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More from GammaEradon
Story continues (albeit under a new title) as Rene and the Crossroaders go out and then back to the home of the Crossroads' leader.
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 81.5 kB
René’s Chaos with the Crossroaders
&&&
René and the Crossroads crew found themselves wandering into a friendly ice cream café called Kerstman’s. After they orders were taken they got their ice-cream and found a table for them to sit at.
“You guys were amazing out there today, weren't they Maggie?” René asked as they took their seats and helped themselves to their ice cream.
“Yup-yup, they were really good out there, even you René!” She said in between licks as she munched on her lava cone – it was kind of crunchy.
“We are looking good out there.” Meghan agreed. “We might just have a chance against Pearl in the exams!”
“Too right, mon.” Floritt agreed as she slurped down her Popsicle.
Charla probed her chocolate sundae with her spoon. “I dunno, we were still a bit slow out there. And let's face it, a team like that, considering the type of leader they have? They'll probably going to try overwhelming us with strength, so better that we learn to make our self tougher targets to hit.”
Nigel idly let his pistachio cone float in the air before him, his arms crossed. “Or we make our self tougher, period. We CAN beat these guys. And Meg, if possible, I wish to go up against Rayon.” Meghan looked astonished.
“--Rayon? Are you sure?”
“Positive. I've especially been training to take him down.” Nigel said earnestly. Charla said nothing, she just looked down.
“Well...we'll see how it goes. No guarantees, now.” Meghan warned him.
Nigel nodded in agreement, licking at the ice-cream while it floated in front of his face.
“Hey, René? You ever think up battle tactics for your team?” Maggie asked him. René smiled at her. “Maggie you are seriously starting to inflate my ego.”
“Careful there,” Meghan warned. “If it gets too inflated I'm gonna have to ask Maggie to pop it!” Maggie giggled. René smiled again and shrugged.
“I don't know much about tactics other than 'don't let the other gal hit you' and basic stuff like not sending fire types against water types or that kind of thing. Ibtisam--Sam--usually plans that kind of stuff, determining how each of our opponents should be taken down.” He answered.
“So how well IS yer team doin' so far, mon?” Floritt asked.
“We're coming along...It's a little difficult because Rahne wants to be a doctor. You know the whole, 'Do No Harm' thing. Add that to her familial obligations, namely supporting herself and her dad financially and she has very little time or energy left over. I don't know how she does it all. Maybe she can't. Maybe that's why she was left back last year.” René shrugged, this time uncomfortable. Rahne STILL hadn’t told him, or to his knowledge, ANYONE about why she was left back last year.
René moved on to the rest of his team. “Romano doesn't fighting all that seriously. She's just too good-natured. She likes to banter and kid around with her opponents. She still wins as often as not, but buckling down and treating it as seriously as she should. And Sam...Sam loves fighting. Heck, she's may even be worse than YOU Meg!”
“I'm not sure if to be flattered or offended.” Meghan drawled.
“I’ll leave you to decide.” René answered diplomatically as he picked up a cherry. “Hey Maggie?” He put the cherry on top of her head. “There!”
“Nuuu…” Maggie whined as she tried to grab the cherry from her head but her arms are kind of stubby.
“Sorry. I just thought you were so sweet that you deserved to have a cherry on top! Here you go.” He took off the cherry and put it on Maggie's ice cream. The little Magby quickly gobbled the cherry up and spat out the stem.
René rubbed her head. “Hey Maggie, what do you say we make these guys have a tea party with us?” Maggie looked ecstatic.
“OOH! Can we, Big Sis? Pleeeease?”
“Yeah, sure.” Meghan agreed. “Guys?”
“Ooh, ooh, let's do it!” Floritt agreed, her tail wagging from side to side. Charla’s response was a bit more muted.
“Say what?”
“..suppose it woudn't hurt, provided there's good tea involved...” Nigel mumbled.
“I like Jasmine myself.” René admitted. “Lead the way Maggie!” Maggie fairly leapt up to lead the others back to her house. René let himself fall behind a bit so he could have a word with Meghan without Maggie's in earshot. “How is she doing? I mean, not having parents at her age...” He trailed off.
Meghan nodded gratefully for his asking. “Well, we lost mom while she was practically just hatched, so she doesn't remember much what she looks like, save for the stories. That said, I think she's doing ok...I mean, I hope so, since I am the one in charge of her now.”
“She making any friends her age? Doing well in school? All that?” He asked curiously. Then he lowered his voice. “How're YOU doing?”
Meghan blinked before answering. “Yeah, she's making friends, though she has had some behavior problem, what with wanting to be a battler and all. You can imagine what this can lead to at points. Doing well in school at least.” Sighing, Meghan massaged the side of her head. “And I'm managing. Somehow.” René licked his lips.
“Look if you ever need any help...feel free to talk to me. I can baby sit Maggie anytime, at least…I was wondering, do you ever tell Maggie that there IS more to life than battling? Do you ever remember to tell YOURSELF that?”
Meghan couldn’t repress a groan of annoyance. “Yes, René, I do. And I tell her that too. At the same time, though, I don't really force it down her throat because the truth of the matter is, the Gym is our home, our life. We work to keep her fire burning, because that's not just a job, its a way of life. Now until she is old enough to really decide for herself what she wants to do with her life, I'm going to do my best to teach her all I know and all I learn. And that includes the battling, like it or not.”
“I'm not criticizing your choices or your life-style.” René was quick to placate her. “I have no trouble with her or you battling if that's your wish. I just want to be sure that you're both able to take a step back and see the wider world once in a while. You just spent this afternoon teaching it to me...and scaring me senseless with your intensity.” He added. “I've heard you live with your grandfather, your mother's father I assume. What's he like?”
“Sorry about that.” Meghan apologized, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I've been known to get...weird when I'm fighting. What can I say? I play for keeps. I've lost too many times in the past to cope with, I suppose.”
“And Gramps? Yeah, mom's old man. He's...hard to explain. He'd probably not say it in the nicest of ways but he pretty much agrees with you, about there being more to life than the Gym. Truth is, he partially blames the lifestyle for mom's death...though not as much as he blames himself for not having done more.”
“Oh...” René said sheepishly. “Then I guess anything I'd say would be old hat to you, huh?”
“The "saying it nicely" woudn't be old hat, if that helps any.” Meghan told him. They were almost to her house. Still René couldn’t help adding.
“But isn't being a prospective gym owner AND a team leader a bit much though? Maybe you should've offered the team use of the gym and let someone else be the leader. I'm sure Nige--er or Charla, um...maybe Floritt....Okay I guess I see why you're the leader.”
“It's not so easy. Mom specifically told me I was next in line to take care of the gym, it's not a job I can just hand out to anyone else. And should anything happen to me, the responsibility would go to Maggie. See what my situation is, now?” Meghan asked. Seeing he was stymied, René switched the subject.
“Who're you gonna take on from Team Pearl?” He asked as Meghan unlocked the door and opened it.
“Hrm, dunno yet.” The magmar mused as they went in. “Truth is, I don't know if letting Nige go after Rayon's a good idea. On one hand, he's probably their strongest fighter and have him get worn out battling our best defender would probably work...but Nigel's been acting weird lately, taking way more risks in trying to get on the offensive...”
“Yeah. He is a bit bent out of shape...” René observed. “How do you your team perform on the whole?”
”Can't say we have that great a winning streak, to be honest. We're just now showing any signs of any real semblance to a real team, but believe me when I say it wasn't always like that.” She told him. “Hey Maggie, how's the tea party going?” Meghan asked her little sister.
Maggie put her hands on her hip and pouted. “We haven't started yet 'cuz you two are over there talking!”
“Aww, sorry sweety.” René apologized as he rubbed Maggie's head. “Let's get started, shall we?”
“Yaay!” Maggie cheered. Meghan chuckled.
”And how 'bout we get some actual tea brewing for this? René, you want to help?”
“Sure.” René picked up a teapot and simply used his fire-breath to heat in until it started whistling. Meghan helped René out in serving out the cups.
“Just this once, I think the main living room would probably be a better place than your bedroom, Maggie.” She told her sister.
“Awww...but can I bring my dollies out still? Ooh ooh, we could play a game together! Can we, big sis? Please?” Maggie begged.
“Suppose a time-waster while we enjoy some tea couldn't hurt much...” Nigel allowed.
Charla shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“An' we need tunes, mon! Pity I didn't bring me mixtapes wit' me'!” Floritt pouted.
“We'll just turn the radio on then.” Meghan rolled her eyes as she pointed at the radio. Floritt cracked her knuckles and took possession of said radio, ear raised and pressed on the amp while she turned the knob, looking to all the world like she's trying to crack a safe.
“Soo....what should we play?” Maggie asked.
“Hmmm how about a story telling game?” René offered.
”Is that like the game where one person starts up part of a story and another person continues the story and so on until we're done?” Charla asked.
Nigel nodded. “I dread to see what your imagination would create in such a story.”
“Be thankful Maggie's here, else I'd give you the raw, uncensored answer to that question.” Charla teased.
“...you've no idea how thankful I am of that, yes.” Nigel replied as he sipped his tea, mannerism defying his having growing up in a well-refined household.
As Nigel enjoyed his tea, Floritt, whooped in delight as she found a station that suits her tastes. “All-salsa channel, bless ye beautiful self fer existin'!”
Maggie set down her dolls all in a row on the rugged floor --mostly plushies, really-- and sat down to join the group. “So, ah, what're we gonna play?” She asked.
“Storyteller, sis. You remember that, right?” Meghan reminded her.
“Ooh ooh, yeah, I remember! Can I go first?”
“Go ahead. We were waiting for you.”
“Lessee....once upon a time...there was this really really big forest full of weird, scary creatures an' stuff. Grrr!” Maggie growled, gnashing her teeth -- or would, if she had any. “And then suddenly, this really tall, handsome pokemorph showed off from a faaaar-off land 'cuz he heard of a dark secret hidin' in the forest! And that knight...” Then she suddenly pointed dramatically in René's direction. “Your turn!”
René blinked but quickly rallied. “Um...the handsome knight headed into the woods just as night began to fall. He made camp and made his dinner. He brushed his tails” René patted his own for emphasis. “And reflects on just how good looking he is. Then he heard a noise close by. He went looking and found four confused, argumentative pokemorphs shouting about something—” Nigel gave René a peculiar glance as he tells his...strangely familiar-sounding story. Not being his turn, though, he said nothing. René continued. “ So he walked up to them and they...” Then he pointed to Floritt. “Take it away!”
“A'ight! So, ah...da four pokemorphs were all standin' in a cercle discussin' who should be onnit, fer it 'pparently wuz very important fer 'em ta stand 'ere an' stuff. Da knight goes up ta dem an' asks 'em whut all da fuzz is about an' dey all stop talkin' ta each otha' an' explain ta 'im dat...Charla?”
“Goodie.” Charla drawled as she sipped her tea. “So it turns out this particular circle was a gateway to a secret place that the four 'morphs go to play with, far away from the scary forest creatures. Usually they would take turns getting on the circle to go there, but apparently something was amiss, something wasn't letting them cross over no matter how much they tried. So they turn to the knight and...” She elbowed the gardevoir, who was so entranced from savoring the drink his shield didn't have its usual strength behind it and so was easy enough to bypass and make him nearly drop his precious tea.
“--GAH! Careful, this could have burned me!” Nigel protested.
“Your turn.” Charla told him flatly.
“Hmph...and so the knight, curious as he was about what this peculiar doorway could be and wondering if, perhaps, the very thing he is searching for could be located through there, goes ahead and asks if he could try getting on the circle. The four 'morphs turn to him and laugh out loud, not at all believing one such as he could do what they themselves are having such a hard time with. Eventually the group decides, for humor's sake, to let the knight have a try at getting on the circle. And as the knight steps inside...Meg?”
Meghan shook her head. “Pass. Need to go check up on something real quick, go on ahead without me.” She got up and left, leaving Nigel a bit nonplussed.
“Erm...Maggie?” The magby didn’t mind chiming in.
“There's a biiiiiig flash an' the knight goes WHOOSH into the sky and is taking to another world! An' in that world...René!”
René thought fast. “In that world the Knights finds that it is populated by ugly (mostly) pinkish beings who like to hunt down and imprison poor little pokemon--our evolutionary ancestors--and cram them into little balls to be their slaves. So the knight--Florrit!”
“'Ey! Why always me, mon?!” She protested.
“It's roundy-rown!” Maggie told her. “So you go next!”
“Oh, okay den. Uh...so da knight be all horrified by whut he sees an' goes inta battle. He spots one of da little Pokemon about ta get captured by dis one small pink ting and he jumps in da way ta protect da lil' Pokemon with his very life. And then--Cha?”
“And then a bunch of rocks fall and everyone dies, the end!” Charla grunted. Everyone else looked at her severely.
“Charla!” They groaned.
“I was only kidding!” She defended herself. “Okay, so um...right! The pinkish being suddenly halts, completely taken aback at what he's seeing. "You there," the pink being asks, "what in blazes are you and why do you deny me my prize?!" To this, the knight takes a deep breath and replies—” She tried to elbow Nigel again, only this time he was ready for it. “Oof! Hey, no fair ducking when I'm about to elbow you, Nigel!”
“Like you need to be reminded that I don't take well to pain!” Nigel sniffed. “So then!” He took a sip of his tea before continuing. “The knight takes a deep breath and replies "I am Lord Flametail of the Flameytails and I demand you explain why I should not slay you right here and now for the insolence you've cause these poor creatures!" To add to his threat, Lord Flametail pulls out a...”
Meghan appeared just then with a tray full of sandwiches. “Magikarp!” She announced. Maggie giggled. Then Meghan continued. “It is a wise talking Magikarp that grants wishes! He offers it to the pink thing in exchange for the poor creature's life! And to prove how it works, he asks the Magikarp for a wish. "I wish that..." Maggie?”
“That EVERYONE HERE WOULD GO OUT TO EAT ICE CREAM INSTEAD!” Maggie shouted. “An' an' an' --René?”
“Ice cream rained down from the sky!” The vulpix laughed, getting into it. “The pink things forgot about trapping pokemon and started running around with their mouths open. Soon they became too fat too chase pokemon anymore! So then the knight—Floritt?”
“The knight, uh...decided ta tho' a partay dere! An da four Pokemorphs from befo showed up soon aftahwards ta join in'! Charla!”
“And then the very fat pink things started to roll around and try to squash everything with their massive bulk! The pokemorphs ran in horror, but Lord Flametail went and--darn it, stop DUCKING!” She demanded as Nigel avoided her again.
“Not bloody likely!” He shot back.
“Language!” Meghan warned him.
“Sorry, sorry. So our dear handsome prince once more held his hand out and told the pink things to cease their rolling about this instant. They told him they would, should he accept a request from them. The prince agreed, so they told him that they'd leave them along if, and only if...Meg?”
“The prince...would find their long-lost princess!” Meghan added as she snuck behind Meg to hug her from behind and set her down on her lap.
“Heheehee!” The magby giggled. “An ah, they told 'im that she was trapped in a faraway castle an' that if he finds her he can marry her! Go, René!”
“The prince really wasn't in a rush to get married but thought, what the hey? No one should be trapped. So he went off on a quest with the four pokemorphs to find the long-lost princess! As they got started on the journey they ran into a...Floritt!”
The poor smeargle looked blinsided. “Dey ran into me?! Oh mon, I dunno whut to say! I, uh, I did a dance in front of 'em an' ran off, den dey went back on deir journeh! Nige!”
“...he didn't mean...oh, nevermind.” Nigel groaned, taking a nibble from his sandwich before resuming. “And I thought we were doing this round-robin?”
“Charla said ta pass 'er, needed ta use da lil' Luxray's room.” Floritt answered.
“What, she did? Didn't even see her leave...alright, then. So then off the five of them went into another frightening forest full of monsters where along the way they heard a ghastly yell. Curious as to what caused this noise, they went off the track and over towards a nearby river, where they spotted -- Meg.”
“A beautiful water maiden crying in the river!” Meghan announced.
“An' she was really pretty an' made of water an' stuff, but she was sad for some reason. So the prince asks her why she's all sad and she says --René?” Maggie turned to him.
“She's sad because...because...” René had to think for a moment. “Because someone's making a dam in the river that's cutting off the river's flow! So what the travelers do is...Flo?”
“Dey go see whut be dammin' da rivah! An dey see that a bunch o' Pokemon are doin' da dammin'! Dese Pokemon be—”
“Bidoof.” Charla said.
“--EEP! When'd you get back?” Floritt flinched.
“Right now, of course.” She answered reasonably. “Nigel?”
“What, that's all you're adding? Bidoof?” Nigel asked her. The luxray nodded.
“Bidoof.”
Nigel looked at her oddly but shrugged. “...Right then, Bidoof were making dams in the river. They weren't mere Bidoofs either, they were massive creatures with long fangs and sharp claws! Bigger than a house, even! Meg.”
“And they breathed fire.” She added.
Maggie giggled. “Silly! Bidoof can't breathe fire!”
“They're also not as big as a house.” Meghan pointed out. That seemed to satisfy her little sister.
“K, you're right. So this one reeeeeally ugly Bidoof starts to charge the group and yelling REALLY loud! Uh, how does a Bidoof cry sound again?”
Meg raised her claws. “BIDOOOOOOOOOOOF!” She called, spitting out a wimpy little flame. That got Maggie giggling hysterically.
“Yeah, just like that! And so Lord Flameytail jumps in and says...go, René!”
“Lord Flameytail says I'm not afraid of you! He breathes fire right back at the Bidoof and then he holds up a mirror! The Bidoof get scared and then...Floritt!”
“Why am I in dis again? Uhh, I do 'nother dance an' den run off befo' da giant Bidoof runs me ovah! Cha mon?”
Charla just shook her head and giggles. “Right. Scared of his own reflection, the giant Bidoof smashes against the dam and tears it apart, the water washing it and his friends away and freeing the river. In thanks, the river maiden offers them this bit of advice...LOOK OUT NIGEL!”
“What in th' bloody kind of advi--OW!” He yelped as she punched him in the arm.
“Ha! Gotcha! Not very good at seeing the future, are you?” Charla crowed.
Nigel massaged his arm. “Oh, bugger off, you know the answer to that!”
“...no I don't, actually.” She admitted. “Why is that?”
“It's because...oh, nevermind, I'll explain later!” He waved it off. “So yes, the maiden tells the group to be careful of the path they walk on and sends them on their way. Next the group finds themselves back on the dirt road and...”
“They find the road splits into two—” Meghan started.
“Three.” Maggie corrected.
“...three parts.” Meghan continued without a beat. “They decide to split up there, with Lord Flameytail taking the road in the middle with the rest of the group splits into two and take the remaining two paths. As he goes deeper into the forest...”
“He finds a tower! But oh no, something is guarding the tower! What could it be? René?”
“It's the most fearsome knight of them all! Dame Margaret...the black knight! She...Flo?”
“She, ah...attacked 'im an' used every trick in da book ta try an' defeat da prince, but da prince was too fast fer 'er, so she went an'...”
“Fired a cannon at the prince, killing him on the spot, the end.” Charla jumped in.
“Noooo, don't end it like that!” Maggie whined.
“Oh, okay,” Charla relented. “He survives the cannon shot...somehow. In fact, he then goes and throws the cannonball right back at her like a basketball, killing her right there on the spot! A--hey, who told you you could stand up to avoid me?”
Nigel ignored her. “But she was far from defeated. She flipped a switch, which made the entire tower grow higher and higher into the sky!”
“But the prince managed to leap inside before the door itself was too far from his reach.” Meghan jumped in. “And so he began to climb up the stairs--
“Elelalor.” Maggie said.
“Wha?”
“Elelalor, he used the elelator, silly!” Maggie told her sister.
“"Elevator", honey.” Meghan corrected her.
“Elele...Elevat...” Maggie scrunched up her face as she tried making the right sounds. “Elevator?”
“Very good!” Meghan beamed.
“Yay! So the prince got on the elele--the *elevator*-- and made it to the top! And there he saw...”
René was next. “He saw the lovely Princess Maggie sitting in her room having a tea party with the servants who made sure she had enough food and clothes and such. They were playing...”
“--This game! Heehee.” Maggie laughed.
“Ooh, deyavoo, mon.” Floritt noted.
“"deja vu".” Charla corrected her.
“Right, dat!”
“Well that was surprisingly amusing, but any chance we could do something else now?” Nigel asked, bored.
“Well, I think I have some movies around here—” Meghan started.
“Oh, NO.” Nigel groaned.
“What?” Meghan looked at him.
“YAAAY MOVIES! Canipickcanipickpleaseplease?” Maggie asked. Meghan nodded.
“Sure. Or hey, I bet you René hasn't seen any of ours, why not ask him to help you?”
Nigel muttered an aside to the others. “She really should know better than to suggest movies when in front of a kid. Now you know what comes next.”
“Oh like you never grew up watching animated movies growing up!” Charla scoffed.
“I almost didn't! I was mostly given educational drivel. I was lucky to even get anything even remotely colorful in my visual diet growing up -- and let me tell you, no parental-control chip can ever compete with having psychically-enhanced parents who are monitoring your brainwaves almost 24-7!” Nigel snapped.
“Dat explains so much, mon.” Floritt observed.
Maggie gots up and pulled René over to the rather impressive-looking DVD rack. Most of the films were either action movies, martial arts documentaries, what are apparently home movies and, right at the bottom, a rather diverse collection of kids movies of all kinds.
“You wanna pick one, René?”
“It's your house Maggie. Pick whatever you want. Personally, I always liked THAT one as a kid.” He pointed to one.
“"Ponyta Princess Lala"? Oooh, good choice!” Maggie chirped.
The others all groaned audibly - except for Meg who had a stiff smile on, as if to hide the fact that she feels the same way -- probably worse since there's a chance she's been forced to see it enough times to know it by heart.
“....to be fair, I never actually saw it when I was little...” Nigel allowed. Floritt looked surprised.
“--whoa, really mon?”
“No.” He said coolly.
“Well the movie's not THAT bad, though it might test your masculinity just a touch.” Charla noted. Nigel’s voice went deadpan.
“You don't say. Oh my. I've never had that sortt of thing happen to me before.”
“Yer gunna choke frum all dat sarcasm, Nige mon.” Floritt warned him. Nigel just sighed.
“We need popcorn!” Maggie called.
“Oooh, René, you wanna help with this?” Meghan asked him.
“Anything for you kiddo.” He picked Maggie up and put her on his shoulders. “To the kitchen! Charrrge!”
Maggie giggled from her perch. “Giddyup, René! Wheee!” She laughed.
Meghan rolled her eyes. “Remind me again which is the kid of those two?”
“I heard that!” René called from the kitchen. “Maggie, is it just me or is Meg jealous of how tight we are?”
“It's not you.” She answered as René set the timer and put in the popcorn. When it was done the two headed back into the living froom, Maggie still on his shoulders.
“Hey Maggie, ready?” René asked as they reached the couch. “One...Two...Three...Jump!” As he sat down Maggie jumped onto the couch, nearly sending Floritt flying off the couch.
“Gaaah!” She yelped. Then she climbed back on and opts to sit in the armrest this time. “You sillies!”
“Real cute.” Meghan smirked. “So, you guys ready for some Ponyta Princess Lalah?”
Maggie cheered. “Yaaaay!”
“Um...yay?” Nigel said sedately.
“Hmmm.” Was Charla’s response. Nigel opted to remain seated on the floor, which allowed Charla to steal his lap to use as her personal pillow.
“…Comfy?” He asked stiffly.
“Oh yes, quite.” Charla smirked. Nigel shook her head in defeat.
“Well then, let's start the movie!” Meghan said.
“Yay!” René cheered as he munched popcorn next to Maggie. “Anybody else want?”
“Yo, mon! Pass it ovah!” Floritt called. Charla and Nigel chimed in.
“Sure, hit me.”
“Here as well.”
“Just pass it around in a circle so everyone can dig in.” Meghan instructed.
“Shhhh, it's starting!” Maggie hushed them.
René picked up a piece of popcorn and flicked it at Charla. “You said 'hit you'.” He smirked before passing the bowl around.
Charla snatched the kernel from middair between her claws and popped it in her mouth. “Nice try.” She scoffed. “Like I didn't know you'd get cute on me with that.”
“Speaking of cute, can we please just be quiet while the movie starts?” Nigel asked.
“Whut mon, it's just da openin' credits...an da song.” Floritt winced as she oh-so-casually pressed her floppy ears tight against her head as she failed to block out the pain that is Princess Lala's singing.
René was curious “Why? You not want to miss anything Nige?” He asked as he grinned and started flicking Floritt’s ears. She tried to whap René away with her tail.
“ 'Ey!”
“Well I want to see what all the fuss is about!” Nigel defended himself. “...though I'm starting to regret it some.”
”Wow, I used to loooove this when I was little.” Charla sounded astonished. “Then I saw it again about a year ago and didn't realize how bad it—”
“Heeeey!” Maggie protested.
“Uh, I mean...sad! It has a sad ending!” Charla corrected herself.
“Yeah...” Maggie sighed.
“Funny.” René mused. “I used to watch this all the time when I was young. I wonder if that had any lasting influence on me. Ah well.” He shrugged as he proceeded to give Floritt a noogie.
Charla looked up, opened her mouth to answer René's question, then decided against it. “Too easy.” She muttered.
René looked wryly at Meghan while he still kept Floritt in a head-lock. “Find it odd that your kid sister is the most mature one here? Save perhaps you?”
Floritt tried to struggle free from the Vulpiox's clutches. “…eeeeey!” She protested.
“No. No not really.” Meghan rolled her eyes. Charla looked betrayed.
“Oh come on, I haven't insulted you THAT much today!”
“So does this mean you're quota for annoying me has been completed for today?” Nigel asked hopefully.
“Yeah, right.” Charla snorted. Nigel just whimpered.
René drummed lightly on Floritt's head with his fingers as an idea struck him. “Say, why don't we have hot dogs for dinner? We can put them in the oven or just hold them over Meg's tail for a bit until they thaw.”
In a beat Meghan hastily replied. “We're using an oven!” She sighed. “Not going through THAT again...”
“Can we roast marshmellows over your tail? Pleeeease?” René asked as he made ‘Bambi eyes.’
“Don't think your cuteness is enough to win me over, foxy!” She snorted, well immune to cute-ness black mail.
“But I'm the cutest one here!” René protested. “Except for Maggie of course.”
“Can I practice my fire with the food, pleeeeease?” Maggie pleaded.
“Only if you're careful. Not everything in the kitchen is fireproof, you know!” Meghan reminded her.
“René could supervise!” Maggie chimed in.
“Yeah, but who'll supervise him?” Charla smirked.
“I will, duuuuuh.” Maggie rolled her eyes.
Charla chuckled. “Well then he's in good hands then!” René glared at her.
“And I'll be glad to help Maggie, unlike SOME people here she's considerate and polite!”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.” Charla shrugged.
“Do you two mind? You're giving me a headache.” Nigel complained.
Floritt commented. “You get more headaches than a Psyduck, mon.”
“Can you really blame me right now?” He asked of her.
“...guess not.”
“Alright, knock it off, you guys, I'm trying to watch the movie.” Meghan said.
“--Oooh ooh, this is the best part! Can we make the food after this?” Maggie asked.
“Sure you can, sis.”
Floritt just braced herself by covering her ears again. René leaned forward on the back of the couch and ended up falling into Floritt. “Sorry!”
“--HEY!” She protested as they both end up rolling off the couch and onto the floor, right on top of Nigel and Charla!
“You guys alright?!” Meghan asked in concern.
“Would be alot more alright if I didn't have all these 'morphs on top of me!” Charla grumbled.
“Gaaah! Get off!” Nigel groaned.
Floritt moaned. “Owww, I tink I broke sumetin'...
“I can't feel my tails...” René whined.
“Okay, THAT'S it!” Nigel seethed. In a moment, all the ones caught in the poke-pile began to slowly levitate off the ground as Nigel used his Psychic skills to get the bloody lott off his frail-looking form. René and Floritt ended up lying on top of each other on the sofa while Charla was set on a chair opposite to Meg's. “MUCH better!” He grunted in satisfaction.
René looked up at Floritt, who was lying on him. “Sooo...” He said finally. “Was it as good for you as it is for me?
“Cute, mon.” Floritt smirked as she moved on back to her 'seat' on the armrest.
“And was it my imagination or did Nigel take greater care determining where Charla landed than he did with us?” René added.
“Yanno, ya may be onto someting dere....” Floritt mused.
“Don't be reading too much into it, there just wasn't enough room on the sofa for the lot of you!” Nigel snapped.
“Dis ain't a love seat, mon, der was room.” The smeargle pointed out.
“Yes, well...you're still reading too much into it!” He insisted. Charla, strangely enough, didn’t throw in any quips herself.
René just whistles non-chalantly under his breath as he gave Nige a skeptical look. Nigel peered over his shoulder at René. “...what?” He asked.
“Oh noooothiiing...” René said in a sing-song. “I was just wondering, um...if Floritt could keep her balance on just her tail!”
“'cerse I can! Tho' not fer long, cuz I'm heaveh an' stuff.” Floritt answered. René tried to test this by picking her up himself.
“Yep. You're right...” He wheezed as he fell over backwwards, Floritt falling on his stomach.
“--Hey!” Floritt exclaimed as she landed with a thud...“We keep doin' dis alot.” Then it was Nigel’s turn to whistle suspiciously at René. The latter looked at him even as Floritt was ontop of him.
“What? Unlike some people I happen to LIKE being physical: tussling, grabbing, goofing around with friends and stuff.” René said.
“And I'm sure you're very proud of this fact, but if it's an attempt to make me rethink my approach in life, you're doing a rather poor attempt at it.” Nigel snorted.
“You know, he has a point...woudn't kill you to let it down every now and then.” Charla spoke up.
“Yes, and every time I go along with that idea, I immediately get shoulder-gabbed or prodded or worse, so no thank you.” Nigel sniffed.
“Dun ya ever get tired keepin' dat up?” Floritt wondered.
“Not really. I've trained myself over the years to have it set up almost instinctively, there's really little "brain power" needed to keep it up unless I need to strengthen it. The taxing part comes from when I have to switch which type of shield I have up, since no one shield will protect me from everything.”
“Not even Protect?” Meghan weighed in.
“You should know why I don't use that much.” Nigel told her. “That one's only for immediate dangers only, as its powers weaken the more I use it. So no, no one shield I can rely on.”
Floritt looked at Nigel even as she sat herself a bit too comfortably on René's lap now. “I dunno, would be nice if ya joined in on da fun ev'ry now and den.”
“Fun for you guys maybe...but I don't believe it's for me.” He said stiffly.
René looked wryly at Floritt, then shrugged in a 'what can you do' manner and hugged her from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. “Well people are so warm and cuddly.” He smiled. Florit slumped a bit as René puts his weight on her back, but doesn't mind overall.
“Dat's true, mon.” She agreed,
“Mmm.” Nigel mused. “You're a Fire-type, of course you'd be interested in being close to warm things.”
“Must you reduce everything to type?” René asked he rubbed his head against Floritt's shoulder. “Didn't you ever have a stuffed animal you liked to snuggle with that made you feel better?”
“Yes he does. We saw it dat one time we went ta yer place mon.” Floritt reminded him.
“No I d--WHAT?! When were you in my ROOM?” Nigel demanded.
“Ya passed out dat day, 'member? Had ta take ya to yer room.” Floritt shrugged.
“--passed out?” Charla repeated.
“Healin' Wish he used on me. Frum when we were trainin'. An' I wasn't hert dat bad, either.”
“Nigel, is this true?” Meghan asked.
Nigel gave an exasperated sigh. “YES, yes, it's true. And I didn't want to worry your folks by sending you back home injured, that's all!”
“Yah right, mon. I remembah dat day an' da reason we even trained ta begin wit'. Ya just wanted an excuse ta jest ferget 'bout what ya saw dat day in sch—” Floritt began.
“QUIET, BAEZ!” Nigel snapped at her furiously. “...I need air. Meg, mind?”
“Uh, no, go ahead...” She said, not sure what was going on.
Nigel got up and started to head towards the patio. He pushed open the sliding door and stepped outside. Then he closed it behind him and brooded. Once he was gone Charla asked quietly, “...was it a Natu plushie, by any chance, Floritt?”
Floritt nodded numbly. “Yeh. Had it unda a pillo'.”
Charla watched Nigel. “It was my birthday gift to him, the big controversial birthday we all know by now, no less. Didn't think he even kept it after all that, let alone sleep with it...”
“Oh, mon...” Floritt groaned. And things had been going so well…
&&&
&&&
René and the Crossroads crew found themselves wandering into a friendly ice cream café called Kerstman’s. After they orders were taken they got their ice-cream and found a table for them to sit at.
“You guys were amazing out there today, weren't they Maggie?” René asked as they took their seats and helped themselves to their ice cream.
“Yup-yup, they were really good out there, even you René!” She said in between licks as she munched on her lava cone – it was kind of crunchy.
“We are looking good out there.” Meghan agreed. “We might just have a chance against Pearl in the exams!”
“Too right, mon.” Floritt agreed as she slurped down her Popsicle.
Charla probed her chocolate sundae with her spoon. “I dunno, we were still a bit slow out there. And let's face it, a team like that, considering the type of leader they have? They'll probably going to try overwhelming us with strength, so better that we learn to make our self tougher targets to hit.”
Nigel idly let his pistachio cone float in the air before him, his arms crossed. “Or we make our self tougher, period. We CAN beat these guys. And Meg, if possible, I wish to go up against Rayon.” Meghan looked astonished.
“--Rayon? Are you sure?”
“Positive. I've especially been training to take him down.” Nigel said earnestly. Charla said nothing, she just looked down.
“Well...we'll see how it goes. No guarantees, now.” Meghan warned him.
Nigel nodded in agreement, licking at the ice-cream while it floated in front of his face.
“Hey, René? You ever think up battle tactics for your team?” Maggie asked him. René smiled at her. “Maggie you are seriously starting to inflate my ego.”
“Careful there,” Meghan warned. “If it gets too inflated I'm gonna have to ask Maggie to pop it!” Maggie giggled. René smiled again and shrugged.
“I don't know much about tactics other than 'don't let the other gal hit you' and basic stuff like not sending fire types against water types or that kind of thing. Ibtisam--Sam--usually plans that kind of stuff, determining how each of our opponents should be taken down.” He answered.
“So how well IS yer team doin' so far, mon?” Floritt asked.
“We're coming along...It's a little difficult because Rahne wants to be a doctor. You know the whole, 'Do No Harm' thing. Add that to her familial obligations, namely supporting herself and her dad financially and she has very little time or energy left over. I don't know how she does it all. Maybe she can't. Maybe that's why she was left back last year.” René shrugged, this time uncomfortable. Rahne STILL hadn’t told him, or to his knowledge, ANYONE about why she was left back last year.
René moved on to the rest of his team. “Romano doesn't fighting all that seriously. She's just too good-natured. She likes to banter and kid around with her opponents. She still wins as often as not, but buckling down and treating it as seriously as she should. And Sam...Sam loves fighting. Heck, she's may even be worse than YOU Meg!”
“I'm not sure if to be flattered or offended.” Meghan drawled.
“I’ll leave you to decide.” René answered diplomatically as he picked up a cherry. “Hey Maggie?” He put the cherry on top of her head. “There!”
“Nuuu…” Maggie whined as she tried to grab the cherry from her head but her arms are kind of stubby.
“Sorry. I just thought you were so sweet that you deserved to have a cherry on top! Here you go.” He took off the cherry and put it on Maggie's ice cream. The little Magby quickly gobbled the cherry up and spat out the stem.
René rubbed her head. “Hey Maggie, what do you say we make these guys have a tea party with us?” Maggie looked ecstatic.
“OOH! Can we, Big Sis? Pleeeease?”
“Yeah, sure.” Meghan agreed. “Guys?”
“Ooh, ooh, let's do it!” Floritt agreed, her tail wagging from side to side. Charla’s response was a bit more muted.
“Say what?”
“..suppose it woudn't hurt, provided there's good tea involved...” Nigel mumbled.
“I like Jasmine myself.” René admitted. “Lead the way Maggie!” Maggie fairly leapt up to lead the others back to her house. René let himself fall behind a bit so he could have a word with Meghan without Maggie's in earshot. “How is she doing? I mean, not having parents at her age...” He trailed off.
Meghan nodded gratefully for his asking. “Well, we lost mom while she was practically just hatched, so she doesn't remember much what she looks like, save for the stories. That said, I think she's doing ok...I mean, I hope so, since I am the one in charge of her now.”
“She making any friends her age? Doing well in school? All that?” He asked curiously. Then he lowered his voice. “How're YOU doing?”
Meghan blinked before answering. “Yeah, she's making friends, though she has had some behavior problem, what with wanting to be a battler and all. You can imagine what this can lead to at points. Doing well in school at least.” Sighing, Meghan massaged the side of her head. “And I'm managing. Somehow.” René licked his lips.
“Look if you ever need any help...feel free to talk to me. I can baby sit Maggie anytime, at least…I was wondering, do you ever tell Maggie that there IS more to life than battling? Do you ever remember to tell YOURSELF that?”
Meghan couldn’t repress a groan of annoyance. “Yes, René, I do. And I tell her that too. At the same time, though, I don't really force it down her throat because the truth of the matter is, the Gym is our home, our life. We work to keep her fire burning, because that's not just a job, its a way of life. Now until she is old enough to really decide for herself what she wants to do with her life, I'm going to do my best to teach her all I know and all I learn. And that includes the battling, like it or not.”
“I'm not criticizing your choices or your life-style.” René was quick to placate her. “I have no trouble with her or you battling if that's your wish. I just want to be sure that you're both able to take a step back and see the wider world once in a while. You just spent this afternoon teaching it to me...and scaring me senseless with your intensity.” He added. “I've heard you live with your grandfather, your mother's father I assume. What's he like?”
“Sorry about that.” Meghan apologized, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I've been known to get...weird when I'm fighting. What can I say? I play for keeps. I've lost too many times in the past to cope with, I suppose.”
“And Gramps? Yeah, mom's old man. He's...hard to explain. He'd probably not say it in the nicest of ways but he pretty much agrees with you, about there being more to life than the Gym. Truth is, he partially blames the lifestyle for mom's death...though not as much as he blames himself for not having done more.”
“Oh...” René said sheepishly. “Then I guess anything I'd say would be old hat to you, huh?”
“The "saying it nicely" woudn't be old hat, if that helps any.” Meghan told him. They were almost to her house. Still René couldn’t help adding.
“But isn't being a prospective gym owner AND a team leader a bit much though? Maybe you should've offered the team use of the gym and let someone else be the leader. I'm sure Nige--er or Charla, um...maybe Floritt....Okay I guess I see why you're the leader.”
“It's not so easy. Mom specifically told me I was next in line to take care of the gym, it's not a job I can just hand out to anyone else. And should anything happen to me, the responsibility would go to Maggie. See what my situation is, now?” Meghan asked. Seeing he was stymied, René switched the subject.
“Who're you gonna take on from Team Pearl?” He asked as Meghan unlocked the door and opened it.
“Hrm, dunno yet.” The magmar mused as they went in. “Truth is, I don't know if letting Nige go after Rayon's a good idea. On one hand, he's probably their strongest fighter and have him get worn out battling our best defender would probably work...but Nigel's been acting weird lately, taking way more risks in trying to get on the offensive...”
“Yeah. He is a bit bent out of shape...” René observed. “How do you your team perform on the whole?”
”Can't say we have that great a winning streak, to be honest. We're just now showing any signs of any real semblance to a real team, but believe me when I say it wasn't always like that.” She told him. “Hey Maggie, how's the tea party going?” Meghan asked her little sister.
Maggie put her hands on her hip and pouted. “We haven't started yet 'cuz you two are over there talking!”
“Aww, sorry sweety.” René apologized as he rubbed Maggie's head. “Let's get started, shall we?”
“Yaay!” Maggie cheered. Meghan chuckled.
”And how 'bout we get some actual tea brewing for this? René, you want to help?”
“Sure.” René picked up a teapot and simply used his fire-breath to heat in until it started whistling. Meghan helped René out in serving out the cups.
“Just this once, I think the main living room would probably be a better place than your bedroom, Maggie.” She told her sister.
“Awww...but can I bring my dollies out still? Ooh ooh, we could play a game together! Can we, big sis? Please?” Maggie begged.
“Suppose a time-waster while we enjoy some tea couldn't hurt much...” Nigel allowed.
Charla shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“An' we need tunes, mon! Pity I didn't bring me mixtapes wit' me'!” Floritt pouted.
“We'll just turn the radio on then.” Meghan rolled her eyes as she pointed at the radio. Floritt cracked her knuckles and took possession of said radio, ear raised and pressed on the amp while she turned the knob, looking to all the world like she's trying to crack a safe.
“Soo....what should we play?” Maggie asked.
“Hmmm how about a story telling game?” René offered.
”Is that like the game where one person starts up part of a story and another person continues the story and so on until we're done?” Charla asked.
Nigel nodded. “I dread to see what your imagination would create in such a story.”
“Be thankful Maggie's here, else I'd give you the raw, uncensored answer to that question.” Charla teased.
“...you've no idea how thankful I am of that, yes.” Nigel replied as he sipped his tea, mannerism defying his having growing up in a well-refined household.
As Nigel enjoyed his tea, Floritt, whooped in delight as she found a station that suits her tastes. “All-salsa channel, bless ye beautiful self fer existin'!”
Maggie set down her dolls all in a row on the rugged floor --mostly plushies, really-- and sat down to join the group. “So, ah, what're we gonna play?” She asked.
“Storyteller, sis. You remember that, right?” Meghan reminded her.
“Ooh ooh, yeah, I remember! Can I go first?”
“Go ahead. We were waiting for you.”
“Lessee....once upon a time...there was this really really big forest full of weird, scary creatures an' stuff. Grrr!” Maggie growled, gnashing her teeth -- or would, if she had any. “And then suddenly, this really tall, handsome pokemorph showed off from a faaaar-off land 'cuz he heard of a dark secret hidin' in the forest! And that knight...” Then she suddenly pointed dramatically in René's direction. “Your turn!”
René blinked but quickly rallied. “Um...the handsome knight headed into the woods just as night began to fall. He made camp and made his dinner. He brushed his tails” René patted his own for emphasis. “And reflects on just how good looking he is. Then he heard a noise close by. He went looking and found four confused, argumentative pokemorphs shouting about something—” Nigel gave René a peculiar glance as he tells his...strangely familiar-sounding story. Not being his turn, though, he said nothing. René continued. “ So he walked up to them and they...” Then he pointed to Floritt. “Take it away!”
“A'ight! So, ah...da four pokemorphs were all standin' in a cercle discussin' who should be onnit, fer it 'pparently wuz very important fer 'em ta stand 'ere an' stuff. Da knight goes up ta dem an' asks 'em whut all da fuzz is about an' dey all stop talkin' ta each otha' an' explain ta 'im dat...Charla?”
“Goodie.” Charla drawled as she sipped her tea. “So it turns out this particular circle was a gateway to a secret place that the four 'morphs go to play with, far away from the scary forest creatures. Usually they would take turns getting on the circle to go there, but apparently something was amiss, something wasn't letting them cross over no matter how much they tried. So they turn to the knight and...” She elbowed the gardevoir, who was so entranced from savoring the drink his shield didn't have its usual strength behind it and so was easy enough to bypass and make him nearly drop his precious tea.
“--GAH! Careful, this could have burned me!” Nigel protested.
“Your turn.” Charla told him flatly.
“Hmph...and so the knight, curious as he was about what this peculiar doorway could be and wondering if, perhaps, the very thing he is searching for could be located through there, goes ahead and asks if he could try getting on the circle. The four 'morphs turn to him and laugh out loud, not at all believing one such as he could do what they themselves are having such a hard time with. Eventually the group decides, for humor's sake, to let the knight have a try at getting on the circle. And as the knight steps inside...Meg?”
Meghan shook her head. “Pass. Need to go check up on something real quick, go on ahead without me.” She got up and left, leaving Nigel a bit nonplussed.
“Erm...Maggie?” The magby didn’t mind chiming in.
“There's a biiiiiig flash an' the knight goes WHOOSH into the sky and is taking to another world! An' in that world...René!”
René thought fast. “In that world the Knights finds that it is populated by ugly (mostly) pinkish beings who like to hunt down and imprison poor little pokemon--our evolutionary ancestors--and cram them into little balls to be their slaves. So the knight--Florrit!”
“'Ey! Why always me, mon?!” She protested.
“It's roundy-rown!” Maggie told her. “So you go next!”
“Oh, okay den. Uh...so da knight be all horrified by whut he sees an' goes inta battle. He spots one of da little Pokemon about ta get captured by dis one small pink ting and he jumps in da way ta protect da lil' Pokemon with his very life. And then--Cha?”
“And then a bunch of rocks fall and everyone dies, the end!” Charla grunted. Everyone else looked at her severely.
“Charla!” They groaned.
“I was only kidding!” She defended herself. “Okay, so um...right! The pinkish being suddenly halts, completely taken aback at what he's seeing. "You there," the pink being asks, "what in blazes are you and why do you deny me my prize?!" To this, the knight takes a deep breath and replies—” She tried to elbow Nigel again, only this time he was ready for it. “Oof! Hey, no fair ducking when I'm about to elbow you, Nigel!”
“Like you need to be reminded that I don't take well to pain!” Nigel sniffed. “So then!” He took a sip of his tea before continuing. “The knight takes a deep breath and replies "I am Lord Flametail of the Flameytails and I demand you explain why I should not slay you right here and now for the insolence you've cause these poor creatures!" To add to his threat, Lord Flametail pulls out a...”
Meghan appeared just then with a tray full of sandwiches. “Magikarp!” She announced. Maggie giggled. Then Meghan continued. “It is a wise talking Magikarp that grants wishes! He offers it to the pink thing in exchange for the poor creature's life! And to prove how it works, he asks the Magikarp for a wish. "I wish that..." Maggie?”
“That EVERYONE HERE WOULD GO OUT TO EAT ICE CREAM INSTEAD!” Maggie shouted. “An' an' an' --René?”
“Ice cream rained down from the sky!” The vulpix laughed, getting into it. “The pink things forgot about trapping pokemon and started running around with their mouths open. Soon they became too fat too chase pokemon anymore! So then the knight—Floritt?”
“The knight, uh...decided ta tho' a partay dere! An da four Pokemorphs from befo showed up soon aftahwards ta join in'! Charla!”
“And then the very fat pink things started to roll around and try to squash everything with their massive bulk! The pokemorphs ran in horror, but Lord Flametail went and--darn it, stop DUCKING!” She demanded as Nigel avoided her again.
“Not bloody likely!” He shot back.
“Language!” Meghan warned him.
“Sorry, sorry. So our dear handsome prince once more held his hand out and told the pink things to cease their rolling about this instant. They told him they would, should he accept a request from them. The prince agreed, so they told him that they'd leave them along if, and only if...Meg?”
“The prince...would find their long-lost princess!” Meghan added as she snuck behind Meg to hug her from behind and set her down on her lap.
“Heheehee!” The magby giggled. “An ah, they told 'im that she was trapped in a faraway castle an' that if he finds her he can marry her! Go, René!”
“The prince really wasn't in a rush to get married but thought, what the hey? No one should be trapped. So he went off on a quest with the four pokemorphs to find the long-lost princess! As they got started on the journey they ran into a...Floritt!”
The poor smeargle looked blinsided. “Dey ran into me?! Oh mon, I dunno whut to say! I, uh, I did a dance in front of 'em an' ran off, den dey went back on deir journeh! Nige!”
“...he didn't mean...oh, nevermind.” Nigel groaned, taking a nibble from his sandwich before resuming. “And I thought we were doing this round-robin?”
“Charla said ta pass 'er, needed ta use da lil' Luxray's room.” Floritt answered.
“What, she did? Didn't even see her leave...alright, then. So then off the five of them went into another frightening forest full of monsters where along the way they heard a ghastly yell. Curious as to what caused this noise, they went off the track and over towards a nearby river, where they spotted -- Meg.”
“A beautiful water maiden crying in the river!” Meghan announced.
“An' she was really pretty an' made of water an' stuff, but she was sad for some reason. So the prince asks her why she's all sad and she says --René?” Maggie turned to him.
“She's sad because...because...” René had to think for a moment. “Because someone's making a dam in the river that's cutting off the river's flow! So what the travelers do is...Flo?”
“Dey go see whut be dammin' da rivah! An dey see that a bunch o' Pokemon are doin' da dammin'! Dese Pokemon be—”
“Bidoof.” Charla said.
“--EEP! When'd you get back?” Floritt flinched.
“Right now, of course.” She answered reasonably. “Nigel?”
“What, that's all you're adding? Bidoof?” Nigel asked her. The luxray nodded.
“Bidoof.”
Nigel looked at her oddly but shrugged. “...Right then, Bidoof were making dams in the river. They weren't mere Bidoofs either, they were massive creatures with long fangs and sharp claws! Bigger than a house, even! Meg.”
“And they breathed fire.” She added.
Maggie giggled. “Silly! Bidoof can't breathe fire!”
“They're also not as big as a house.” Meghan pointed out. That seemed to satisfy her little sister.
“K, you're right. So this one reeeeeally ugly Bidoof starts to charge the group and yelling REALLY loud! Uh, how does a Bidoof cry sound again?”
Meg raised her claws. “BIDOOOOOOOOOOOF!” She called, spitting out a wimpy little flame. That got Maggie giggling hysterically.
“Yeah, just like that! And so Lord Flameytail jumps in and says...go, René!”
“Lord Flameytail says I'm not afraid of you! He breathes fire right back at the Bidoof and then he holds up a mirror! The Bidoof get scared and then...Floritt!”
“Why am I in dis again? Uhh, I do 'nother dance an' den run off befo' da giant Bidoof runs me ovah! Cha mon?”
Charla just shook her head and giggles. “Right. Scared of his own reflection, the giant Bidoof smashes against the dam and tears it apart, the water washing it and his friends away and freeing the river. In thanks, the river maiden offers them this bit of advice...LOOK OUT NIGEL!”
“What in th' bloody kind of advi--OW!” He yelped as she punched him in the arm.
“Ha! Gotcha! Not very good at seeing the future, are you?” Charla crowed.
Nigel massaged his arm. “Oh, bugger off, you know the answer to that!”
“...no I don't, actually.” She admitted. “Why is that?”
“It's because...oh, nevermind, I'll explain later!” He waved it off. “So yes, the maiden tells the group to be careful of the path they walk on and sends them on their way. Next the group finds themselves back on the dirt road and...”
“They find the road splits into two—” Meghan started.
“Three.” Maggie corrected.
“...three parts.” Meghan continued without a beat. “They decide to split up there, with Lord Flameytail taking the road in the middle with the rest of the group splits into two and take the remaining two paths. As he goes deeper into the forest...”
“He finds a tower! But oh no, something is guarding the tower! What could it be? René?”
“It's the most fearsome knight of them all! Dame Margaret...the black knight! She...Flo?”
“She, ah...attacked 'im an' used every trick in da book ta try an' defeat da prince, but da prince was too fast fer 'er, so she went an'...”
“Fired a cannon at the prince, killing him on the spot, the end.” Charla jumped in.
“Noooo, don't end it like that!” Maggie whined.
“Oh, okay,” Charla relented. “He survives the cannon shot...somehow. In fact, he then goes and throws the cannonball right back at her like a basketball, killing her right there on the spot! A--hey, who told you you could stand up to avoid me?”
Nigel ignored her. “But she was far from defeated. She flipped a switch, which made the entire tower grow higher and higher into the sky!”
“But the prince managed to leap inside before the door itself was too far from his reach.” Meghan jumped in. “And so he began to climb up the stairs--
“Elelalor.” Maggie said.
“Wha?”
“Elelalor, he used the elelator, silly!” Maggie told her sister.
“"Elevator", honey.” Meghan corrected her.
“Elele...Elevat...” Maggie scrunched up her face as she tried making the right sounds. “Elevator?”
“Very good!” Meghan beamed.
“Yay! So the prince got on the elele--the *elevator*-- and made it to the top! And there he saw...”
René was next. “He saw the lovely Princess Maggie sitting in her room having a tea party with the servants who made sure she had enough food and clothes and such. They were playing...”
“--This game! Heehee.” Maggie laughed.
“Ooh, deyavoo, mon.” Floritt noted.
“"deja vu".” Charla corrected her.
“Right, dat!”
“Well that was surprisingly amusing, but any chance we could do something else now?” Nigel asked, bored.
“Well, I think I have some movies around here—” Meghan started.
“Oh, NO.” Nigel groaned.
“What?” Meghan looked at him.
“YAAAY MOVIES! Canipickcanipickpleaseplease?” Maggie asked. Meghan nodded.
“Sure. Or hey, I bet you René hasn't seen any of ours, why not ask him to help you?”
Nigel muttered an aside to the others. “She really should know better than to suggest movies when in front of a kid. Now you know what comes next.”
“Oh like you never grew up watching animated movies growing up!” Charla scoffed.
“I almost didn't! I was mostly given educational drivel. I was lucky to even get anything even remotely colorful in my visual diet growing up -- and let me tell you, no parental-control chip can ever compete with having psychically-enhanced parents who are monitoring your brainwaves almost 24-7!” Nigel snapped.
“Dat explains so much, mon.” Floritt observed.
Maggie gots up and pulled René over to the rather impressive-looking DVD rack. Most of the films were either action movies, martial arts documentaries, what are apparently home movies and, right at the bottom, a rather diverse collection of kids movies of all kinds.
“You wanna pick one, René?”
“It's your house Maggie. Pick whatever you want. Personally, I always liked THAT one as a kid.” He pointed to one.
“"Ponyta Princess Lala"? Oooh, good choice!” Maggie chirped.
The others all groaned audibly - except for Meg who had a stiff smile on, as if to hide the fact that she feels the same way -- probably worse since there's a chance she's been forced to see it enough times to know it by heart.
“....to be fair, I never actually saw it when I was little...” Nigel allowed. Floritt looked surprised.
“--whoa, really mon?”
“No.” He said coolly.
“Well the movie's not THAT bad, though it might test your masculinity just a touch.” Charla noted. Nigel’s voice went deadpan.
“You don't say. Oh my. I've never had that sortt of thing happen to me before.”
“Yer gunna choke frum all dat sarcasm, Nige mon.” Floritt warned him. Nigel just sighed.
“We need popcorn!” Maggie called.
“Oooh, René, you wanna help with this?” Meghan asked him.
“Anything for you kiddo.” He picked Maggie up and put her on his shoulders. “To the kitchen! Charrrge!”
Maggie giggled from her perch. “Giddyup, René! Wheee!” She laughed.
Meghan rolled her eyes. “Remind me again which is the kid of those two?”
“I heard that!” René called from the kitchen. “Maggie, is it just me or is Meg jealous of how tight we are?”
“It's not you.” She answered as René set the timer and put in the popcorn. When it was done the two headed back into the living froom, Maggie still on his shoulders.
“Hey Maggie, ready?” René asked as they reached the couch. “One...Two...Three...Jump!” As he sat down Maggie jumped onto the couch, nearly sending Floritt flying off the couch.
“Gaaah!” She yelped. Then she climbed back on and opts to sit in the armrest this time. “You sillies!”
“Real cute.” Meghan smirked. “So, you guys ready for some Ponyta Princess Lalah?”
Maggie cheered. “Yaaaay!”
“Um...yay?” Nigel said sedately.
“Hmmm.” Was Charla’s response. Nigel opted to remain seated on the floor, which allowed Charla to steal his lap to use as her personal pillow.
“…Comfy?” He asked stiffly.
“Oh yes, quite.” Charla smirked. Nigel shook her head in defeat.
“Well then, let's start the movie!” Meghan said.
“Yay!” René cheered as he munched popcorn next to Maggie. “Anybody else want?”
“Yo, mon! Pass it ovah!” Floritt called. Charla and Nigel chimed in.
“Sure, hit me.”
“Here as well.”
“Just pass it around in a circle so everyone can dig in.” Meghan instructed.
“Shhhh, it's starting!” Maggie hushed them.
René picked up a piece of popcorn and flicked it at Charla. “You said 'hit you'.” He smirked before passing the bowl around.
Charla snatched the kernel from middair between her claws and popped it in her mouth. “Nice try.” She scoffed. “Like I didn't know you'd get cute on me with that.”
“Speaking of cute, can we please just be quiet while the movie starts?” Nigel asked.
“Whut mon, it's just da openin' credits...an da song.” Floritt winced as she oh-so-casually pressed her floppy ears tight against her head as she failed to block out the pain that is Princess Lala's singing.
René was curious “Why? You not want to miss anything Nige?” He asked as he grinned and started flicking Floritt’s ears. She tried to whap René away with her tail.
“ 'Ey!”
“Well I want to see what all the fuss is about!” Nigel defended himself. “...though I'm starting to regret it some.”
”Wow, I used to loooove this when I was little.” Charla sounded astonished. “Then I saw it again about a year ago and didn't realize how bad it—”
“Heeeey!” Maggie protested.
“Uh, I mean...sad! It has a sad ending!” Charla corrected herself.
“Yeah...” Maggie sighed.
“Funny.” René mused. “I used to watch this all the time when I was young. I wonder if that had any lasting influence on me. Ah well.” He shrugged as he proceeded to give Floritt a noogie.
Charla looked up, opened her mouth to answer René's question, then decided against it. “Too easy.” She muttered.
René looked wryly at Meghan while he still kept Floritt in a head-lock. “Find it odd that your kid sister is the most mature one here? Save perhaps you?”
Floritt tried to struggle free from the Vulpiox's clutches. “…eeeeey!” She protested.
“No. No not really.” Meghan rolled her eyes. Charla looked betrayed.
“Oh come on, I haven't insulted you THAT much today!”
“So does this mean you're quota for annoying me has been completed for today?” Nigel asked hopefully.
“Yeah, right.” Charla snorted. Nigel just whimpered.
René drummed lightly on Floritt's head with his fingers as an idea struck him. “Say, why don't we have hot dogs for dinner? We can put them in the oven or just hold them over Meg's tail for a bit until they thaw.”
In a beat Meghan hastily replied. “We're using an oven!” She sighed. “Not going through THAT again...”
“Can we roast marshmellows over your tail? Pleeeease?” René asked as he made ‘Bambi eyes.’
“Don't think your cuteness is enough to win me over, foxy!” She snorted, well immune to cute-ness black mail.
“But I'm the cutest one here!” René protested. “Except for Maggie of course.”
“Can I practice my fire with the food, pleeeeease?” Maggie pleaded.
“Only if you're careful. Not everything in the kitchen is fireproof, you know!” Meghan reminded her.
“René could supervise!” Maggie chimed in.
“Yeah, but who'll supervise him?” Charla smirked.
“I will, duuuuuh.” Maggie rolled her eyes.
Charla chuckled. “Well then he's in good hands then!” René glared at her.
“And I'll be glad to help Maggie, unlike SOME people here she's considerate and polite!”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.” Charla shrugged.
“Do you two mind? You're giving me a headache.” Nigel complained.
Floritt commented. “You get more headaches than a Psyduck, mon.”
“Can you really blame me right now?” He asked of her.
“...guess not.”
“Alright, knock it off, you guys, I'm trying to watch the movie.” Meghan said.
“--Oooh ooh, this is the best part! Can we make the food after this?” Maggie asked.
“Sure you can, sis.”
Floritt just braced herself by covering her ears again. René leaned forward on the back of the couch and ended up falling into Floritt. “Sorry!”
“--HEY!” She protested as they both end up rolling off the couch and onto the floor, right on top of Nigel and Charla!
“You guys alright?!” Meghan asked in concern.
“Would be alot more alright if I didn't have all these 'morphs on top of me!” Charla grumbled.
“Gaaah! Get off!” Nigel groaned.
Floritt moaned. “Owww, I tink I broke sumetin'...
“I can't feel my tails...” René whined.
“Okay, THAT'S it!” Nigel seethed. In a moment, all the ones caught in the poke-pile began to slowly levitate off the ground as Nigel used his Psychic skills to get the bloody lott off his frail-looking form. René and Floritt ended up lying on top of each other on the sofa while Charla was set on a chair opposite to Meg's. “MUCH better!” He grunted in satisfaction.
René looked up at Floritt, who was lying on him. “Sooo...” He said finally. “Was it as good for you as it is for me?
“Cute, mon.” Floritt smirked as she moved on back to her 'seat' on the armrest.
“And was it my imagination or did Nigel take greater care determining where Charla landed than he did with us?” René added.
“Yanno, ya may be onto someting dere....” Floritt mused.
“Don't be reading too much into it, there just wasn't enough room on the sofa for the lot of you!” Nigel snapped.
“Dis ain't a love seat, mon, der was room.” The smeargle pointed out.
“Yes, well...you're still reading too much into it!” He insisted. Charla, strangely enough, didn’t throw in any quips herself.
René just whistles non-chalantly under his breath as he gave Nige a skeptical look. Nigel peered over his shoulder at René. “...what?” He asked.
“Oh noooothiiing...” René said in a sing-song. “I was just wondering, um...if Floritt could keep her balance on just her tail!”
“'cerse I can! Tho' not fer long, cuz I'm heaveh an' stuff.” Floritt answered. René tried to test this by picking her up himself.
“Yep. You're right...” He wheezed as he fell over backwwards, Floritt falling on his stomach.
“--Hey!” Floritt exclaimed as she landed with a thud...“We keep doin' dis alot.” Then it was Nigel’s turn to whistle suspiciously at René. The latter looked at him even as Floritt was ontop of him.
“What? Unlike some people I happen to LIKE being physical: tussling, grabbing, goofing around with friends and stuff.” René said.
“And I'm sure you're very proud of this fact, but if it's an attempt to make me rethink my approach in life, you're doing a rather poor attempt at it.” Nigel snorted.
“You know, he has a point...woudn't kill you to let it down every now and then.” Charla spoke up.
“Yes, and every time I go along with that idea, I immediately get shoulder-gabbed or prodded or worse, so no thank you.” Nigel sniffed.
“Dun ya ever get tired keepin' dat up?” Floritt wondered.
“Not really. I've trained myself over the years to have it set up almost instinctively, there's really little "brain power" needed to keep it up unless I need to strengthen it. The taxing part comes from when I have to switch which type of shield I have up, since no one shield will protect me from everything.”
“Not even Protect?” Meghan weighed in.
“You should know why I don't use that much.” Nigel told her. “That one's only for immediate dangers only, as its powers weaken the more I use it. So no, no one shield I can rely on.”
Floritt looked at Nigel even as she sat herself a bit too comfortably on René's lap now. “I dunno, would be nice if ya joined in on da fun ev'ry now and den.”
“Fun for you guys maybe...but I don't believe it's for me.” He said stiffly.
René looked wryly at Floritt, then shrugged in a 'what can you do' manner and hugged her from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. “Well people are so warm and cuddly.” He smiled. Florit slumped a bit as René puts his weight on her back, but doesn't mind overall.
“Dat's true, mon.” She agreed,
“Mmm.” Nigel mused. “You're a Fire-type, of course you'd be interested in being close to warm things.”
“Must you reduce everything to type?” René asked he rubbed his head against Floritt's shoulder. “Didn't you ever have a stuffed animal you liked to snuggle with that made you feel better?”
“Yes he does. We saw it dat one time we went ta yer place mon.” Floritt reminded him.
“No I d--WHAT?! When were you in my ROOM?” Nigel demanded.
“Ya passed out dat day, 'member? Had ta take ya to yer room.” Floritt shrugged.
“--passed out?” Charla repeated.
“Healin' Wish he used on me. Frum when we were trainin'. An' I wasn't hert dat bad, either.”
“Nigel, is this true?” Meghan asked.
Nigel gave an exasperated sigh. “YES, yes, it's true. And I didn't want to worry your folks by sending you back home injured, that's all!”
“Yah right, mon. I remembah dat day an' da reason we even trained ta begin wit'. Ya just wanted an excuse ta jest ferget 'bout what ya saw dat day in sch—” Floritt began.
“QUIET, BAEZ!” Nigel snapped at her furiously. “...I need air. Meg, mind?”
“Uh, no, go ahead...” She said, not sure what was going on.
Nigel got up and started to head towards the patio. He pushed open the sliding door and stepped outside. Then he closed it behind him and brooded. Once he was gone Charla asked quietly, “...was it a Natu plushie, by any chance, Floritt?”
Floritt nodded numbly. “Yeh. Had it unda a pillo'.”
Charla watched Nigel. “It was my birthday gift to him, the big controversial birthday we all know by now, no less. Didn't think he even kept it after all that, let alone sleep with it...”
“Oh, mon...” Floritt groaned. And things had been going so well…
&&&
Ack, you reupped while I was reading! D: Did you change anything? Original comment is as follows:
Oh snaps. Good look into Nigel there.
It occurs to me that not only does Rene seem to be growing more confident lately, but we don't see the trans side of him that much anymore. I mean, no one refers to him with female pronouns, and he just sort of ends up in the girls' locker room once in a while when it's funny. <.< Just an observation.
Also, elelator. :D
Oh snaps. Good look into Nigel there.
It occurs to me that not only does Rene seem to be growing more confident lately, but we don't see the trans side of him that much anymore. I mean, no one refers to him with female pronouns, and he just sort of ends up in the girls' locker room once in a while when it's funny. <.< Just an observation.
Also, elelator. :D
There were some problems with the file itself. No changes were made.
Anyway, Rene is seldom referred to by female pronouns, doesn't mean he's not trans. It just didn't come up that often when Kompy and I RPed this whole thing out since Rene was mostly stressing about school, battles, Nicole and the like. I'll be dealing with more serious stuff about Rene's sexuality in other stories.
Heh. Maggie's adorable. Thank Kompy for that.
Anyway, Rene is seldom referred to by female pronouns, doesn't mean he's not trans. It just didn't come up that often when Kompy and I RPed this whole thing out since Rene was mostly stressing about school, battles, Nicole and the like. I'll be dealing with more serious stuff about Rene's sexuality in other stories.
Heh. Maggie's adorable. Thank Kompy for that.
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