(Untitled)

[eflamberge]

[The flamboyant, blue-haired Count is standing somewhere smack in the middle of Azimuth Plain. He seems to have no Pokémon out whatsover, not even Fang, his trusty Zangoose, or Raymond, the newborn Zangoose-morphing baby that he's been parading around the Island. He is, however, carrying five Poké Balls, as opposed to the usual six, and his sword.

Comments

[oceansbane]

[You won't be waiting for too long, Edmond; slack as he might be in some regards, Maxie has never been the sort to believe in being late. The world doesn't wait for one person, after all; he's arrogant, but not arrogant enough to expect it to wait for him. Not at this point, anyway.

He's early. And you're early. Convenient.

He'll be noting the change in weapon, though he won't comment on it; he's aware of the tension. He'll actually be approaching you in a manner that you can see, then, and ensuring that he's both visible and audible.]

...I see you've decided to grace me with your presence. Good.

[He pauses. Breathes. His gaze is wary.]

I appreciate you doing that on such short notice.

[eflamberge]

[He starts taking deep, slow breaths when he sees Maxie approach. Look at him. He looks just like the Maxie that Edmond feels so deeply for, and yet... he's someone altogether different. It took Edmond the longest while to figure that out, and he's made up his mind. The clincher was when this... Maxie-like creature hurt Maxie a while ago. That cannot be forgiven.]

Now, don't you flatter yourself. I don't answer to you. Not anymore.

[Normally, he'd be flailing his hands a little to stress the concepts. Instead, he simply crosses his arms, his eyes never leaving Maxie for a moment.]

[oceansbane]

[This one's doing vaguely better than he was on the appearance front. Still definitely not eating enough. But at least the scratches across his forehead have healed over; the left side of the jacket is still torn off at the arm, though he's been picking at the frayed edges so it's not quite as obvious, and he's wearing something black and long-sleeved underneath it.

He stops a reasonable distance from Edmond, not keeping too much space between them but not encroaching on anyone's personal radius, either.]

You say that. And yet here you are.

[He shifts a bit as he retains eye contact, keeping most of his weight to one side, hand resting on his hip. His gaze remains alert and...strangely anxious; it's been a bit of an off day.]

Either way, I don't expect you to answer to me. But we're going to talk.

[eflamberge]

[When Maxie shifts, Edmond furrows his brow, because... that stance, it's one of those things that makes this Maxie... Maxie, after all. One of those things that Edmond would like to see as little as possible right now.]

Yes, we are. And I fully expect you to begin.

[oceansbane]

No, it'll be easier if you start.

Clearly, there's some sort of issue between us. That's what we're going to discuss. Tell me exactly what you would like me to explain so we don't waste any more time than necessary.

[eflamberge]

Well, let's begin with a simple question.

[Edmond idly kicks a bit of sand with his foot, though not in Maxie's direction. Yet. For just that single, brief moment, he isn't looking at Maxie. Right after that, however, he's staring right into Maxie's red irises and spitting out his question, his mouth open and half-yelling.]

Why did you hurt Maxie?

[oceansbane]

[The sudden outburst doesn't seem to faze him, nor does he avert his gaze; if anything, he's gone unnaturally still.]

Because he did something colossally stupid, and he got my organization involved.

[eflamberge]

[Edmond pauses. Could it be that...? He remains silent for a few moments, still staring into Maxie's eyes.]

That 'something stupid' being...?

[oceansbane]

I believe you know what I'm referring to; you were bearing the injuries for a while.

[eflamberge]

So you-

[Oh, Edmond had suspected this. The very thought haunted him at night. The anger gradually disappears from Edmond's face, leaving it blank as the Count tries to judge what he has just been told. When he speaks, the half-yelling is gone, and his voice is only slightly above a quiet whisper, yet still audible by Maxie.]

... you wanted to avenge me.

[oceansbane]

Don't flatter yourself. That isn't anything close to what I said.

[He folds his arms after it's out there; his tone is snappish. Irritable.]

Are you aware of how this island works, Edmond? From what I understand, death doesn't stick here. The people he was opposing will be back, if they aren't already; I don't know how long it takes. Maybe they'll have "learned their lesson" and they'll back down.

Or maybe they're like my rival and me. Did that ever occur to you? Everyone in my way burns, Edmond. And if that organization happens to operate like I do, my idiot of a double has put a fairly large target on everyone wearing Team Magma's insignia. He's also put a fairly large target on me, given how similar we look.

I won't tolerate being attacked for a conflict that isn't mine, and I won't tolerate targets being painted on members of my team. Do you understand?

[eflamberge]

For the record, let me confirm that they are back, and no, they haven't learned their lesson.

Admittedly, I... [Edmond's arms now fall limply along his sides.] I never thought of it that way. So you had the Team's good in mind... But that still didn't give you any right to hurt your double. What do you believe you have accomplished by doing that? What, if not a schism, a polarization within the Team itself, undermining its strength? Do you...

[At his sides, his arms stiffen, his hands clenching into fists.]

... Do you seriously think that helped?

[oceansbane]

I don't know if you've noticed, Your Lordship, but that schism has always been there. If anything, the more I find out about his team, the more I want there to be a clear degree of separation between his leadership and mine.

Are you aware of the state of his admin's team? The one with the pretty name - Tabitha. He has nothing capable of taking on Team Aqua properly, and a dangerous tendency to underestimate them. He doesn't recognize the effects of basic Fire moves. I ended up allowing him to borrow one of my Pokémon so he can at least defend himself while he trains.

That version of us that you worship so much can't lead, Edmond. He's incompetent. His negligence and ignorance is rendering his team incompetent. And now he's rushing into conflicts that aren't ours without any sense of forethought.

[He'll just be raking his hand backwards through his hair as he speaks, tugging at it lightly as he does so. The sharp sting seems to settle him a bit for now.]Listen. He explained some things to me before we fought. Like the fact that this

[eflamberge]

[Edmond listens, steeling himself. Trying to maintain his expression neutral, though there are several sharp twitches near his eyes and at the corners of his mouth, and a general, slight trembling of his body.

And when Maxie is done talking, in a single, quick move, Edmond draws his sword.

Only to subsequently fall to his knees on the ground, laying the rapier down before him, between himself and Maxie. He holds his head down, eyes to the glittering sand below him, his hair spontaneously falling forward to reveal the back of his neck. The trembling gradually stops as Edmond takes long, audible deep breaths.

Surely Maxie will know what Edmond means by all this.]

[oceansbane]

[Okay, the drawing of that sword will get him to step back. Though the fact that it's immediately followed with...well...uh...

...Edmond, you...what...what are you even...]

...what the hell are you doing?

[No, seriously, what is this.]

[eflamberge]

[He remains silent for a few moments, before giving a dramatic yell, without raising his head.]

Take it. And do what you must!