Author's Note: I'm really excited to share the first chapter of this project! For a very long time, I've had bits of this story going through my head, and finally decided to write it down. I have always been of the opinion that evil characters are actually quite misunderstood, and I like to wonder about their pasts and their real motivations for the terrible things they do. Maxie has been my favorite fictional character since Pokemon Emerald came out, which is strange, as you really don't know very much about him. You see bits and pieces of who he is in the Pokemon Special manga and the *coughhilariouslyTERRIBLEcough* anime episodes he's in, but even from just playing the games, I felt connected to him for some reason. So this is going to be very long, as a warning. But I feel like a owe it to Maxie as a character to give him a bit more life.

Please enjoy. :)

Chapter One: Sunrise Among the Pines

"MAXIE!"

Silence.

"MAXIE! Sweetie!"

More silence. Jenna Matsubusa sighed, running her fingers through her messy puff of bubblegum hair. She slipped on her sandals and walked out the front door, making her way up the dirt path to the caves which overlooked the house. It was a sunny afternoon in Cianwood City, but the air was humid and left an unpleasant stickiness on her skin as she walked. She leaned against the wall of rock which lined the path, took a deep breath, and tried again.

"MAXWELL!"

A scarlet-haired head poked out of the cave.

"Yes, mum? What is it?"

Jenna wiped the growing sweat from her brow. "Honey, do you know where you need to be in an hour?"

"At the Seeing, so an old hag who can't even remember what she ate for breakfast this morning can tell me my future."

"Correct. And you're going to be late if you don't get yourself down here this instant!"

Her son stared at her for a moment, then disappeared back into the cave. "I'll be down in a minute!" he called, his voice fading.

She chuckled, and returned to the house, sitting down at the kitchen table. She heard a knock, and answering the door found Rhonda, her gossip of a neighbor.

"Afternoon, Jenna." Rhonda honked, letting herself in to the house. "I've heard that your Maxie is leaving for college tomorrow." Jenna offered Rhonda a seat, which she took without hesitation. "Well, I've come to congratulate you, Jenna. I thought he'd never leave."

Jenna smirked, looking at the older woman. "Maxwell is a smart boy, Rhonda. He graduated at the top of his class this year. It was never a surprise to me that he got into one of the best colleges in the world."

"Oh, yes, I know. Rustboro University. A lovely school, I'm sure. But what I really mean is…" She grinned. "Well, Maxie isn't exactly is normal boy, is he? He may have brains and all, but he is a bit on the weird side, shall we say."

"Rhonda, my boy is shy, that's all. Just because he has never wanted to befriend any of the other children in Cianwood isn't enough evidence to prove that he's "weird"."

Rhonda tittered. "I know that he's your son, Jenna, but you should face the facts: he's not one of us. He never has been. Just think back to when he was ten and allowed to pick his first pokemon. All the children of Cianwood have always picked a Water-type. We ARE the biggest exporters of exotic seafood in Johto, after all! But no, he chose to train a Zubat."

Jenna rolled her eyes and stood up to make tea for her unwanted guest. "Maxie didn't want to be like everyone else. Being unique isn't a sin, Rhonda."

"And he's always up in those caves, Jenna. It should be his duty as a citizen to help with the fishing with the other young men, or at least help you out in the herbal medicine shop."

Jenna was about to reply that Rhonda's son wasn't exactly perfect either, as a forty-year-old pecha berry addict who still lived with parents, but she was interrupted as Maxie walked into the kitchen.

His ruby locks were tied up in a messy ponytail, and he brought a pale hand up to fix his black-rimmed glasses.

"Hey, mum." He glanced over at Rhonda, not bothering to hide the disgust in his blood-red eyes. "Hello."

"Speak of the devil!" Rhonda cried. Maxie sniggered as she muttered, "Literally!" Hearing this, he sat down next to her and rested his hands behind his head, never breaking eye contact with her and he rocked his chair back and forth.

Rhonda seemed like a Deerling in headlights, caught in his fiery gaze, until he suddenly extended his arm, making her jump. Fast as lightning, his Crobat dove into the kitchen to perch on his arm. Rhonda shrieked as Maxie gave her a sly smile, and she got up from the table immediately.

"I'm telling you, Jenna," She yelped, walking out the door, "He doesn't belong in this town. Not here, not anywhere!" Maxie winked at Crobat, and it flapped after her, causing her to break into a half-waddle, half-run. "Mother of Arceus! He should be locked up! Oh my Arceus!" She tripped as she saw Maxie waving from the window, got up, and sprinted away.

Maxie turned to his mother with a wicked smile on his face, his mother looking back at him with a maternal glare, and then…they started laughing. He hugged her and sat back down at his chair.

"Honey, you should really stop doing that to her." Jenna giggled, trying, but failing, to drop into a more serious tone.

"Oh, mum, you know that busybody deserves it!" He wiped his glasses. "What was she going on about this time? How I am the incarnation of evil? Did she bring you the book again about how to identify psychopaths?" He placed them back over his long, pointed nose. "She talks about me so much, I swear to Arceus that she's in love with me."

His mother snorted. "Maxwell, I'm sure there is some part of her that is trying to help."

"But that part is so tiny, that not even the strongest microscope could pick it up?"

"Mmhmm." Jenna turned to face the window.

Maxie's grin dulled as he watched her turn away. "You alright?"

She smiled back at him. "Don't worry about me, dear. I'm fine." She returned to the table, put her arms around Maxie's head, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'm just going to miss having my Maxie around to make me laugh."

Then Jenna jolted upright. "Oh goodness! Look at the time!" She looked at her son's black wool sweater and jeans. "I suppose what you're wearing will have to do…I've been asking you this for nineteen years now, but aren't you hot? It's over 90 degrees out there!"

Maxie laughed. "No, mother."

"No, I suppose you aren't. Well, then, I'll at least make your hair a bit more dignified." She went into the bathroom and came out with a bottle of gel. Untying Maxie's ponytail, she began to pull his hair back behind his ears, giving him a perfect red slope which curled upwards at the ends.

Though his mother had been giving him this hairstyle for special occasions since he was an infant, he rather liked how posh and in control it made him feel, as if he had evolved from a dirt-poor Metapod into a princely Butterfree.

When Jenna finished, Maxie stood, let out a long sigh, and went towards the door. "To be honest, mum, I was hoping that my little distraction there would keep me from having to go to this "Seeing" thing at all."

"I had a feeling. You're very good at manipulating people, honey, but you'll never fool your own mother !"

"I'll have to work on it. Until next time, m'lady." He bowed slowly, pretending to tip an invisible top-hat. She smacked his arm mid-bow.

"GO!"

Maxie inhaled deeply as he walked out into the late-afternoon sun, raising his face to the warm summer rays. While all the other villagers of Cianwood loathed days like this, Maxie relished the heat. By some odd miracle, his ivory skin refused to burn, and he rarely sweated, if at all.

As he crunched along the road, he saw a group of men his age down on the coast, playing frisbee, wrestling in the sand, or finding any other way they could to show off their leathery tans and muscles toned at sea to a trio of schoolgirls, who seemed delighted by the entertainment.

Maxie snickered. Idiots. he thought to himself. The lot of them. There the males are, doing a little mating dance for the females. Oh, the females like that, don't they? He grinned.

Surprisingly, all through his childhood, Maxie had never been bullied, despite how different he was from the others. They seemed to at least have some respect for the young man. Or he scared the shit out of them. Either way, they left him alone.

Maxie's destination, the seer Terese's hut, was located halfway down the city, and was ancient, as well as considered to be haunted. Villagers only dared to enter the enigmatic house if they planned to leave to city as adults, in a tradition called the Seeing. In it, Terese was to read the person's fortune, hopefully telling them important and encouraging hints about their futures that might come in handy along the way. However, many were so afraid of hearing a bad fortune that they avoided leaving Cianwood for their entire lives and settled down as fishermen and medicine-makers instead. But Maxie would never let some silly rumors and unfounded fears stop him from living his life, Especially not if it forced me to stay in this blasted town for eternity!

Maxie approached the entrance of Terese's hut, the skies beginning to darken as evening came. He was met with a rusty knocker in the shape of a Murkrow, which he went to use, but found that the door was already cracked open. He entered, figuring that the old woman had not forgotten about their appointment.

"Well, this is odd." The room was wrapped, from floor to ceiling, with purple velvet. Countless figurines, metal symbols, and masks littered the walls. A dried Jigglypuff was the centerpiece of a little wooden table with chairs which had unfamiliar symbols carved all over them. Maxie nodded to the Jigglypuff, whose eyes were not the most adorable in death, and glanced around the room for Terese.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" The hut seemed to be deserted. Maxie looked inside a flowerpot for kicks. She wasn't there either. "Miss Terese?"

He wandered over to the corner of the room, and found a small kitchen attached to it. Over the fireplace, on a simple pedestal lay a large blue jewel.

"My, my. What could you be?" Maxie found himself oddly drawn to the round ornament, and reached out to touch it. "Just once, and I doubt she'd notice a thing…"

His hand was grabbed by a set of wiry, yet powerful fingers. "Excuse me, young man! Hasn't anyone taught you manners?!" An ancient-looking woman, who only came up to his shoulders in height stood there, looking up at him disdainfully.

"Miss Terese!" Maxie blushed. What on earth was wrong with him? "I'm so sorry ma'am, I don't know what came over me."

"Hmph. Well, I wouldn't expect anything more from a child." Maxie's blush deepened. "But let's try to have a fresh start, shall we?" She released him, and beckoned for him to follow. She took a seat in the first room. Maxie sat across from her, trying not his best not to concentrate on the Jigglypuff monstrosity in between them.

"If my memory serves me right, your name is Maxie, correct? Harvey and Jenna's boy?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you're leaving us for Rustboro University?"

"Yes'm. To study geology."

"Hm, I see…" Terese looked him in the eyes, Maxie getting the strange feeling that she was looking straight through them, then clapped her hands together. "Right, then. Let's get started."

She brought down from a shelf a shallow basin filled with a clear liquid. "I'll be reading your fortune today with some simple water viewing. I won't be able to tell you definite facts about your future, young man, but I hope that this will at least give you some insight on the nature of your fate."

Maxie watched as Terese pressed her forefingers to her temples and gazed into the water, her lips fluttering with silent verses. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at him, a wise smile on her face.

"Well, now, Maxie. I have to admit, your fortune is greater than many. I can see that you have quite a bit of ambition…and I've been told that you will someday find yourself a leader to many. One day, it seems, the entire world will know your name." She looked back into the shimmering pool of water. "You have an incredible deal of power inside you, though I'm not sure you realize how much quite yet."

Maxie shrugged with a growing smile. She seemed concerned by his nonchalant reaction.

"Maxwell Matsubusa. You must be very careful. I will warn you now: Power, even that which resides inside you, can become hard to handle. Do not let it get to your head. Many a good man has been tempted to evil by Power."

Maxie's smile stayed strong. "I don't think you have to worry, Miss Terese. I'm very pleased by what you've told me. But I have no desire to be controlled by anything, let alone my own flaws. I will be fine."

"Yes…yes, I'm sure you will be." She rose. "Right. Now we'll just finish up these Seeing with a little ceremonial tea." She left the room.

"That certainly went better than expected." he thought. He had a great power? Not that he was surprised, but hearing it from the psychic was comforting.

A crash from the kitchen brought Maxie back from his happy daydreaming.

"Miss Terese?" he called, "Is everything alright in there?"

He heard nothing, and ran out to the kitchen to find that a kettle had been dropped to the floor, hot water spreading around it. Terese was huddled before the fireplace, rocking. At the sound of Maxie's footsteps, she turned with a jolt.

Maxie gasped, finding black holes where the old woman's kindly eyes had once been.

"MAXWELL." She groaned. He shuddered at her voice, which pierced into the very depths of his heart. "MAXWELL MATSUBUSA! THE FIRE CHILD!"

He desperately wished to run, but found his feet cemented in place. She opened her wrinkled mouth much wider than it should have been able to, and began to chant.

Brother behemoths rest in the dark
But love's demise will make the spark
If the Old Ones shall awaken yond
Our earth may never 'gain see the dawn

As flame does grow, a price is paid,
As fire dances, his soul shall fade,
As long as fire and water clash
His inner flame shall turn to ash.

Though the words beat in Maxie's heart like an ancient drum, he couldn't understand their meaning. After the final line, Terese's head snapped upward and her eyes became her own, as if the gods were releasing her from a great burden.

Maxie felt the hold on his legs release, and he fell forward onto his knees with a smack.

Terese skittered over and helped him up. "Dear me! You must have tripped on my old wooden floors. They're reliable, but a bit naughty!" She noticed the fallen kettle. "Oh my goodness me! I suppose I dropped the kettle again."

Maxie backed away from her slowly, confusion twisting at him.

She took a small clay cup from her cupboard, poured some of the tea that had been saved into it, and put it in redhead's shaking hands.

"Drink up!" Terese chirped. With only a moment of hesitation, he drank, finding the tea to taste like seaweed dipped in honey. It wasn't bad.

She reached a finger to Maxie's forehead, and pushed back. "May Arceus watch over you, and be merciful." She took his cup and patted him (on the hip, for that was where she could most easily reach). "You may go!"

"Th…thank you ma'am." And with that, Maxie walked as quickly as he could out the door.

The sky was now dark, covered in softly glowing stars. He continued his long strides on his way home, with his face turned to the ground below.

"Arceus above, what the hell was that?" he whispered. "Bloody hell…"

He stopped himself. "Alright, Maxie. Calm down. She's a psychic, remember!" He continued walking, with a half-smile on his lips. "Psychics surely have moments like that all the time, right? Right. She wasn't talking about me. I just happened to be there."

Maxie punched the air, his temper rising. "Fucking psychics…She could have at least warned me she was going to go completely mental. Fucking, fucking psychics."

As he neared his house, his grumbles were interrupted by the screech of Crobat, who flew down from the roof to meet him. It perched itself on Maxie's shoulders and nuzzled his ear.

"Hey, Crobat." Many people were frightened by the pokemon, but Maxie was deeply fond of his friend. "Ah, I brought you something special." He reached into his pocket and brought out a little chunk of the dried Jigglypuff. Crobat nipped it from his fingers and swallowed, chirping happily. "I thought you might like that, love." he cooed.

Crobat flew off to the patch of trees surrounding the caves as Maxie entered the house. The dining room was lit, and he could hear voices coming from inside. He grimaced. He and his mother never used the dining room, much preferring to eat in the kitchen where it was comfortable. This must mean that his father had decided to eat with his family tonight, rather than in his office as usual.

Maxie took a deep breath and entered. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the ghastly orange color of the walls. His mother stood and put a finger to her lips.

He's on the phone, she mouthed. Maxie rolled his eyes.

With work?

She nodded.

He sat at the end of the table, across from his father who was seated at the head. Dinner was already laid out in large platters all along the table: barbequed eel on a mountain of white, steaming rice, seaweed tossed with sesame seeds and a sweet dressing, and a slices of pickled turnip that Jenna had canned last fall.

"Boy!"

Maxie looked up from the food he would have liked on his plate to his father, still on the phone.

Harvey Matsubusa was revolting. He wore a thin, white shirt that was soaked with sweat, revealing his endless folds of sagging fat. His face alone was an enormity, yellow and drooping with stubbly chins. He had a pair of beady eyes that were like two black raisins pushed into a doughy roll. Upon his shiny head was a thinning layer of red hair, combed back into a curl like Maxie's. Many told Maxie that he looked just like his father, but this suggestion often made him feel nauseous.

"Boy!" his father repeated. He snapped twice and glared at his son.

Dutifully, Maxie took his father's plate and began to cover it with food. He watched as his father poured the rest of a bottle of wine into his glass, and slurped at it noisily. In between gulps he would respond to the person on the other line with a snort or a grunt. He placed the plate before his father, who showed no indication of gratitude.

Maxie returned to his seat. He and his mother were forbidden from talking or eating until Harvey gave them permission to do so.

"That'll do." his father growled into the phone. "Just get rid of him. You know what I mean." He took another sip of his wine. "Yes, indeed. And do give the Madame my regards." He hung up, and began to pile food into his mouth.

Jenna gave food to Maxie and herself, and cleared her throat.

"Harvey, dear. Why don't you ask Maxwell about his Seeing?" Her normally cheerful voice trembled at the edges.

Harvey grunted. "Why don't you get me some more wine and let me ask my son questions when I'm good and ready, woman?"

"Yes, dear." She pulled out a new bottle and gave it to her husband. Maxie felt a spark of irritation crawl up his neck.

"Now how was the Seeing, Maxwell?"

"Fine."

"Maxwell."

"Fine, sir!"

"MAXWELL."

Maxie looked down at his rice. "She told me that I'll have very good fortune. I'll be a leader, it seems. And I must do something great, because everyone will know who I am."

Jenna squealed and reached over to hug her son, but stopped when she heard her husband's laugh.

His fatty face was crinkled into evil delight, his yellow teeth bared.

"I must have married a bimbo and sired a fool. Do either of you really think that's true?" He laughed again. "My dear Maxwell. A success. You're a freak, a smart-ass, and damn waste of a son."

Maxie felt the spark of irritation burst into flame. His temper began to simmer at the back of his tongue.

"You have no interest in carrying on the family business. You spend all your days up in those damn caves!" Harvey smashed his fist on the table. "You can't even bring a bloody girl home. What kind of man are you!?"

The simmer became a raging boil. It took all of Maxie's willpower not to snap.

His father took another gulp of wine. "I swear to Arceus, Maxwell, if you go off to college and find that you like fucking men, please don't bother coming home. You're a disgrace as it is." Harvey pushed his massive self from the table and out the door to his office with a slam.

Maxie sat there steaming. His mother put her arms around him, rubbing his back.

"Maxie, your father means well. He really does."

He said nothing.

"He loves you very much. I'm sure he's proud of you."

This put a sarcastic smile on his face. How could his mother be so blind? His father treated the two of them like dirt. He spent every day up in that office of his, making deals with this organization he loved so much. When he bothered to show up, he made Maxie's life miserable and insulted Jenna at any chance he could. The harsher the insults got during the day, the louder the sounds of their bedsprings got at night. She loved the abuse, was even devoted to it. It made Maxie sick.

Maxie pushed his mother away. "Well, he sure has a good way of showing it."

Jenna smiled, as if some part of her believed her son's words, and took his hands.

"Maxie, my little Maxie. You must know that I am incredibly proud of you. You mustn't ever forget that." He raised his scarlet eyes to meet his mother's brown ones. "You are going to be such a wonderful man someday. But remember that you'll always be my little boy, and I will support you no matter what."

They embraced. Maxie said goodnight and wandered up to his room, fell on his bed, and was asleep within minutes, moonlight cradling his weary frame.

He woke to the sound of tapping. Maxie sat up and found Crobat outside his window. It was early morning. Maxie knew that this would be his last opportunity in a while to enjoy the caves, so he ran down the stairs and outdoors, where Crobat swooped down to meet him. They quietly climbed their way up the dirt path

Maxie thought the inside of the caves were beautiful. He loved the formation of the stone, the way the minerals caught within rock to shimmer into rainbows, the smell of ancient earth.

They traveled through the natural pathways until they reached the top, leading to an opening that which gave a haunting view of the sea. Maxie kept a firm hold on the mouth of the cave as he looked out.

"Everyone seems to love the ocean, don't they Crobat?"

Crobat screeched and hopped next to his friend.

"I just don't understand…" he gazed down into the crashing waves, "…how they are not as afraid of it as I am."

"People are so fearful of flame, how it can burn and destroy, and of the land, which could shake and crumble before their feet at any time. But the water can put out fire and erode the land until it is nothing. The ocean may be lovely to behold as we can see it," He gulped. "but nobody knows its true depths. It could go on for eternity as far as we know, and be the keeper of a thousand ugly secrets."

He sat against the cave wall and closed his eyes, comforted by the touch of the land.

If he listened carefully enough, he could hear it singing.

Everything was packed for Maxie's departure. He stood on the balcony of the boat which would take him to Hoenn, saying his last goodbyes. Jenna stood by her neighbors with a box of tissues, waving.

A bell clanged on the boat, and it started to move.

"Goodbye Maxie!" she called.

"Bye, mum!"

"Don't pick up one of those bloody Hoenn accents, ya hear!?" one of his neighbors crowed.

"I'll try, Arthur!"

"Goodbye!" they all shouted.

Once Cianwood was finally out of sight, Maxie could relax. He peered down off the boat into the glittering water, finding his young, smiling face looking back at him, hope shining in his eyes.

The boat sailed away, towards a new beginning.

To be continued in Chapter Two