether and chomped straight through its core.
Codi had never been so glad not to be an applin.
"Sweet Suicune," Codi swore under her breath. She could almost see Max's eyes dim as she demolished the apples. Her eyes had looked distant, but still very much there. Now, they almost looked entirely vacant. Would she even respond to her own name? "Max?" Nothing. Not at first, at least.
After a few seconds, her ear flicked up for a bit before dropping back down. Max snatched the core she hadn't chomped initially and chewed right through. Codi was too mesmerized to stop her when she went for the third. Luckily, Max left that core alone to suckle on, a look of ecstasy on her face. It was even more vacantly blissful than Codi remembered Mom ever looking.
Shortly after, Max's eyes started to droop. She put up a token resistance at first, then shook her head and let them fall. Before they could meet, though, her eyes locked on Codi. She must've forgotten she was sharing a room with a predator.
She blearily pushed herself up. One forepaw came to rub her eyes before she stumbled over to Codi. That didn't make sense, though, no.
Assuming she was going for the door, Codi shuffled out of its way. Hopefully, once her friends found her, they'd leave Codi alone. She didn't even know why she was here. She hadn't gotten whatever she wanted, but she certainly didn't want three more pokémon out for her blood. She had more than enough of those, so she was happy to let Max leave.
Max crawled into Codi's lap. She nuzzled her cheek into Codi's belly, put her arms around her and went straight to sleep. Without any time to think, Codi found her arms naturally resting on the rat.
It couldn't have been more than half an hour since she'd slapped the sense out of this bitch. Now, the bitch was happily resting against her scales. Blissfully, really, based on the look in her eyes as she dozed off. She unconsciously rubbed her cheek into Codi's chest, and her mouth finally relaxed enough to let the apple core drop from her mouth.
Right into Codi's elbow.
Codi threw her arm out and flung the apple core away with her mouth twisted into disgust she almost voiced. She couldn't let it out, though, without waking Max—why would she possibly care about waking this stupid rat up?!
This was ridiculous. This was Max. Was this because Codi had saved her life? Even that felt like a stretch for as comfortable as she looked. It certainly didn't explain why she'd defend Codi against her own team. Did she not know what Codi was? Codi reached up to feel for her collar. Bafflingly, it was still there.
Codi grit her teeth. This was Max. This was the reason she'd had to go through any of this in the first place. This stupid human had massacred a city and expected the world to just trust her that it was a good decision. She'd even inspired Codi to throw away what remained of her life. No, life was too generous for what she'd become.
Codi looked down at her own paws. Worn and weary, even after doing nothing but travel for the past few days. She never looked at them. They didn't look like she remembered, but of course they didn't. She couldn't remember how they looked. They weren't hers anymore. They were just weapons.
Max was right there in her arms. Asleep. She trusted Codi enough to sleep in her arms.
Codi could save herself. Bringing Max's pelt in would absolve her of everything. No one would believe she'd assisted Glitterion. She'd be a hero; she'd be a devil. She might even get a promotion—a new name. She could get the stink of human off her and go back to a normal life. She'd be safe again. She'd have security. She'd have purpose. A purpose that made her stomach turn, but it was still a purpose.
She was already a weapon. It was just what Max had made her, after all. This was her chance. Her paw went to a familiar spot on her tag.
for MOM
Codi could still remember how easy it was for her to think of how to kill those two pokémon attacking her. She hadn't even flinched after sending Excadril to his watery grave. She was a weapon. She was a killer. She was a soldier. They'd already broken her down to make a monster. Clearly, they'd succeeded.
Codi traced her paw to Max's neck. Max inspired her to ruin her life. It was only fair that she'd be how she redeemed herself. She'd get what she deserved. The irony was perfect. Mom had died because she had too much faith in Max. Now, Max would die for putting her faith in Codi. It would be the perfect resolution to Codi's torment. She could finally go back to the safe torment of a soldier.
It was too late for her to be anything else. Codi lost her last tether to hope when that black envelope came in her mail. She had nothing left. She was nothing more. This was what she'd suffered all that training for. This was why she'd abandoned her post. This was the chance she didn't know she was looking for when she went to find Max.
Codi didn't even need to think before she found Max's pulse. The carotid artery. A simple, quick attack would leave her dead within the minute. Even through an unexpected amount of chub, Codi felt the pulse. Slow, relaxed. Peaceful. It was merciful, then.
Mom didn't die peacefully.
Water dripped onto Max's face. She barely moved at first, but then more dripped down. Codi looked up in search of a leak. Instead, she felt the warm trickle dripping down her cheeks.
She was crying.
"Kaa?" Max mumbled. She was waking up—Codi needed to do it now. She looked at Max blearily rubbing her eyes. Her paw slid down Max's back. Max tilted her head back to look up at Codi, eyes popping open in recognition before shifting to confusion. Again, she squinted up before rubbing her eyes to look again. She shook her head and almost leaned against Codi again.
She froze halfway there. She looked to her right arm. Wrapped around Codi. She looked to her left arm. Wrapped around Codi. She looked up at Codi. At least her eyes looked normal, now. "You're not Cori, are you?" she asked. There was that name again.
"Nope," Codi said.
"Right," Max said. As she nodded, she turned to look away. Faint sparks bounced down her cheeks. "We're complete strangers, aren't we?"
"Basically," Codi said.
"Right," Max said. She nodded. "Was I feral?" That was an… odd way to put it.
"More or less," Codi said.
Max nodded again, cheeks sparking a bit more this time. "Well," she said, glancing at Codi's tags. "Thanks for not killing me." She offered up an awkward smile and started trying to get out of Codi's hold. The instant her hindpaw touched the ground, she fell with a yelp.
"Wait!" Codi said. She lunged forward and snatched Max up before she hit the ground. "Take it slow. You're really hurt."
Max swayed, even with Codi helping her hold herself up. She put her paw to her head and roughly flopped down to sit. Her face scrunched up in a wince when she landed, but she looked all right. Codi stayed ready to catch her as Max leaned forward, putting some of her weight on her forepaws with a grimace. After yanking her right paw away, she opted to very gently flop to the side to lay down.
"… chuuuu," Max groaned. Her ear flicked up at that, and she let out a frustrated sigh. "What happened?" She brought a paw to her head, wincing as she tried to remember. "I… excadril. Losing the fight, but." She raised an ear and peeked one eye over to Codi. "Did. Did you save me?"
"W-well, um, so," Codi stammered out. Her paw went to scratch at the back of her neck. "Yeah."
"Of course," Max chuckled. Before Codi could ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, Max shook the thought away. "Thanks." She let her paw flop to the ground and looked up with an apologetic smile. "And. Well. Sorry." She glanced away, cheeks sparking again—she really was a human, wasn't she? What pikachu hasn't figured out control of electricity yet? "I must've thought you were someone else."
"Oh, sorry," Codi said. Max did a double take at her, but quickly shook her head again. "What?"
"Nothing," Max said. Despite the claim, though, she'd started smiling through her grimace. "Just thinking of an old friend. That's all." She took a deep breath and looked up at Codi, smile fighting that grimace harder and harder with every second. "What's your name?"
"Codi," Codi said. Max started to chuckle again, but her eyes flashed with realization.
"Oh," Max said. She glanced at Codi's tags again. "That's supposed to be a human name, isn't it?" Her eyes lingered on them for a second longer, and her realization shattered into heartbreak. "Y-your," Max's voice cracked as she began to look far off at nothing in particular. "I'm so sorry."
Codi snarled at her as she threw her paw up to clutch it. Already, she regretted not taking Max out when she had the chance. Max had no right to read and pry. The fact that it was something Codi wore openly didn't dull the sense of violation, just her sense that she deserved to feel the pain. She focused her glare on Max to find the mouse staring dispassionately up at her.
"You sure you don't want to kill me?" Max asked. She rolled onto her back and stared empty eyes up at the ceiling while Codi flinched, surprised to be read so easily. "You'd probably end up in a better position for it." Her voice sounded hollow, but she didn't seem worried. She looked almost as placid as when she'd slept in her arms.
Yet, the offer didn't seem hollow.
"Your," Max started to say, voice hitching. She pushed through cracks to finish, "M-Mom. What happened?"
"You," Codi hissed before she could stop herself. Even after she got her sense back, she didn't regret it. Max's whimper felt right. She clenched her fist. Time for this hero to own up to the devastation she caused. "She was Tainted. I had to join to protect her. Then, she sent a letter in about you."
Tears streamed down her face. She grit her teeth, trying to call on rage to push through, but she couldn't. It felt hollow. She felt empty. The anger burnt away and fizzled out. She fell back against the wall behind her.
"Of course," Max whimpered. Codi glared up to see tears in her eyes as well. That… wasn't the uncaring reaction she'd expected. "That's all I am, isn't it?" Max brought a paw up in front of her and squeezed it, as if testing the strength. With a spiteful shake of her head, she flopped it down. "A false sense of security." Without looking at it, she clenched her paw into a fist again.
"Freedom," she hissed. "Instead of my name, that's what everyone's called me." She shook her head with a sharp grimace of disgust, the tears not slowing at all. "As if I'm the one that did it. As if they need me to do it. All I do is placate them for their fucking masters."
Codi almost felt the need to intervene. Every word felt like a vindictive accusation. This is what she'd been thinking about Max—wishing she could tell her—just minutes ago. She wanted to slap this bitch's galactic ego back to the ground were it belonged. Instead, Max slammed her clutched fist into the ground next to her, seemingly very aware where her ego belonged.
"I'm just a pikachu," she whimpered. Her paws came up to rub her eyes. Codi watched her collapsing in on herself in tears. With all the rage she'd built up, it was hard to acknowledge a kernel of pity sneaking in. "What makes me special?"
She rolled over onto her belly, bringing her tail up to hide her face under. Even still, Codi could see her shaking her head. Sobs shook through her, hardly muffled through her tail as her whole body convulsed. She wasn't just crying. She was weeping. All because of one person she'd never met. One person that meant the world to Codi, and Mom seemed to mean the world to Max, too.
Max had massacred the entire population of Lively Town. Was one more victim the final straw that pushed her over the edge? Max couldn't care, yet there she was in a sea of her own sorrow.
"S-Sorry," Max said. She shook her head and forced herself up, the weight of the world suddenly on her shoulders again. She took some deep breaths to steady herself, but now, Codi could see the stress fractures of the load she held up. Her veneer of strength had shattered beyond repair, but she was still trying to hold it up again.
This was who Mom died for.
"Why are you here?" Codi asked. The hollow feeling inside her started to collapse, a cold ooze of rage saturating the space it left behind. "You're just a normal pikachu?" Her paws shook with every word. "Then what's the point!"
"I don't know," Max said. Despite Codi yelling, Max barely spoke in a whisper. "If anyone asked me, I don't remember." She tried to look up, but seemed unable to look Codi in the eyes.
Codi stood and walked closer. The instant she was close enough, she dug her right paw into Max's jaw and helped her out with that. A slight gleam of Taint darkened them with panic, but Max didn't resist the hold. "Was it worth it?" Codi snarled. Max clearly tried to resist, but her eyes stole glances to all of Codi's sharp teeth. Codi made sure she kept them visible. "All you did was give her precedent to do all this."
"Did I?" Max asked, one ear flicking up in confusion. After a second, she realized what Codi was talking about. How can demolishing a town slip her mind when she's sitting in ground zero? Max let a deep sigh out. "Lively Town wasn't me."
Codi pulled her paw back and slapped her across the face. It wasn't hard enough to send her flying this time, but it was enough for a satisfying smack. Max scrambled back, eyes dimming while she clutched her claws into fresh holes in her scarf. She barely managed to stop herself retreating, clenching every muscle in her mouth and face as she tried.
"Don't you lie to me," Codi hissed. She shook her head while her paws quaked with rage. Her right paw hurt. She wanted to feel some satisfaction from the slap, but all it brought was pain for both of them. "You've put me through enough."
"P-pi-" Max started, immediately cutting herself off with a growl. More tears had come for her, but her crying didn't make a sound this time. She forced herself to look up at Codi despite trembling in terror. Her eyes kept flicking to Codi's paw, and Max rubbed the cheek she'd hit with the paw not clutching her scarf. She hesitantly closed her eyes and forced a deep breath. "I'm not lying," Max forced through grit teeth.
Codi wanted to smack her again. Of course she could get over it that easily. Mom wouldn't be able to talk for days, but Max could take a few deep breaths and fix herself.
"I was on Sheer Mountain when it happened," Max said. Codi stared daggers right back at her, lips pulling further into a snarl. "I'm just a pikachu." Max shrugged with a shake of her head. "That attack couldn't have been better for Fara."
"What?" Codi asked. "What are you talking about?!" Max flinched away from her shout, but held strong through the use of many more deep breaths. Codi relished in the sight of her fear, and it made her sick. "It killed the entire town she grew up in!" She threw a demonstrative paw out, and Max cringed away. "Even she wouldn't want that."
"K-ka—chuuuu," Max growled. Her breath was quickening, and Codi could see her eyes dimming. As much as she wanted to take her vengeance, in that moment, she wanted answers more. She forced herself to take a step back. For some reason, Max gave her a sad glance when she did.
"What does Fara want?" Max asked. She didn't give Codi a chance to answer. "It's power, right?" Codi nodded. "But this is a continent. It isn't—wasn't a country." Those were synonyms, but she seemed to think they were distinct. "It didn't have any form of government. She needed some excuse to form one, so she needed a tragedy."
This very important explanation could not have meant less to Codi. "Do you really expect me to take your word for it?" she asked.
"Not really, no," Max said. The non-response de-fanged a bit of Codi's rage. "That's why I'm explaining it?" She looked expectantly at Codi with a raised brow. After a second, though, she took a breath and shook her head. "You don't care."
"No, I don't," Codi said. She crossed her arms. "If it ended the Expedition Society, I'd be glad you did." Well, she wouldn't have really known what the Expedition Society even was at the time—but also, nobody did, which was part of the problem…. Well, the tragedy certainly put them on the map.
"You know it wasn't just them, right?" Max asked. Finally, she started to show some anger back, but it was still laughably dull. "Look outside. It was everyone."
"So what?" Codi asked. Arms wrapped around each other, she dug her claws into her own scales. "They're lucky they got to die before this all happened." Her voice came out thin. "You killed the soldiers. That's all that matters."
"They were still people," Max said. She started to get up but still didn't have the strength. She squinted up at Codi with a look that ground Codi's scales together. She started looking inquisitive, tilting her head in thought. After a few seconds, she nodded with whatever point she wanted to make. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"What, do you wish I had?" Codi hissed. She dug her claws deeper into her scales. "The more you talk, the more I want to." Her voice wavered, so she squeezed her paws tighter.
"That why you're bleeding?" Max asked.
Codi blinked and looked down. Max was right. She'd dug her claws right through her scales. She shook off the realization and glared at Max again, trying desperately not to lose her intensity. "What's that prove? That you're annoying to talk to?" Codi asked.
"That you're still hum—uh," Max cut herself off to look to the side and whisper, "KACHU!" She took a breath and looked back at Codi. "You're still a person. They didn't take that from you."
"That'd be nice," Codi muttered. She couldn't even pretend to smile. "Sure, I'm a person. Great. Good! I might have lost everyone I ever cared about, but look!" She threw her paws up, her own blood dripping from her claws. "I'm still me!" She crossed her arms over each other again, but made a point not to squeeze them this time.
She shook her head. This monster of an asshole lived in another world. Codi already gave up her claim to a soul when she kept working for the Expedition Society after they took Mom away. If she'd turned herself in then and there, she could've died before she was damned.
It was too late for that now. It was too late when she put that stupid collar on. It was too late when she pretended she had any say in the matter, worthlessly scratching it to pretend it was self-determination instead of a cooler seeming way to give up. Max knew none of this. She didn't know anything. She just decided for herself that Codi was still a person because she hadn't killed her yet.
Yet.
Max couldn't stop her. She couldn't get up. Codi still had her chance. She still had every reason to take her out. She'd already lost everything—maybe it was time to take a life for herself. Hell, she'd already killed a fellow soldier.
"How do you know I'm not just milking you for information before I finish you off?" Codi hissed out. Her voice caught her slightly off guard. It was weaker than she'd expected.
"Because you're crying," Max said. Codi froze in place. A few tears dripped down her cheeks. "You're digging your claws into your scales again." Codi forced herself to relax her paws and found that yes, she was. Max met her eyes with an intense, clinical stare. "You're trying to convince yourself to do it, and it's eating you inside.
"You can't bear to let yourself become the monster you think they've made you."
Codi tried to scream back at her; a whimper clogged her throat. Max forced herself up. She stumbled at first, then steeled herself. Each step looked like it would be her last, but she kept pushing through. With every stumble, she looked at the tears dripping down Codi's face.
By the time she made it over, the paw she put on Codi's shoulder was as much for stability as it was to comfort her. Either for her own sake or Codi's, Max gently guided her to take a seat. Codi didn't have the energy to resist.
Max took her paw and flopped down with a breath that quickly turned to panic. She started tipping too far back and had to use Codi's paw to yank herself back up. Even that much left her gasping for breath. She looked like she was about to collapse. Then, she looked up at Codi's eyes one last time. As if drawing strength from the sight, she managed to force herself upright.
"You think you're broken," Max said. "I know I would be." Codi tried to clench her teeth. Her jaw wouldn't cooperate. "You want to give up. You want to just let yourself fade away and do what they say."
Max brought her other paw to Codi's as well. "But you can't, can you?" Codi whimpered as she looked up with a glare. "It'd be a lot easier for you. Life without a heart. It's all they've ever shown you, but some part of you just can't let go, can it?" Another sob wracked through Codi. "Do you really think you're a monster?" Codi looked into her eyes without any idea how to answer.
Max pulled Codi's paw to her throat. "Do it," she said.
Codi's eyes shot open. She tried to pull away, but Max managed to endure the resistance. Codi could feel her pulse. Despite the placid expression Max had put on, her heart was beating out of her chest. Codi looked at her paw around Max's neck. Max let go. Codi did not.
Codi trembled, but didn't pull her paw away. Max wouldn't move, so neither would she. It was right there. She had another chance. She tried to tighten her hold. It barely deformed the fat. Max watched her with rapt attention. Codi couldn't take her eyes off Max's neck. Every second that passed, she tried harder and harder to cut off circulation, slice the artery, snap Max's neck, anything.
Every second that passed, more tears came. Every second that passed, her body trembled more. Every second that passed, her face contorted further into agonizing whimpers. Her arm couldn't hold up its own weight.
She brought her paws to her muzzle and collapsed into sobs. Max wrapped around her in a hug, letting out a deep breath of relief. That asshole—that fucking asshole actually wasn't sure Codi wouldn't do it. She'd really taken the risk and put her faith in a complete stranger. Would she have really let her?
Did it matter? That close, she wouldn't have had a choice.
Codi collapsed into sobs; Codi collapsed into Max's arms. It all fell apart. Every easy answer she'd spitefully told herself, each failed justification washed away in the storm of her cries. The deep, thick armor of rocks and dust she'd built up shattered and washed away, leaving the scared totodile she'd tried to bury naked and alone once again.
Every lash, every loss, every failure, every success cut her at once. All that she'd tried to gird herself against came to remind her just how much it hurt. In an instant, she felt every shock, every slap, every whip of a vine and vicious beating she took on the spines tormenting her once again. All the rage she'd called on, desperate to redirect it against Max immolated her with the memory of who was really responsible.
Despite it all, she was still just a terrified totodile. The only difference was she didn't have Mom to hide behind anymore. She was all alone.
Max squeezed every sob out of her. She sat in silent reverence while Codi quaked with sobs, giving her nothing but the comfort of her presence. She held Codi tight, running her paw along Codi's back with an expert touch. Her time with Charmander must've given her a lot of experience dealing with scales.
Codi couldn't even be miserable alone. Despite it all, despite everything, she'd never managed to really abandon the worst of it all. She still felt the sting of hope in the misery running down her cheeks.
The same thing damned her that damned Mom: Hope.
This fucking human did it. This fucking human actually did it. This fucking human wouldn't just let her die, wouldn't let her just give up on herself. This fucking human took what little comfort Codi had in hopeless self-hatred and threw it away. And now—now!—this stupid fucking human had the nerve to fall asleep on Codi's shoulder while she sobbed. Codi flicked her nose.
Max squeaked in surprise, leaping out of her little nap and tumbling backwards. Before she fell, Codi grabbed her paw and yanked her back. Max glanced at her once before glancing away, sparks bouncing down her cheeks.
"Sorry," Max mumbled. Codi ignored the apology. It was, admittedly, kind of funny. Funny enough that she could start to wipe the tears away.
Yet, despite it all, she couldn't cry away the pain of loss. A good sob made life more bearable, but it didn't bring Mom back. She still didn't know where to go, had no idea what she wanted to do. All she'd worked for had already left without her.
"Why?" Codi whimpered. Max gave her a light pat on the back. "Why did they have to exile Mom?"
Max's ears shot up. "Wait—exile?" she asked. "You said exile, right?" Her eyes looked into Codi's with wide, unbridled excitement while reiterating that yes, Mom really was very dead.
"I will strangle you," Codi hissed.
"When?" Max asked. Codi wanted to bark that didn't fucking matter in the slightest, but Max stilled her with a stare. All of the sudden, she wasn't just comforting Codi. The stakes went from emotional support to life and death. She grabbed both of Codi's shoulders and repeated, "When?"
"It's been…," Codi mumbled. The answer came in no time, but it left her reeling. "About a week." It felt like her entire lifetime.
"CODI!" Max shrieked. Codi yelped—that was right in her ear. "Sorry!" Max suddenly leapt to her hindpaws and beamed joy at Codi. "You might still be able to save her." Codi froze. No. That. She wasn't going to let any bit of hope come from that. Max stared into her disbelief, and it only seemed to embolden her. She took a deep breath to restrain herself, but her smile only widened.
Max tried to think up some explanation before shaking her head of the hopeless endeavor. Instead, she said, "Look at me." Codi hadn't looked away, so it wasn't a hard ask. "Those aren't statues outside." She watched Codi's eyes, waiting for some realization to come. It didn't. "Those are the people Fara exiled."
Codi wanted to ignore her. She wanted to slap her again for disrespecting Mom with this bullshit. She wanted to find the punchline hidden in Max's eyes. She couldn't.
"She's not dead," Max said. Each time, Codi's defenses fell more. Each time, Max said it with such certainty that it almost couldn't be a lie. It had to be, but there wasn't anything but certainty in her words. "She's in the Voidlands."
"How do you know?" Codi asked. She barely resisted the urge to bat Max's paws off her, and she was glad she did. The question made Max freeze, suddenly struggling to stand.
"P-pikachu kapikachu," Max squeaked. Her smile suddenly fractured as her eyes grew distant. She pulled a paw to her scarf again, struggling to steady her breath. It wasn't Taint, though. Her eyes hadn't dimmed. She just suddenly seemed frozen, unable to move. She looked more horrified with every quiver, like the unconscious movement could shatter her.
Like a statue. She was remembering becoming a statue.
She'd been to the Voidlands.
"SHE'S ALIVE?!" Codi screamed. She tackled Max and squeezed her with the tightest hug she could. Max squeaked a bit in terror, but suddenly relaxed in her hold. Codi shook her head, bathed in hope as she lost herself in the drug. This rocked—hope fucking rules. Fuck depression—hope is where it's at.
"Oh, dammit," Max grumbled. Codi froze. What. Not what she needed to hear right now, but Max motioned silence before she could. Max waved Codi to the wall and stealthily stepped over to the door. For a moment, she put her ear to it. Whatever she heard, it made her roll her eyes. She nodded at Codi with a grin and held up a paw with three nubbins. She put a paw on the knob. Two. One.
Max yanked the door open in time for Charmander and Cyndaquil to sprint in, shoulders first, and immediately trip and fall. They both tangled up in the other, their combined momentum not letting up until they'd both smacked into the opposite wall. Despite both visibly dazed, Charmander immediately leapt to his hindpaws.
As Charmander wobbled, his eyes shot to Codi. He shakily reached for his bag while Max tried to scurry over on three and a half paws. Codi helped her out by scrambling half the distance for her and hid behind.
"STOP!" Max shouted. She threw both her paws up and stared Charmander down. Without even looking, she flung a warning shot between her and Cyndaquil right as he started his mad dash for both of them. "I swear to fucking Christ, you two," Max grumbled, rubbing her eyes.
Then, she forced herself to give the thinnest smile imaginable, stepping aside to present Codi with a paw. "Ash, Ithos, this is Codi," Max said, pointing to each person as she said their name. "They saved my life and if you even think about pretending to touch them in a way that could possibly harm them, I will make it my personal life's mission to torment you until I die, and haunt you after."
If Ash or Ithos had any objections, they were very willing to hold them back. Codi didn't exactly have an objection, but she did have a concern.
"Th-they?" Codi asked.
"Right," Max said. She shook her head and turned back with a shrug and an apologetic smile. "Sorry, force of habit." From the 'old friend,' Codi imagined. "What do you go by?" Codi blinked. The. That wasn't a question anyone had ever asked her before. She'd never even thought about correcting anyone before, but she'd certainly never expected someone to, of their own volition, ask. "Codi?"
"S-sorry," Codi said. Her cheeks flushed indigo as she looked away. It almost felt like a trick. Could Max not tell? Maybe it was because she was a human, and she hadn't quite figured out how to yet. Maybe Codi could get away with it with Max, but her teammates were right there.
Then again, Codi had decided to try out this 'hope' thing again.
"Sh-she," Codi said. Just trying to say it made her want to melt, but Max's patient smile made it a bit easier to endure. She glanced back at the pikachu's tail, wondering again if she really did have a particular reason to highlight it. "S-sorry for taking so long. I-I just, usually people can tell."
"Can they?" Max asked with a knowing smirk. She shrugged with almost a chuckle before seeming to size Codi up and nodded. "Yeah, well, people could 'tell' I was a guy for a while, too." The instant the words left her lips, she winced. Codi's jaw dropped. Before anyone could say anything, Max's glare lasered in on Ash, and she violently jabbed a paw at him. "Not a word."
"Was wondering when you'd tell him," Ithos chuckled. He fell back with a chuckle and leaned against the wall.
"I was planning on never," Max grumbled. Her paw came to rub her eyes again. As the adrenaline started to waver, so did she. Codi went to offer some support, and Ithos had his arms around Max before she could. Lovingly, he wrapped supportive arms around her as he failed to recognize he was still just as winded and crashed down with her.
At least he managed to break her fall.
Codi would've laughed, but she was still reeling. She stared with wide eyes at Max's tail. Did this count as calling it?
Immediately after the fall, Max curled around Ithos with exuberant squeaks. She squeezed him tight, pressing her cheek against his chest while he tried to mask his gasps for air. It took him considerable effort, but he managed to roll over to his side, relieving some of the weight from his lungs. It was adorable to watch, putting a soft smile on Codi's lips.
"What's your deal?" Ash asked, approximately four inches from her face. For a concise answer, Codi turned with a yelp and immediately pelted him with a hop, skip, and swift kick to his chest.
Ash smacked against the wall, head lazily wobbling on his neck as he slid down to the ground. "Bro, what the hell?" he wheezed. Codi flinched away—did they know, after all?—but quickly steeled herself to run over and help him up. It shouldn't have mattered. She'd dealt with it all her life, so she grit her teeth and tried to keep on doing that.
Before Codi could make it over, Max had helpfully hoisted Ash by the neck. Still wobbly herself, she gently smacked him into the wall to lean on it for support. "Do not. Call her 'bro'. Do not call her man, dude, guy, or anything approaching a title for men," Max growled. "Do it one more time, I will make your sex life a lot less complicated and make your only option bottoming on a biological level." She tightened her grip. "Capiche?"
Ash hastily nodded as best he could with her paw to his throat. Ithos finally made it over to pull Max away right as she let go to respect the nod. "C'mon, Max, that's a bit much," Ithos said, getting a tense glare back from her. "It's just a habit, y'know? That kinda thing's hard to break."
"In the words of a friend," Max said, "Fingers aren't." Barely able to stand on her own, Max flashed a quick smile that made Codi flinch from the reflection in Ithos' eyes. Then, as if none of that had happened, she turned to beam a sweet smile at Codi with a thumb's up. "Sorry about that!" She was insane. Codi was worried how far she'd really go with that threat. "You all right?"
"Yeah," Codi said. Somehow, the horrifying display was touching. Maybe she really had been desensitized to the horrors of war, but she smiled nonetheless. "Thank you."
"Anyway," Ithos hissed. He gave Max a harsh glare that she answered with what must've been her sweetest smile (they must've been together for a while, then). "I think we could all use a break." He gave Codi a warm smile, seemingly unaware of the paw she'd bored a hole into. "Want to join us for lunch?"
"Ka?" Max mumbled. Her ears shot up, eyes excited for a brief moment before she winced. Looking a bit confused, she rubbed at them. Ash and Ithos didn't seem to notice, but Codi could already see the Taint dimming Max's eyes. She'd been fine moments ago.
"Got it," Ithos said. He looked at Codi with that smile of his while tugging something out of his bag. "Here!" He tossed an apple to Codi.
Max scurried over and ripped it out of the air. She sank her jaws into it and ran to the nearest wall to tear into it one chunk at a time. She curled protectively around it, but Codi still had perfect view of her eyes, darker than she'd ever seen them.
"Max, come on," Ithos chuckled. Codi's eyes shot to him as he casually walked up behind her. Her back was to him. He couldn't see her eyes. He thought this was a joke.
Max stiffened as he approached.
"Stop!" Codi shouted, dashing over to tackle him out of the way in the same second that thunder crackled. She quickly moved aside to point at the scorch mark left behind. Ithos barely glanced at it before his eyes went to Max's, confusion quickly turning to concern.
Codi turned and saw Max backing away with the half-eaten apple in her maw. Max growled from behind it while leering at all of them in turn. The hints of recognition Codi caught earlier had entirely left.
"Feral," Codi whispered. That made more sense, now.
"M-Max?" Ithos said. He started to go over, but Codi held him back. Before he could complain, Max flicked her tail up with a hiss. Sparks bounced from her cheeks while she stared Ithos down. "Wh-what?" He shook his head, almost reaching a paw out before pulling it back. When he took a step back, she finally relaxed. With careful glances up, she started ripping into the apple again.
Within seconds, it was gone. Core and all.
"Does this happen often?" Codi asked. She could already guess based on Ithos' reaction, but she might as well ask.
"Sort of," Ithos said. He stared at her in disbelief. "I. I don't think I've ever seen it get this bad, though." He looked to the side, putting a paw to his chin. "Wait, maybe." He turned to Ash who was casually chomping on his own apple while he enjoyed the show. "Remember that one Dungeon?"
"Hgh?" Ash asked. He looked up in thought while he chewed through whatever he'd shoved in his mouth. With a tough swallow, he nodded. "Yeah, but that was from Lotus." He waved his own apple demonstratively towards Ithos. "This is just fruit."
"Ash, careful," Codi said. She'd kept a watch on Max. With her apple gone, Max had started looking at Ash's with starving eyes. "I think she wants that."
Ash rolled his eyes. When he saw Max, though, he froze. She was eyeing him as harshly as she had Ithos moments ago. "This?" Ash asked, glancing at what little remained of his apple. It was a few bites more than a core. Yet, Max kept staring at it like a royal banquet. The longer she stared, the more agitated she seemed. Ash glared at her and pulled it behind him. "Bad girl."
The instant it was out of sight, Max tilted her head in confusion. She looked around a moment before shrinking away. "K-Ka pi ka chu?" she whimpered.
Ash tilted his head, then pulled it out again. Her eyes shot to it in an instant. He hid it, and she once again glanced around for it before whimpering in disappointment. Ash repeated the experiment with a few giggles, not noticing Ithos walking over until a scaled paw punched him in the shoulder and ripped the apple out of his hold.
Max's eyes shot to it.
"Do you really think this is funny?" Ithos growled. The apple hung by his side, smoldering at the stem he held it by.
"Ithos, hide it," Codi warned. In his anger, Ithos was glaring at Ash. Codi hadn't taken her eyes off Max. Max stared at the apple with building rage, slowly rising up to her haunches. "Ithos." Ash had noticed as well, but Ithos shut him up with a glare before he could say a word.
"She deserves friends who'll help her," Ithos said. "Not make fun of her when she's vulnerable!" For the fury in his expression, in his voice, the words themselves were incredibly restrained. He had a lot more to say, but he seemed to be trying to keep some kind of cool. His tail-flame flickered and billowed to a smoldering red with a heart of white at the base.
It made Max halt her pursuit for a moment, but her eyes were locked on the apple. Her cheeks sparked every time she glanced up at Ithos. She didn't see a friend. She saw a predator holding what she wanted. Codi tried to warn Ithos one last time, and Max pounced.
The leap finally caught Ithos' attention. He jerked to the side to face her in time for her maw to wrap around the apple. The surprise made him flinch back, yanking a leg up to guard himself that smashed into Max's chin. She whimpered from the impact and ran away. "M-Max, sorry!" Ithos said. He reached a paw out for her, then froze.
With every bite through the apple's core, she looked even further away. It had to hurt to eat this many so soon after one another, and every swallow made her wince. That didn't slow her down at all. With every strained whimper came a look of bliss in her eyes.
Ithos clenched his paw into a fist and pulled it back. He closed his eyes to steel himself and said, "Lotus." His paw went to his chin again. He couldn't take his eyes off Max. "This food. It has to be Lotus."
"How?" Ash asked. He watched Max with the same worried look, though. Whatever they'd seen before, they were seeing the same thing now. "We got this fruit from the last town." He didn't seem to disagree, but he wasn't convinced. "When we collected some for them, they said it wouldn't grow outside a Dungeon." Codi was getting the feeling they forgot she was there.
"I know that," Ithos grumbled. He took a half-step towards Max, then grit his teeth and pulled himself back. It clearly hurt to stay away when all he wanted to do was comfort her. "This isn't even feasible, either. You can't trick farmers into growing Lotus."
"Farms!" Codi exclaimed. Finally, she had some input. Ash and Ithos both jumped a little, so it seems like, yes, they had indeed forgotten she was there. At least Max didn't seem surprised by her outburst. "Most food hasn't come from local farms for a while." She ran her claws along the bridge of her snout, trying to remember what Mom had said before Codi joined.
"A lot of them went out of business," Codi said. She nodded along as it came back to her. "Once the Expedition Society started flooding towns with care packages, it kinda made them obsolete." A chilling realization took her as she remembered what Max had said about the massacre of Lively Town. "She needed to justify her power." A bit of bile started crawling up her throat.
It was oddly refreshing to be disgusted with someone other than herself.
"Codi," Ithos whispered. He held out a paw with an urgent expression. "Don't panic." Codi grit her teeth. Really helpful advice—she wasn't panicking before he said anything. "She's right next to you."
"Huh?" Codi asked. She turned to the side right as a yellow blur tackled her from the side. Codi toppled under the sudden weight, and her paws shot to Max's neck. She barely managed to stop herself before a light squeeze turned to a snap. Panic made her tense every muscle desperate to neutralize the threat.
Max was laughing. It was obvious enough to shake Codi out of her panic. She squeezed Codi like a pokédoll and rubbed her cheek against Codi's scales. A few harsh jolts came, but Max probably wouldn't even notice them herself. Codi ripped her paws away from her neck and jerked her head down to yell at Max until she saw the inky black still eclipsing her eyes.
"Kapi!" Max cheered. She stuck her head up in pride at her capture before dropping down to press her cheek against Codi once again. Codi gently ran her claws through Max's fur with a look of bewilderment.
"Max?" Ithos whispered. Codi caught him staring, heartbreak in his eyes, before he tried to hide it away. Max had picked Codi over him at the beach, too. Once was a fluke, but this was a pattern. She'd cowered away from Ithos, yet she was comfortable enough around Codi to play.
Codi froze, feeling the burn of Max's fur in her paws again. She'd been more than ready to protect herself. It exhausted her to resist the temptation.
Codi looked into Max's eyes. Inky black, with no idea the danger she was in.