A Firey Dance In a Thundering Storm of Sorrow
Authors Note: Warning: Badly indented paragraphs (thanks FIMFiction) and one F bomb.
Molten Tears
Written by Kingofsouls and EvoWizard25
Edited by TDNpony and Zeusdemigod131
Day 18
Post summit Gala
Inti sat on a chair, crouched, simply staring at the sea of pony, pegasi, unicorn, minotaur, and pretty much every other species of creature this world had mingle with practically every Legendary Pokemon. X was at the moment having a conversation with Articuno while Naruto was having a pleasant chat with Twilight Sparkle. Azisa was manning the food table, placing her special chowder for the guests to enjoy. And Apocalypse....
She sighed. The night was pretty boring so far, but it had its fair share of moments.
The best of those moments had to have been Heatran and Apocalypse having an eating contest, which had somehow devolved into who could eat the most furniture. Needless to say that idea was quickly scrapped due to Celestial Intervention.
“Whoo-wee,” a Mawile wearing the uniform of the PLA jumped into the seat right next to Inti. A fiddle laid in his hands. “I neva thought I’d meet such interestin’ bunch of characters.” He glanced over to Inti, noticing her posture and such. Now Maw, that was his name, was a mon who appreciated a fine lady and this Heliolisk was fine with a capital F. Normally, he’d be hitting on her right about now, but he felt that would be rather rude right now. He frowned. “What’s got you down?”
“A lot but right now? I feel a little bored.”
“Then why don’t you mozy over there on the dance floor?” Maw asked. “A pretty thin’ like you gots to have some moves.”
“What, me dance?” Inti looked almost surprised at that. “You’re a fast one aren’t you?”
Maw slapped his knee and laughed. “Darlin’, I’m the fastest fiddler in all the PLA and not to shabby, if I might add. You don’t get to call yerself the best if yer slow. Come on, just one dance? Somethin’ to put a smile on that pretty face of yers.”
“Hey, I am Inti the Storming Thunder Breaker. I’m not a dancer….but... honestly….” Inti took a hard look at the Mawile, the Steel Fairy smiling (with both mouths) as he just stood there, waiting for an answer. “....you’re not going to take no for an answer are you?”
“I never do, lass.” Maw put his fiddle down beside the chair. “I’m stubborn like that.”
“I’m doing this because I’m bored. Nothing more.”
“Ye say that now, but I’ll get ye to change that tone.” Maw smiled. “The name’s Maw, by the way, best fiddler around. Aint nobody makes a better sound.”
“I lead.”
“Now that was somthin’,” Maw whistled, gazing up and down her form. “I’ve seen a lot of things, but the way you move that bod of yers… Somethin’ else, lass.”
“Lets just say I learned a lot while I was on the job.” Inti replied. The two had taken a moment to just sit and talk. Inti had a glass of water in her hand, gulping it down quickly. THe dancing took a lot more energy than she thought it would.
“Tired already?” Maw smirked. “Blimey, ye need to dance more often. Let me guess, ye work in modeling?”
“Construction actually. Mostly technical stuff like the wiring and the lights. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m pretty athletic. Just not used to dancing.”
“Shame,” Maw shook his head. “But I can see that workin’ out for ye. Maybe we could ‘ave ye with us. The PLA could use a little lass like you.”
“Not the worst name I’ve heard of for a dance troupe.”
Maw blinked in confusion. “PLA? Dance troupe? What the hay? We’re an army, lass.”
“I know that. I was there when you leader decided to open his big mouth and almost got eaten by Apocalypse.” Inti laughed. “Trust me, that is a moment I will never forget!”
“Don’t remind me,” Maw groaned. “The Commander was pissed as ‘ell ‘cause of that. He went on and on about how he was gonna make ye lives miserable...Got so bad, he got one of his snipers to keep an eye on that Tyrantrum friend of yers.” He tilted his head over to a Lombre that was glaring daggers at the living fossil. “‘Course, don’t ye fret. The Commander isn’t the type to go through with anythin’. He’s more of a blowhard.”
“Honestly you would need more than just a Lombre. Ever since he evolved he’s easily become the strongest on the team. Possibly stronger than me. Pretty impressive too considering he’s just a kid.”
“A kid?” Maw raised an eyebrow questioningly. He rubbed his chin in thought. “Well don’t that beat all. The Tyrantrums I know are both full adults...and let me tell you somethin’, they are easily the scariest thin’s I’ve ever done seen. They’ve made a snack of a lot of our competition in Zebrica, so they’re alright in my books. ‘Course, they prefer their privacy.”
“I can drink to that.” Inti did so. “Apocalypse didn’t get his name for being cute and cuddly. He’s got the power of a Dragon. Though thankfully I’m grateful he’s just a kid,” Inti then pointed towards the Tyrantrum. He and Heatran had somehow restarted the furniture eating contest.Surprisingly they had somehow gotten the Discord to join them, each snap of his fingers summoning more chairs and tables to be consumed.
Maw laughed. “Boy thinks with his stomach, don’t he?”
“If he’s lucky. He looks like a rock and is just as smart.”
“Course he is,” Maw picked up a bottle of whiskey and plucked it open. “No offense, but most rock types are kind of...dense.”
“Preach.” Inti then reached to the bottle, only for a fork to fly into the bottle, cracking it a little. He turned to face the assaulter, whom was a smug Naruto, two more forks in his paw. He waved his finger before walking away. “Stupid Naruto....”
Maw’s jaw dropped. “Did that arsehole just try and dent me whiskey?”
“Not try. He just did.” Inti sighed. “This isn’t easy to admit but….he did the right thing.”
“Right thing my arse,” Maw scowled, shaking his little fist at Naruto. “Ye bastard better not do that again. Me Whiskey aint somethin’ ye want to tamper with.”
“This isn’t easy to admit...but….”
“If it makes ye uncomfortable,” Maw turned to her, looking at her with concern. “Then don’t bother blatherin’ about it. Ye don’t need to see yer heart out to a stranger like me.” He quickly grabbed another bottle. “How about a drink, on the house.”
The music started up again, Inti quickly grabbing Maw’s free hand. “Oh hey, look another song I wanna dance, you wanna dance yes yes lets dance.”
Just as the two got up, another fork flew into the seat, the whiskey it targeted now out of its range.
“Eager are we?” Maw smirked. “I knew ye couldn’t get enough of me dance skills.”
“Uh sure. Lets go with that.”
“Whoo-wee,” Maw cheered, twirling Inti around one last time. “Yer gettin’ better at this.”
“I am the Storming THunder Breaker after all.” Inti gloated
“Don’t rightly know what that means,” Maw shrugged. “But ye obviously are that. Now, I think we should cool that hot bod of yours down. You’re practically smokin’.” He winked.
At that, Inti grabbed the nearest drink (a nobleman's glass of some fancy wine from Cania) and splashed Maw in the face with it. “You need to cool off Buster. Just stop with the pick up lines. It’s kinda grating and I only heard two or three of them.”
Maw held up a hand. “No promises, lass. I’m a mon of habits.” He chuckled. “Besides, that aint the first time I’ve been splashed with some…” He licked the wine and stuck out his tongue. “Ugh, wine. Aint got the right kick.”
“Oh wine has a kick all right trust me on that one. Especially some stuff called White Warwine. That stuff…..kicks back.”
“Nothin’ is quite like home grown whiskey, lass. It’s run in my family for generations.”
“Suit yourself…”
Maw huffed in agitation. “Suit myself? Ye don’t know who ye are talkin’ too. Me whiskey is somethin’ kings would kill over.”
"So how does a guy like you get involved with.....that?" Inti pointed towards Sev, currently doing...something. Inti couldn't tell but honestly did not care.
“What? Work for him? Easy, lass. He’s a friend of mine….and bein’ a top soldier, I get first shares of any whiskey we...liberate from the humans.” He chuckled. “The commander tolerates me drinkin’ cause...he likes some good ol’ string music. Mostly classic violin stuff, but I get him to smile with a little diddy of my own. You wouldn’t know it at a glance, but...he’s a bit jealous of us with arms. He’s always wanted to learn the violin.”
"Yea, these butes are pretty usefull." She wiggled her fingers to make her point. "You must have had a rough life...I know the feeling actually. Life sucks and then you find a trainer that loves you because you're you, right?"
“Never had a trainer,” Maw frowned and crossed his arms. “Never wanted one. Aint nobody puttin’ me in one of those blasted pokeballs.”
"Only spent time in them when it was time to move across town to get to a job in a hurry. Honestly they not bad if you only in them for ten minutes."
Maw scoffed. “Likely story, lass, but I’m not gonna argue with ye. I’m a Mawile of pride, like the rest of me family. We didn’t listen to the humans then, we aint now….No matter how good their ale can be.”
"So, what's wrong with humans? My human was not the monster I think you are implying he is."
“Nothin’ major,” Maw shrugged. “Just aint partial to the whole ‘capture’ thing, ye know. I mean, fight this, fight that. Let’s do a contest. Put on that silly wig and go out on stage to play some polka song….Yeah, me uncle was a bit cranky.”
"I hear you about the contests. I'm from Kalos and we don't have many of those anyway, but I swear those Furfrous think they're so pretty and they gotta look good with all their fur styled in a specific way...that, and well X has a spotty history with training to fight in general. I don't mind really but sometimes it's frustrating."
Maw raised a questioning eyebrow. “Frustratin’?”
"He doesn't train pokemon for a living. Didn't want to follow mom and dad's well worn footsteps." Inti sighed. "And me? Well, I grew up in the wild. Fight or die. End of story."
“Aint so bad in the Hoenn woods,” Maw smirked. “The Commander got most of the bad ones in line. Pretty laid back most of the time.” He sighed. “Though, if ye ask me, I could have gone fer a few more brawls here and there. Me friend Rio starts ‘em up fine enough though.”
"Glad to know not every Fairy is concerned about staying pretty." Inti sighed "Think Naruto is watching?"
Maw scowled. “He better not be. If I see that buggering arsehole, I’ll chomp his leg off.” His second mouth clamped loudly in anger. He breathed in a couple breaths and looked around. “Doesn’t look like it, so he’s safe.”
"Check the shadows."
Maw gulped and started to shake. “Err…” He quickly looked around, sweating up a storm. “Nope...phew. Sorry about that. We’ve got a Zoroark of our own. Names Roa….She’s nice for the most part, but get her mad and she’ll tear you apart and eat you....literally. Driven grown men to screamin’ like a baby…” He shivered. “Aint natural.”
"Then I would like to sample that whiskey then," Inti grinned. Sweet sweet whiskey was within her grasp.
“Hmmm,” Maw smirked, holding out a whiskey bottle in his second mouth. “Ye want this?”
"I'm asking as nice as I can." Inti's response was feisty.
Maw’s smile grew larger. “Well, it would tarnish me honor to withhold from a beautiful lass.” He held the bottle out to her.
"What did I say about the pickup lines?"
As Inti reached out towards the whiskey, a third fork flew into it, cracking it slightly again. Inti growled again as she realized that she was not as sneaky as she thought she was.
“Why that no good, sneakin’, little scaredymon,” Maw fumed. “Where is the bloody devil?”
"Up here!"
“Up where?” Maw asked. He shook his little fist in anger. “Yer arsehole? I don’t swing that way, bub.”
Inti gently grasped Maw's head, and tilted it up. On the rafters of the ballroom was Naruto, crouching with a fistfull of forks. He raised his other hand, waving his finger at the Helioptile again.
Maw’s second mouth lurched forward and snapped down loudly in a fit of anger. “Come over ‘ere and fight like a mon. Ye don’t scare me. I know Zoroark ten times ye and I doubt I’m ending up supper.” He raised his fists. “Come on.”
"Yea, quit showing off Naruto!"
Without a single word, Naruto stood up, his arms stretched out to the sides as far as they could go. Then, backwards he fell, backflipping in the air as he fell down towards the earth. He landed on the ground in the three point landing, garnering some applause from the others as he bowed before fading into the crowd.
“Hidin’ eh?” Maw scoffed. “Can’t face a real mon? I know ye dark types like yer shadows and all, but show a little backbone….No offense.” He shot a couple of the dark type PLA nearby. They shrugged and went back to their business. “But all the offense to ye, darky.”
"Look....it's not him its me, don't start something..."
“Oh I’m startin’ somethin’,” Maw growled. “I can stand loosin’ a bit of whiskey, but ye asked for it lass. A gentlemon always gets his lady friend a drink.” He rubbed his elbows and glared at the crowd. “I’ll be back in a moment once I…”
"I have a drinking problem." Inti almost looked ashamed to say this. "There. I said it. Happy?"
“Beg yer pardon?”
"I. Have. A . Drinking. Problem. As in, a problem with alcohol.. Not hard to understand." Inti growled out. She hunched over, ashamed.
“Oh,” Maw frowned. “Well….looks like I’m the arsehole here. Sorry fer callin’ ye an arsehole, darky!” He called over to somewhere.
"Behind You." Maw almost jumped as Naruto appeared from somewhere, his arms cross. "And apology accepted. I'm just looking out for my team."
“I can respect that,” Maw smiled. “We take care of our own, us PLA mon. Gotta stick together….But can ye stop with the sneakin’? Again, dark type thing and all, but really? Do ye all just get off on it or somethin’?”
"I'll try, but honestly you would need to be sneaky to keep an eye on Inti." Naruto then turned to Inti. "We're serious Inti. No alcohol. At all."
"I got it."
"Then I'm off to mingle. Twilight must be rather confused as to where I went." Naruto then walked away, leaving the two to be by themselves. Inti sighed, the sound indicating defeat. "And that is my glorious second in command. Lovable isn't he?"
“Aint the word I would use,” Maw grumbled. “So...ye can’t have alcohol? Like, at all, at all?”
" You think that because I have a drinking problem, that means I drink nothing but the stuff? Most would think that...but....
"For me, the exact opposite is true. I can't drink even a sip without being completely drunk off of my ass. One sip and I start shouting something about skulls for a skull throne. And for me...I may be a construction worker, but I've always viewed myself to be a warrior. I wage war. It's what I do.
"If I see something in my way, I fight and it goes away. But this? This is something I can't shoot Thunder at, or Grass Knot or Surf it. The only way to fight it is to lose to it...
"I hate it."
Maw’s shoulders sagged. “A little without gettin’ drunk? Nightmare that is…” He shook his head slightly, but then smiled. “Well, don’t ye fret about that. I know a few mon that can’t drink. Take the Commander. He takes one sip and he’s out like a light. Sip and he’s unconscious.”
"Yea, but I just don't like being defeated so easily. I don't like being weak." Tears began to flow from her eyes. "No one loves the weak."
“That’s untrue and ye know it,” Maw said firmly. “I may not ‘ave known ye long, but ye seem pretty strong to me. So what if ye can’t drink. I can’t play the piano. I can’t teleport. I can’t do a lot of thin’s everyone else can do. Does that make me weak?”
"I never said that. Just forget what I said okay? You wanna go another round on the dance floor?"
Maw frowned. “Ye sure? Ye don’t want to sit down fer a bit? Maybe relax or somethin’...I just don’t like to see tears in those warm eyes of yers.”
"I don't like talking about it." Inti then grabbed Maw's hand. "Dance now, backstory maybe later."
“If ye say so.”
Inti was eagerly digging into a plate of food, mostly berries with Equestrian cuisine mixed in for variety. The dancing really had taken a lot out of her and free food was good food.
That and Azisa made a good stew. "Seriously, try the stew."
Maw eyed it suspiciously, questioning if he should. All the while, his second mouth was feasting on the metal utensils...or anything metal it could find. “I’m not much of a stew person...This stew got any potatoes in it?”
"Nah. It's Cheddar Cheese with mushrooms and corn. It's X's favorite food and honestly? It's not hard to imagine why."
Maw eyed the dish for a couple more seconds...before his second mouth scooped it up and ate it, dish and stew alike. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
"Yea, Azisa is really good at cooking. She handled that a lot. Still does. Better her than me in any case."
“Can’t be as bad as some of our own cooks….We sometimes use their foods as live ammo.”
"The last time I tried to cook, two homeless guys and three trubbish came by and though it was the best dumpster grub they ever had. " Inti gulped her drink (tea) as she laughed. "Needles to say I swore off the kitchen after that."
Maw laughed. “Pretty interestin’ life ye lead, lass. Aint never been complemented by a Trubbish before….maybe it’s because they’re tone deaf.” He pulled out his fiddle from his side and started to strum it experimentally.
'Nice tune."
“This? Oh lass, this is just me practicin’ to see if me ol’ fiddle still works. If ye want an actual tune, ye’d be blown away.”
"Sure." Inti leaned toward the Mawile. "All ears."
Maw smiled and brought the fiddle up higher. “Ye asked for it.” He fervently started playing.
Inti sighed. "So...where you guys headed back to once this summit is over?”
“Zebrica,” Maw frowned. “A real nasty sort of place, if ye ask me. War’s a brewin’ over there...already lost a couple good friends.”
"I....sorry." Inti turned her head away. "I'm not good with stuff like that, so yea...that."
“Pfft,” Maw waved his hand. “Aint nothin’ I’m not familiar with. Been dealin’ with Rockets and mad scientists me whole life. Losin’ friends is normal, but I get that it’s botherin’ ye. I’ll just keep me mouth shut.”
"Okay, what exactly do you do?" Inti turned back, startled. "I mean, yea the wild is rough but holy Arcues you sound like you guys actually are an army."
“I jest play me fiddle,” Maw smiled down at his instrument. “The rest of the guys are the ones who do the fightin’.”
"You don't hold yourself like you're just a musician." Inti then grabbed the Mawiles upper arm, squeezing it. "You got some muscle there. Those were earned, not given."
“Well lookie ‘ere,” Maw smirked. “Ye just can’t keep yer hands off me, can ye lass?” He laughed. “Yeah, I earned these. I busted quite a few Rocket and their mon up. Never killed anyone though. Not me style. Besides, all of us had to pull our weight. I ain't no sloucher.”
"Sound a lot like the construction crew I am in. Everyone works towards the end. No One gets left behind, everyone does something that gets the job closer to completion....less fighting though."
“Sounds like quite a team. I usually just play alone. Gets kind of frustratin’ to start a band or anythin’ when the others end up in the hospital or….Yeah, not gonna go there. Besides, me friend Rio is a good drinkin’ buddy. I wouldn’t want anyone else at my back durin’ a good bar brawl.”
"And Rio would be...."
“He’s a Lucario,” Maw answered. “From Southern Hoenn. Aint nobody tougher than him, ‘cept the Commander.”
"I met a few Lucarios. They don't impress me." Inti sipped her drink again
“Ye haven’t met Rio then,” Maw rolled his eyes. “He’s like a force of nature, he is. Could lift a Tyranitar like it was nothin’.”
"Well, its not that I'm dissing their strength" Inti cleared her though before continuing. "Its just the ones I fought with were these stoic "Waie of dah Aurah" and "Innah Inleghtenmint toweardes da paeth of piaece' warrior monk types with like, no personailty beyond their fists. I swear for like three months straight the trainers that found my trainer and wanted to battle him used Lucarios as their ace."
"It got so bad that X did something he usually doesn't. He actually accepted a challenge from this one guy. He sends out his Lucario, does the usual "Ah em de moank of da auah" stick while Naruto just walks towards them, pulls out a Fire Gem, and toasts that guy with Flamethrower. He goes down like a ton of bricks. After that the Lucario storm died down."
Maw started laughing hard. “Sorry...It’s jest imaginin’ Rio actually meditatin’ and doin’ all that monk stuff got me laughin’ up a storm. He’d rather think with his fists then do that stuff. Ye’d usually find him at the bar...like me. ‘Cept when his missus comes to pick him up….They’d usually get into such a fight. AInt a bad thing. Just somethin’ they do….Say, maybe I could introduce ye to him one day. Show ye that he aint like those others that got that stick all up their bum.”
"If I can scrap with him, I'm in." Inti then thought of something. "You think he would get a kick over those Monk Lucarios?"
“He’d get a kick alright. He’s used to others thinkin’ he’s supposed to be some wise mentor or somethin’ like that. He even trained a few of the lot….He beat that out of ‘em quick...literally. Kept a few of their teeth, but I think he’d like to hear the Lucarios of your region. Aint a lot outside him and his family, ‘cause they’re kind of rare...ish.”
"Not where I come from. I heard there's a bunch of...." Inti then burst into rampant laughter. "Oh man I just realized something! I heard that Riolu then to be found on Route 22 in Kalos....and I just remembered there's a Buddhist Temple just off the side of it. That...explains a lot."
Maw chuckled. “That it does.” He took a swig of his whiskey. “Always wondered what Kalos was like and hearin’ about those Lucarios...Kind of sounds tame really. Hoenn is much stranger.”
Inti simple grabbed a flower from someplace nearby and shoved it in front of His face. "Why hello thar Mr. Maw I'm dah Ultimate Weapon! Pleased to Kill You!"
Without a second thought, Maw snapped up the flower in his mouth and started chewin’. “Ultimate Weapons taste rather dainty.”
Inti smiled after that. A slight tinge of red was on her cheeks. "Moron."
Maw gulped down the remains of the flower. “Moron eh?” He smirked. “Ye have some nerve callin’ me that, lass.”
"I'd say that I have nerves of steel...but....not sure if that would be insulting to a Steel type, and thus ruin the joke."
“Nah, the joke’s just fine. Ye definitely do have the resolve us Steel types have...Not to mention such fine….nerves.”
Inti groaned. "Ugg that's now like, four pick up lines? Do I hear five?"
“What’s a mon like ye doin’ in a place like this?” Maw’s smirk split his face in two.
"A God's very poorly thought out plan. You?"
“....I like ye, Inti.” He chuckled, beatin’ his fist into the table. “Haven’t laughed this much in a long time. Say, where you lot end up?”
"Glad I have a future in stand up comedy then. " Inti said through a mouthful of food. She swallowed, then continued. "Hoofrican jungle. Its just outside of Zebrica if I read the maps right. Wound up in a colony of Changelings. You know, those Bug shapeshifters? And after me and the others took care of a Bug problem, the Emperor asked X to serve as his advisor for the Summit due to him being a level headed human. That, and the other humans voted him because he's famous."
Maw whistled. “Sounds like quite the place. Wouldn’t have mind if I landed over there. Beats the desert….and Hyena Dogs….and whatever is tryin’ to kill me.”
"Wanna move?" Inti nudged her new friend. "We got trees man. Nothing but trees."
“Loved to,” Maw sighed. “I really do, but I can’t leave the rest. Not now at least. We never abandon our own, especially in such a time.”
"Yea, I understand. Rule number one of ShadowFox...family sticks together."
Tears began to flow again.
Maw put a hand on her shoulder. “Ye okay?”
Inti's response was as sharp as steel. "Yes, I'm fine. No worries. At all. Perfect little family. Perfect little parents."
Maw gave her a deadpan expression. “Yeah and I’m an Aggron.”
"I'm fine."
“Of course yer fine, but yer upset about somethin’. Keepin’ it bottled up isn’t good fer ye.”
"I said I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it."
Maw sighed. “Ye aren’t the first mon I’ve met who’s had a bad history. Heck, I’m sure there are a ton who’ve had worse than ye, but you know what? They move on. Me friend Roa had the hardest life ye could have, bein’ a test dummy to some whackjob. Now, she’s just as lively as any other kid.”
"Seriously. Drop it. I'm warning you."
Maw went silent. He just played a few notes on his fiddle. “Define, drop it lass? ‘Cause I ain't the type to give up on a mon down on her luck….Family problems perhaps? I know they can be a bit tricky, but ye can always pull through with ‘em.”
At that, Inti snapped.
"MOTHER FUCKING THUNDER!"
Thunder is a powerful move, among the strongest of all Electric Type attacks. A point Blank Thunder on the other hand....
Those tend to leave impressions. Such as the impression an incredibly confused X left in the wall he was closest to, as a flying Mawhile had pushed him into the aforementioned wall.
"What did you do?" X moaned....
Maw chuckled through a pained groan. “And what makes ye say that?”
"Oh, the thought just...leaves an impression in me..." And with that, X slid off the wall, falling towards the ground. Unfortunately for Maw, he quickly found himself underneath five hundred pounds of raw muscle.
Maw yelped in pain, managing to wiggle himself out from underneath. “Work out sometime. Ye need to lose some of that.”
"I work in construction. You don't lose weight in that business you gain it as muscle." X then pushed himself up, brushing himself off. The other members of ShadowFox quickly arrived to assist him, Nell riding Apocalypse, whom had the leg of what appeared to be an antique table sticking out of his mouth.
"X! What' going on!? And where's Inti!?" Naruto shouted. Several eyes were turned towards the group, interrupting the gala.
"Let's find out. You." X pointed to Maw. "What happened?"
Maw scoffed, before rubbing his chest. “Lass has quite the kick to ‘er.” He smiled. “She’s a keeper alright.” He laughed.
"What. Happened?"
“Don’t get yer knickers in a twist. Nothin’ happened….Okay, somethin’ happened, but I can deal with it just fine.”
"Fine, keep it to yourself. Not the problem right now."
Maw sighed. “Okay, we were talkin’ and stuff came up….Just curious is all, but does she have a tiff with her family?"
The group looked hard at Apocalypse. "I will say nothing. I promised Inti."
"Okay, new plan. Let's fan out and look with her. Apocalypse, you stay behind, and explain what's going on. Everyone else, with me. You." X pointed at Maw again. "You're helping."
“Course I am,” Maw puffed out his chest. “Ain't gentlemonly to let a lass go out alone like this.”
"ShadowFox, let's go!" As one, all but Apocalypse rushed out of the hall, intent on locating their friend and family member.
Maw grumbled as he stepped into the garden. “Castles aren’t meant fer Mawiles. Too big fer their own good….” The Mawile, while feeling a bit grumpy about running around the castle, felt rather...down. That wasn’t something he was all that familiar with and he didn’t like it. He just hoped he could find that pretty lass soon.
As he stepped through the lush foliage, something caught his ear.Turning to its source, he quietly brushed aside the leaves of a nearby bush.
A thunder soared past him, striking a target that was set up. It stood ruined amongst the corpses of other similar targets. Standing on the other end was Itni, her stance crouched, failing to hide her how tired she was. Her tears were running red, more tears than a waterfall flowing from them. She screamed again as she fired another Thunder at the remains of her targets.
“Seems somemon is still a little narky.”
Another thunder fired, barely missing Maw. "I HEARD THAT!"
“Ye were meant to,” Maw took a few more steps closer to her. The little Mawile brought up his fiddle as he did so, playing a rather upbeat tune as he walked closer to the raging Heliolisk.
"Leave me alone. I don't need you. I don't need anyone!"
“Hmph,” Maw’s playing took up a notch as he got closer.
Inti's frill unfurled, anger burning in her tear laden eyes. "Why won't you leave me be?!"
Maw didn’t say anything as he crossed the last bit of distance, playing the song faster than ever before. “Ye never leave before the song is done, lass.”
"Oh I see where this is going. You go a little song, a little dance, and you think I'm just gonna stop? No. I want to be alone. Just me. That does not include you."
Maw laughed as he closed the last bit between them, the song hitting a crescendo. “Sounds kind of lonely, bein’ ‘just me’.”
"Last chance. You're leaving me alone. Whether you walk away or you crawl away is up to you."
“I think I’ll go for my favorite choice,” Maw finished the song with flourish. “Choice number three. We both head off inside and dance a little. Maybe I could teach ye some songs.”
"Thunder!" The attack struck head on, pushing Maw back an inch.
Maw grunted as the attack struck him. “Lass, I know yer upset, but attackin’ me isn’t gonna make it better.”
"Oh yes it is!" Inti fired another Thunder, barely hitting him this time.
Maw snorted in agitation...before chuckling. “Yer angry, I know. I’ve seen a lot of angry mon in my time. Hittin’ others isn’t gonna make the pain go away, whatever it is. Now stop this, or I’ll make you stop.”
"You're a musician! What can you do to stop me from doing this! THUNDER!" Thunder fired again, flying towards Maw, it's intent as clear as crystal.
Maw spun around nimbly on his feet, dodging the blast. “Inti, I may be a musician, but I know how to dodge just fine. Comes with playin’ some unruly crowds.” He laughed. “I can tell ye a few stories, if ye like. Seems like a good night fer a few.” He gazed up at the stars, before looking back at her. “What do ye say?”
Inti's answer was leaping atMaw, screaming as she tackled him to the ground.
Thinking on his feet, Maw was able to clamp his second mouth on her tail and throw her to the side. “Ye’ll have to do better than that, lass.” He brushed himself off.
Inti screamed again, launching herself into Maw, intent on tackling him again.
Maw’s second mouth swatted her aside. “Ye aint thinkin’ right. How are ye supposed to fight like this? Just stop and think fer a moment, Inti.”
Inti did not listen, She screamed, jumping into Maw with the intent to harm.
“Fine! Ice beam!”
"Thunder!"
The two attacks collided in a storm of energy. Maw dived to the side, avoiding the close blast. “Ye seem to be really into this.”
Her answer was neither scream nor Thunder. With no words, Inti slammed into Maw, knocking him into the ground yet again. The second mouth began to twitch.
"Grass Knot!"
Grass strangs sprung up, wrapping the second mouth and pinning it to the ground. Inti then laughed. "I win. I beat you. I'm better than you. Stronger than you. That means I'm right, and you're wrong! That means that what I say is what goes. I told you...I told you leave me alone. But you couldn't do that!
"It's never what I want huh? WELL WHO'S ON TOP OF WHO NOW!? NOW I GET WHAT I WANT! AND YOU. CAN'T. STOP ME! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THAT TOWARDS ME, INTI THE STORMING THUNDER BREAKER!"
“If I had to say somethin’,” Maw rolled his eyes. “I’d say that was a cheap shot. That and...Ye don’t look like much of a winner right now, lass.”
"WHO CARES!?"
“I care,” Maw said honestly. “And I’m pretty sure those friends of yers do to.”
Inti raised a fist as Maw continued.
“Ye want to be tough, don’t ye Inti? Ye want to be better than everyone else. Well, look where that line of thinkin’ got ye. Alone in a garden, beatin’ up a mon just ‘cause he wants to help.”
Inti’s fist trembled as she raged within, gearing to smash Maw’s face in.
“Go on ahead. Beat me. Be the strong mon ye want to be. I’ve faced your like all the time and been beaten before. I can take it, Rocket. I can take whatever you throw at me! Come on. Make me pay for being weaker than you. Hit me with your best shot, Inti! After all...it's what you want, isn't it!”
Inti threw her punch.
It never connected.
Her fist lay in front of Maw's face, hovering over it. The Heliolisk slowly slumped her shoulders, her frill unfrilling itself. Her eyes created tears once again as the Grass Knot loosened. Inti got off of Maw, the Mawile got up.
Inti just sat there, staring at him. Her eyes were a mystery: unable to express what she was feeling at this moment.
Maw brushed off the dirt from him and eyed Inti. He was quiet for a moment, content with letting her think. “Ye didn’t hit me.” It was more a statement than anything else.
To Maw's surprise, Inti lunged towards him. But she threw no punch. Instead she threw her arms, embracing the Mawile in a hug.
Maw eyed her with curiosity, before he returned it. “Well...I can say this is a bit of an improvement over the whole ‘smack’ thing.”
"Do I hear six?"
“Maybe~”
Inti sat next to a small pond, her feet dipped in the water. "Thanks. I mean it. You....you're...nice."
“Nice?” Maw laughed. He sat beside her. “That’s it? Kind of tame...but I can settle for that.”
"I don't have the best track record when it comes to being nice. So....highest praise right there, coming from me..." she growled before continuing. "You hate me don't you. You wanted to be my friend, and I almost send you to the Center...."
“First of all, there aint no Centers here. Second, what got into yer head that I hate a pretty little thing like you? So what if ye played rough...I kind of like that sort of thing.”
"Do I hear seven?"
“I wouldn’t bother keepin’ count, lass. I have tons of ‘em.”
"What, and miss an opportunity to rib someone. I don't swing like that." Inti's bravado was as thick as cardboard. Although she sounded like she had gotten over it, it was clear she was acting.
“And what way do you swing?” Maw tilted his head in curiousity. “I don’t mean to judge. I can work with both ways.”
"I rib people. I'm equal opportunity. Always have been, always will be."
“Sounds familiar,” Maw smiled. “A little ribbin’ never hurt nomon before.”
Inti sighed again. "Look, Maw was it? I think I overheard your boss call you that. You never told me."
Maw frowned. “I thought I did.” He shrugged. “But the name can be a tad forgetful.”
"The point is....do you hate me?"
“I hate you as much as I hate my fiddle,” Maw smiled downwards as he plucked some strings. “Sometimes, you don’t work right, but that happens. Life can be a bit jarring, but you just gotta keep yourself tuned.”
"Jarring...is not the word I would use. " Inti curled up, her arms wrapped round her feet.
Maw laid down beside her and picked up a simple tune. He gazed up at her. “Eh, whatever word ye use, I like ye just the same.”
Inti said not a word.
Maw continued to play, never taking his eyes off of her. He laid there in silence...for but a moment. “Givin’ me the quiet treatment, eh lass?”
"It's...not...you. It's me."
“I say it’s a bit of both.”
"No. It's me. I made the choice to...lose it. Not you."
"Ye want to talk abou it?"
Inti faced Maw, the Mawile flashing a smile. It wasn't a smile you gave a cute girl you want to get her number from. It wasn't a smile that was happy.
It was the kind of smile that said "Everything will be fine. Trust me."
"Yea. I do." Inti replied. "I grew up in Kalos Route 9. Its a really rocky route because it's on a mountain. Lots of crags, and places to fall. My parents hatched me about seventeen years ago, and I was the happiest Helioptile around.
"But I wasn't very strong for my age. My parents warned me that in the wild those who are weak either get eaten or captured. I knew that, but as long as I was with my parents I was safe. That they would help me because...I was not very good at fighting then.
"One day, I wake up early in the morning. And as I open my eyes, I see my parents walk away. I get up to join then, eager for the day to begin. But...when I catch up...." Inti choked as she stopped.
Maw frowned, but his music still played on. “They went and did somethin’ stupid, didn’t they?”
"They slammed me into the ground, and told me that they were leaving me behind because I was slowing them down. That because I was weak, I was ruining their chances of survival. Not our chances, their chances." Tears began to well in her eyes."
“And the award for biggest douchebags goes to…” Maw started, growling a little as his music started up in a different tone. “Inti’s parents. I hope ye buggers like yer prize.” He called up to the sky.
"....and then….it got worse...."
“Oh dear.”
"...I ran after them. Couldn't catch them. And into the crags they disappeared. I was on my own. Alone. I went back to home, and waited, hoping it was just a misunderstanding. I hoped and hoped, wishing for them to come back. Wishing for them to come back and love me. But then….when a week passed...I realized that they really weren’t coming back.
"I was alone. No one...no one cared about me. "My own parents didn't care about me. I was only six months old, and they threw me away like I was garbage!"
"I had to survive on my own, take care of myself. But...I told myself that if I could find them, show them I wasn't weak. It was hard. Everyday I had to rely on me to fed myself, to care for myself."
"It took me a year to find them. When I did....I wished I didn't."
Maw’s second mouth was chomping on air, angrily hissing. “The more you talk about ‘em, the more I want to bite their heads off. Me parents may not have cared about me being a musician, but at least they didn’t abandon me.”
"...my parents had two more kids. Twins. When I found them, my parents...told me that I was the one they wished they never had. To my face. The twins then picked on me, hurting me. They wanted to fight me.
"And they did. At first, I tried to fight back but they were much stronger than me. It hurt. It hurt a lot. And as I lay on the ground, my own parents congratulated them on the bruises they gave me looked like it hurt.
"Those words.....those words hurt. I snapped. I fought back. "I screamed as I rose and continued the fight. My sudden ferocity made the second round end in my favor. The twins went down, bruises covering their bodies, and then I threw a rock at my parents before running away. I never saw any of them after that day. Ever since, I trained every day. Getting stronger. Fighting any foe. I could not afford to lose. Eventually I became a force of nature in Route 9. Had a pretty good rep to boot.
"Eventually I got over it. A few years later, I found X and Naruto as a Zorua. They were traveling around, doing something. I decided to pick on them, and every time I trip Naruto up, X was there telling him it was okay.
"It was weird to me. Naruto was weak, but X didn't care. After a while....I let X catch me. X was someone I wanted to be by my whole life, someone who was nice to someone like me. That, and I thought I could beef him up.”
“Life can be strange like that,” Maw looked down at his fiddle. “Me own story probably don’t hold a candle to yers.”
"Yea, life. Normal. I never regretted that decision, even after X told me that fighting was the last thing he wanted to do. But he was nice to me, took care of me not because he had to but because he wanted to. Because he wanted to be my friend.
"Everything was normal, and then....then we hatched Apocalypse He was just...a baby. And....my old fears returned. I was afraid X would leave him behind because he wasn't good enough. I knew X would never do that, knew X would never ever be capable doing that, but...scars never truly go away. Especially mental scars.
"Ever since the hatching day, I had to live with the growing fears of what happened to me happening to Apocalypse. I struggled with it, but....it wasn't fair to the little guy. But...the memories never went away. And you....you kept pressing it tonight....and I listened to the fear of my fears...it made everything hurt.
"I snapped. I had to get away, had to fight. Had to prove to the shadows of my memories that I was not weak."
“It’s not easy to live with.”
Maw’s frown deepened as his little hand started to shake. “Yeah...scars never do go away….No matter how much booze ye drink….Heh, but ye got to move on. Get past ‘em…..” He sighed. “I’m sure ye can get past ‘em, Inti...Maybe I will too.” He stopped playing and simply just stroked his fiddle.
"Yea...I almost pushed Apocalypse away, and....well....let's just say I'm very thankful that the two greatest annoyances I ever met helped me."
“Friends can help ye get out of some nasty pickles,” Maw chuckled sadly. “Why, I remember the time I was cornered by seven Rhydons. They didn’t take kindly to me hittin’ on their bosses’ daughter...which I wasn’t mind you. Well, before the fight broke out, Rio came and knocked one unconscious with one blow. The Rhydon went soarin’ through the sky. Mighty fine brawl that was...a bit short though.”
"The best ones usually are."
“Rio would disagree and I would be inclined to go with that, but me uncle would have…” Maw choke up. “Nah, it’s not important.”
"Okay, I spilled my story. Your turn."
Maw sighed. “Me family are a long line of brewers. For generations we made the best whiskey ye could find in Hoenn. We were proud of it….but for damnedest reason, I could never brew to save me skin.
“Me parents were disappointed, but they never said it. They said it was okay and whatnot, but I could see it in their eyes that wasn’t true. Still, they loved me...but dagnabbit, I was anxious. Nothin’ ever happened and I couldn’t brew a lick of whiskey. So, me uncle took me in. He was a travellin’ Mawile, lived place to place. He never settled down. He just played this here fiddle from here to there.
“I often asked him why he never settled down. He told me he didn’t have a reason to stay, not yet. Well, when he came around, he saw me messin’ up another batch.” Maw chuckled. “He gave me a little pep talk. Simple stuff and then asked me folks if he could take me with him. They agreed.
“Me uncle taught me how to play...I took to it naturally. Like I was made to play, not brew. Eventually one night, as we were playing, a certain Seviper came into our camp. He was impressed by our skill and asked if we could join him. That he’d pay us handsomely. On and on he went about the humans and whatnot. I never really cared, but me uncle was a bit more...anti-human if ye catch me drift.”
"Yea, I do. Honestly I never was that anti human. Not a lot of humans came round my Route so I just didn't care." Inti replied. "..sorry. Continue."
“Well at least me uncle had a somewhat good reason,” Maw continued. “His second mouth...never was quite the same after some human thugs shot it up….Yeah, not exactly pretty, so he kept tied up so nomon could see it. Ye may not know it, but we Mawiles take our little mouths in pride.
“So me uncle jumped at the chance at revenge. Took me along, but he didn’t just throw me into the battle. So, I stayed behind whenever me uncle left. That was alright with me. I just liked to practice playin’. Got into some pretty good fights here and there when I got really bored.
“Then one day, when me uncle left to raid some Team Rocket base, I got a little lazy. I spilled some whiskey and I didn’t think much about it….And then me uncle came home and tripped...He survived gunfire, pokemon tougher than tanks, and he breaks his neck on some damned WHISKEY! THE HELL DOES THAT MAKE ANY DAMNED SENSE!”
"I'd rather not answer that."
“So yeah….funeral wasn’t anythin’ to say about, since we had to pack up and run. Team Rocket had sent a few...heavy troops in to smoke us out. We got out okay and I managed to save me uncles’ fiddle….So, I just continued playin’ it for him since...Wasn’t so bad. The rest of the PLA are pretty much me family now.”
"Better to have a dead family than one who pretends you never exist...."
“Good point,” Maw huffed. “But ye didn’t have to haul his carcass out the door.”
"Yea, you win that one."
“In hindsight, I think I should have asked someone else to do it...but can ye really expect a mon to think clearly in a time like that…” Maw played a few bitter notes on the fiddle. “Sorry about bringin’ that up. Aint right of me to do so.”
"Hey, I told you about my not so easy to talk about past. It's no big deal."
“.....I just remembered I never did drop by me parents….Well now I feel like a bit of a jerk.”
"I'm sure they won't mind.”
“If ye say so….Ye know, we’re kind of both messed up.”
"Yea, two broken Pokemon, sitting in a garden together, spilling their hearts out. Who knows....maybe they can fix each other?"
“Maybe,” Maw smirked. “I wouldn’t mind fixin’ ye alright.”
"Oh and what does that mean?" Inti grinned.
“Oh, ye know what it means,” Maw’s eyebrows wiggled as his music became playful.
Inti grinned even wider as she walked up to Maw, and surprised him by kissing him. “So should I ask if I hear eight?"
Maw’s jaw wouldn’t shut as he looked at her in surprise. “I...I…” He blushed heavily. His jaw went back to working and a big grin lit his face. “Whoo-wee, that was a mighty fine kiss.”
"Well, look at that...the lady killer lost his nerves of steel with the lady?"
“Lose me nerve?” A hint of playfulness glinted in Maw’s eyes. “I’ll ‘ave ye know I have done no such thing, lass.”
"Wanna prove it?"
“Oh, I’ll prove it alright.” Without a second thought, Maw pulled her into another kiss. He put his fiddle aside and pulled her closer.
And here I thought tonight was gonna be boring.
Watching the whole scene, perched in the branches of a tree was Emperor Carapace of the Changeling Empire. He munched on some carrots he took from the gala before leaving to enjoy the garden. Why is it that every garden I enter nowadays tends to be ruined in some manner?
//////
