The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

“I think you have a keen sense of smell, because, funny story, I was using C4.” Yeah. There was a report not too long ago about a trainer reserve bank being robbed by Team Magma. The entire place was blown to bits. “See, some of us grunts serve a special purpose. I’m a demolisher, so I set stuff on fire and blow shit up.” His team would quite obviously help with that, too.

So, why was she laughing? Ah, right. “Yeah? That so? And I guess I should tell you that I’ve never met a lady who likes her liquors who could actually hold then. Then again, hotshot, they were all anybodies.”

“They do not call me…the brain who…’trampled flowers and braved storms to reach her position’ for nothing….hun..I have been around the block before…Sometimes the system needs…a good fucking…At least your job…allows you to let out…aggression..”

Lucy took a poke ball out of her purse, and clicked it to expand. As always Lucy depended on her best friend, Sevi. She released the pokemon from its ball.

“Sevi….get the hotel keys please….no worries…I have already told them you were going…to pick them up…”

It was then Lucy turned to him and smiled.

“I depend on her for everything….she Is my best friend….There is nothing I do not need…that she does not know how to do…That is true…love…between..a pokemon…and a master….I did…not catch her…in a ball…She went willingly….Since we always want to be by one anothers…sides…So many…high level..pokemon trainers…do not even care…but…they are mine…so I take care of them..I always take care of my own…Come on slugger….I should have a full bar….Honestly it is for your own good…if a Jenny started snooping around you…you’d be fucked…I don’t like those bitches anyway…”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

“You’re welcome to call me Caliban or handsome, so you know,” Caliban grunted, smirking. Of course, that was his way of teasing back. “Me? I’m a scotch and gin kind of guy, but I’ll drink whatever’s handy.” Most of the time, that simply meant whatever he could afford, and that generally meant discount beer and other nasty crap. Some of that stuff honestly looked like urine and probably made him smell like it, too.

“Or schnapps. I can’t turn down schnapps.” The peppermint kind was his personal favorite, mostly because no one ever wanted to share with him whenever he got that. The other grunts called it Mean Listerine.

“Little Grunt……I…Why do you smell of chemicals so…? I could…swear…you smell of a mix between chemicals and almonds….Just like someone who had been using  c4…What have you been doing? Perhaps….you should bathe, in general…Unlike you I actually have….a rather expansive bank account, so I am staying in the nicest hotel in the area. I always..make..reservations..…..If you want to wash up hun..you can…Especially if you do not want…to smell like the unlawful activities….that I am sure you do. ”

Lucy shook her head and laughed a bit.

“Of fucking…course…you’d be into schnapps…I have never met a man…into Shnapps…who has not gotten himself..in trouble…with the law…”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

His was pierced. There were snake bites on his lip already. Anything Caliban could pierce, it was pierced. Metal and ink covered more of his person than was probably kosher. But her breath tasted like cigarettes, and something sweet. What that sweetness was, he couldn’t identify it. Then again, some days, all he could smell was gasoline, so maybe he wasn’t the best judge.

“I’m not too familiar with Fallarbor’s layout, but we’ll find something.” As if to show a bit more dominance, he wrapped an arm around Lucy’s waist, pulling her closer to his side as he walked. “So, what kind of drinks do you like, hotshot?”

The boy tasted of chemicals and metal. Kids these days would do anything to mutilate their bodies. It was something Lucy could not understand.  Perhaps it was because she already felt handicapped by her height, that she wished to do no more.

Lucy laughed a bit as the boy attempted reaffirmed dominance. When he wrapped his arm around his waist, she yielded. He was sweet enough. No harm no foul.

“I guess….you will have a lot to tell…those teammates of yours…Me? Vodka…and Whiskey…in any of it’s forms…What do you drink, little grunt?”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

Did she think him to be some sort of secret grand manipulator or something? He wasn’t a marvelous mastermind. All Caliban Sunyata happened to be was a technical college dropout without a single badge to his name. There was no way he could be considered a genius by anyone’s standards, unless he secretly held a Ph. D. in sarcasm. That didn’t count.

“Sorry to disappoint, but there’s really only one kind of fucking I can do,” he commented. The fact he said this so bluntly almost added to the thought that maybe it was a joke, but his damned serious expression indicated otherwise. “And it doesn’t really involve the mind.”

Lucy finally relaxed in his company again. She just had the habit of looking at people in a negative light.  It was nature to suspect people of being manipulative. She had been there so many times before. Perhaps just this once she could put her suspicion aside.  She withdrew the cigarette from her lips and smiled at him.

“Ok…I’ll believe you…”

With that, Lucy grabbed his neck; her nails were sharp, almost like a snake’s fangs.

“But…fair warning…I do not like being lied to…And I am a predator…But…as long…as you pose no threat…”

Lucy’s hand finally left his throat. Immediately after, she placed his lips against his. It was different from their last kiss. Her tongue snaked passed his lips in order to play with his tongue. Finally, the Serpent Queen released him.

“So where can we get that….drink…? And…Please show me..what you can do..”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

Caliban could understand that. Some dipshits from his town were allowed to go on their first Pokemon journey when they were ten. Most kids could, but not anyone from a low income household. “No,” his folks would say. “You no go unless you save your money. Work for us. We pay you, you save, you go.” Yeah, and only his sister was able to do that. In the end, after all those promises of going on a high adventure together, Ariel ditched him, leaving him all behind to clerk the damn store.

He’d never forgiven her for it, either. Thanks to her abandonment, he had to wait until he was sixteen to get his first Pokemon.

“I’m not so good with lying,” he finally said, trying to clear his throat. “You’d be able to tell if I’d done that. Look, I like ‘em tall. I’ve even been known to go out with effeminate guys for the same reason.” There was something sexy about long legs in particular, legs that went on forever…

“Seviper…was the first pokemon I caught…I tackled her….I did not even use a ball…could not afford them back then.…it was Sevi… …But for some reason we connected instinctively…we knew we needed one another…And we are still inseparable…to this day..”

Lucy turned back to him, her face was still pink. She could not shake off the fear that he would be manipulating her. That is what most people did. When she showed them her soft side, they normally used it against her. Her eyes looked down a bit. The problem with Lucy was, she distinctively had two sides. One was cruel and ruthless; the other was just soft. It was hard for her to make them work together effectively.

“What….kind of a bad guy…terrorist does not know how to lie? …As I said..I am not an idiot..”

Finally Lucy let go of his hand and turned her back to him.

“I said I wanted to be showed…around..not..mind fucked..”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

“I can’t stand those who are born into it. Those who feel the world owes them something just because they exist. Nah, but I don’t hold grudges against those who actually work for it. If you want to be special, you work your ass off for it, and you succeed, that’s good. It shows you found something to live for.”

That kiss made his face turn scarlet again, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment. It was from something else. The wink did it, too. He wanted to kiss back, or give her hand a squeeze.

“And for the record?” He arched his feet so he stood just a little taller, all so he could reach her ear. “I like tall girls better, anyway.”

“His father owned a gym….so naturally…he inherited it…That says nothing…about skill…some of his Pokemon…that he used in battle…were given to him…by his father…he did not even train them himself…! Ugh, It just made me hate….people like him…even more..”

Lucy’s eyes opened a bit wide; for once she was the one to blush. She honestly had no idea how to respond. No one had ever said that to her before.  She placed a bit of space between them and took a puff of her cigarette.

“Liar….Men enjoy the novelty…of a woman like me….but that never lasts..I learned that long ago…I’m not an idiot..”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

“It isn’t that something makes me common. It’s that nothing makes me special. The blessing and curse of a commoner is that he can tell when special people are around. They’ve got a privilege, an edge up in the world, and everyone knows them. Rightly or wrongly, they’re known. You say that person’s first name, and even if he or she shares it with a million other people, you picture that person.”

That was surprisingly philosophical for this guy. Then again, he did mostly keep to himself a lot, and that oftentimes left him with his own thoughts. “They’ll gather all the attention when they come. People anticipate it, seeing them, treating them like gods or something. It’s crazy, you know. I don’t get why they do that.”

He took a drag of his own cigarette and blew a long stream. “See, you don’t seem so bad. Still, you’re one of the somebodies now.”

Despite Lucy’s cold exterior, she had the habit of breaking people down to their core, to whom they truly were.  It suited her in the end, since she did not deal well with imitation people. She listened quietly as he spoke; she felt a ping in her heart. Between Lucy’s height and her looks, she was never destined for a life of mediocrity, even if family problems had not arisen

“You…are right…in away…While my skill….I developed myself…I would have never been average….Not too many…girls…over 6 foot…around here…I would have always been noticed…I guess…you are right… I don’t think you are that bad though…not everyone is as insightful as you…little grunt…Which to me….does not make you common…”

Lucy smiled at him as her hand slipped from his arm and held onto his.

“….I am…not really…a fan of people…born into it…myself…The guy I cared about…had everything handed to him…it was hard to relate…People who don’t have to work for what they have….can never understand…certain things…”

She bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“You aren’t so bad yourself, even… if you are a nobody….Especially if you are a nobody who can show me a good time..”

With that Lucy winked at him.

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

“I’ve got you covered.” Caliban pulled the carton of cigarettes out again, as well as his Team Rocket lighter—yes, Team Rocket. Some guy he knew from Kanto gave him that lighter back when he was still helping his parents run the Petalburg PokeMart. That guy also gave him the Pineco that later became his Forretress. As for a drink, that was easy enough, too.

Hardly any Magma grunts he knew were choir boys when it came to using their canteens. Maxie had encouraged them to drink something healthy, but most of them stocked up on nothing but alcohol. Caliban was no exception. There, inside that flask, was scotch strong enough to nearly peel the skin off one’s teeth.

“See, I don’t know much about any of you guys. I just know you’re successful now. I guess everyone’s got their own story, huh? Even hotshots.”

“Do…you really…have me covered…little grunt?”

Lucy’s left arm pulled him closer to her. Simultaneously, she ran her right arm up his leg until she reached his pack of cigarettes. Once she reached the pack, she removed a cigarette and placed it between her lips.  The type of lighter he had surprised her a bit. What was a Magma Grunt doing with a foreign terrorist group’s lighter? She dismissed the thought, lit her cigarette, and handed him back the lighter.

“…..If you don’t know that much…about us…why do you speak…as if you do? I have supported my family since before I can remember…Our positions aren’t just something that is given to us out of Scott’s whim…We have to earn it…I can think of nothing more common, than struggling to support ones family. So tell me…what makes you so common?”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

Was he being played, or did he actually manage to—that counted as a score, so far as he was concerned. Loudmouth that he was, Caliban couldn’t respond with a cheeky retort or a quip. Even more embarrassingly, he leaned in just a little bit as if to expect more of a kiss. Thankfully, none of the other grunts caught that and they proceeded to scatter, wondering just what on earth they’d witnessed.

“I guess I could, yeah…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m about as common as common gets.” A twin child of an immigrant couple who operated a PokeMart; that was he. While Ariel was a marine adventurer with her sea-loving friends, Caliban acted as standalone as ever, smart-mouthing the majority of his fellow Magma Grunts.

Simple things like porn magazines, cheap beer, and cigarettes sparked his fancy, as did Zippo lighters (which he collected). There were a few other hobbies of his that would threaten the existence of his man card if discovered, but really, at the root of it all, he considered himself a nobody or anybody in a world of somebodies.

Lucy had felt him pull in closer to the kiss, but that would be for later, if he played his cards right.

While it would surprise many people, Lucy did not become cruel for the sake of it. From a young age, she had several sisters to support. Their mother abandoned them when Lucy was just 13. As the eldest sister, she had to provide for them. She did not want them to get their hands dirty, so she sacrificed a majority of her humanity. As long as they were healthy and taken care of, she did not care what she had to sacrifice. She forced herself to believe she was born to be numb, but every once in a while, a flake of her kindness popped out. This was one of those times. To be honest, she could see a bit of her past in him.

 “You…are really cute…little grunt…I’d like that…You know…I don’t come from a…spectacular background…myself…I…just forced myself…to never quit…You can’t…become…someone…if you keep putting yourself down…telling yourself…you are common…Can I have a cigarette babe?”

The woman’s left arm hooked under his and pulled him closer.

“And…perhaps you would also like…to get me a drink?”

The Man With the Medusa Hair

magma-caliban:

His entire face was turning the same shade of crimson as his hoodie, or his eyes. Whichever Lucy preferred to use for comparison. He glowered as she whispered. “You show weakness in front of these assholes, and they’ll walk all over you,” he hissed, “and you know something, hotshot? You’re making this way too easy for them.”

Challenging her to a battle would be suicide and he knew it. His strength was in demolition, ignition, destruction—or, if he wanted to use his own terminology, blowing shit the fuck up. “I’m tough enough,” he muttered, still too flustered to come up with his usual cheeky retorts. Hell, he didn’t even sound convincing.

“You…are kind…of cute…Grunt…But what can I say, I am a woman fond of creatures who hiss….”

The other Frontier Brains often commented on the fact that she was too cruel and arrogant to those she came across. She should be more graceful when it came to losing.  All of the Frontier Brains were filled with pride… well, except for Spencer; he was just about as chill as a person could be.  But apparently Lucy brought it to the next level. Yet, at the end of the day, while technically she was the black sheep, they still accepted her.

In the end, Team Magma were just a bunch of terrorists and thugs. Technically they were the rodents of Hoenn that chewed and ruined everything they touched. It sickened her that such repugnant people could not accept their own kind. Finally, she did find sympathy in her heart from him and decided to show him a bit of kindness. She had already hammered his ego down a bit; there was no reason for anyone else to.

“So…are you going to show me normalcy or what…? I mean…I am depending on you…Well then…if they are so ghastly….Lets plays with them a bit yeah?”

Lucy looked at the boy’s fellow grunts out of the corner of her eye as she placed her lips against his. Her eyes were cold and venomous, as if to tell them to fuck off.

“Now that that is taken care of….Really, do you want to hang about losers…or show around a woman like me? I haven’t been around town in a while…and soon I am heading to route 114…And..I am sure…it would give you mad street cred…”

A laugh escaped Lucy’s lips, but not her normal mocking kind, a genuine laugh.