THUMP. he flinched. idiot. he should have been used to it by then. idiot. he’d heard endless drum for years, a second pulse that drove him forward, hand in hand with sense of impending doom nestled && gnawing within pit of stomach. IDIOT!
each footfall - light && unfitting one fueled by such vicious FURY - brought leader closer to pyre’s peak. expression, stone, did not betray him. even as he swept by admins. even as he stepped forth into unusually biting cold && blinding fog. even as THUNDERCRACK of ancient heartbeat bellowed louder && louder. if it meant to distract maxie from goal merely single carved staircase ahead, it had failed. he would not be slowed. he could not be stopped.
&& yet . . . sight of shining artifacts threatened to give him pause. not because of their power, no no. he feared not pristine orbs comfortably resting before him. he feared not whispers of curses they brought. he feared not total destruction of hoenn. he feared not.
feeling of doom that boiled deep screamed. heavy thump thump THUMP of super-ancient heart shattered every last hint of reservation lingering at edges of mind. he gritted teeth, instant suppression of H U N G E R for apocalypse about to be unleashed. hand lifted, extending for glassy crimson. a flinching, second-guessing fool no longer. idiot. idiot. IDIOT!
very instant fingertips met red orb, maxie froze. a jolt ripped through veins, reigniting COLD ash of recognition. of connection bound in blood, once lost to time. inferno widened eyes, catching breath in throat. for swift moment, he expected death. he expected whatever coursed through him to burn him alive from the inside out, reducing him to charred husk of monstrosity he’d become. but, just as he thought to jerk hand away, it ceased. EVERYTHING ceased. no more ruthless spark. no more sickening sense of fast approaching doom. no more hammering of continental heart. silence. finally . . . silence. one soon interrupted by tears. && shaky, choked laughter.
leader took orb from its place as gently as one might an infant, cradling it to chest. before he knew it, knees hit grass && he knelt alone atop hallowed ground, body a shield for spherical salvation he would KILL to protect. there he remained for good, long while, visions of scorching sun && lethal drought seeping into head. he saw ruin. he saw death. he saw future of world not worth rescue.
THUMP. he flinched. previously incessant sound was different then. welcome, almost. once alarm unknown had shifted, twisted with red orb’s influence to become a siren song beckoning legendary’s warden forth to serve. maxie pried hand from new treasure, sliding palm up altar’s side until he could hook fingers over top edge. he stood. slowly. tired gaze fell upon orb’s sibling.
faintest ghost of a smile flickered as he reached for second orb. he caught hoenn’s one chance at survival where it met altar && he shoved, watching gleaming cobalt tumble from its home, airborne for but a moment before it collided with rocks far, far below in violent explosion of blue that littered pyre’s base with tiny, razor shards. he thought, briefly, of the terror that would grip his younger sibling upon realization opposite orb was no more. good. eruption incarnate turned back for steps. THUMP. he did not flinch.
maxie feared not. && pyroclastic flow of team magma could not be stopped.














