It had started with a shout.

"What do you think you're doing? You're going to get in so much trouble - do you have any idea how much attention you're going to attract?"

Maxie was well-meaning, probably. Or perhaps he simply wanted to see Archie shamed, or perhaps his personal code of behaviour meant he couldn't stand to see his greatest rival goofing around in the sea like that.

They'd splashed him.

Or rather, Kyogre had splashed him, with one great sweep of its fin, because May had ordered it to. Maxie understood very little about what was really going on - just that Archie was attempting to humiliate him at a child's expense, and that using a Legendary Pokémon for this was a gross misfire of responsibility and that someday he was absolutely going to murder that idiot. In any case, it was certainly Archie's fault.

He stood there in shock, his arms raised comically at his sides, his hair plastered across his face, his glasses askew - and he gaped at them, the burn of outrage building.

Someone was snickering.

Brendan tried, and ultimately failed, to suppress his laughter. It burst out of him all at once, and that had been all it took for things to go downhill. Brendan's laughter was an infectious thing. Perhaps because he was close to the source, or perhaps because he'd dared to peek at Maxie's shocked face in that moment, Wally started giggling too.

May and Archie simultaneously joined the ranks of hysteria.

"Why, you unforgiveable bunch of barbarians-!"

"Water fight!" yelled Brendan. Both boys dumped their bags, dropped their new plushies onto the dry sand, grabbed an arm each, and dragged him down the beach.

"What? No! Unhand me - don't you dare!"

For a second, Wally almost hesitated - they were still wearing their shoes, their clothes - but sometimes, he decided, you simply had to bow to spontaneity. He stuck his foot out.

"No-!"

With one mighty heave, Wally and Brendan shoved Maxie forwards and he tripped face-first into the sea. Satisfied, they left him where he fell and splashed out into the water themselves, intent on greeting their friend now that Maxie had been dealt with.

"May!" Brendan shouted, punching the air and almost missing his footing. Stumbling, he let out another bark of laughter. "I knew you could tame it!"

"I had help!" came the response, and May slipped from the beast's back and dropped into the sea, paddling forwards until she found her feet in the shallower water.

They met halfway, hugging each other joyously and spinning a little until the water tangled their feet and they crashed into the waves. Wally stopped a little distance behind them, still laughing, but when the pair scrambled back up they immediately made a beeline for their friend.

"Oh - no, you're all wet! Don't-!" Too late, he tried to back off, and they caught him in a very unpleasant three-way hug.

Maxie, meanwhile, was at a loss. As he got to his hands and knees and lifted his face out of the water to take a sudden gasp of the salty air, he gave up on the idea that he'd ever stood a chance here. Mistakes had certainly been made. Interacting with children was one of them: they were unpredictable and illogical and so easily excited over silly things-

"Ahoy there, rival."

Scowling, Maxie lifted his head to snap some icy retort - but it died in his throat. Archie's hand hovered steadily in front of his face, and the man was grinning at him.

He'd lost this battle completely.

"Hello, Archie," he grated. Maxie grasped the hand that was being offered and begrudgingly allowed Archie to pull him upright, letting go as soon as he was stable and scraping his wet hair out of his eyes.

As neither of them had planned what to say next, they automatically looked to the one distraction available - the trio of kids, now engaged in an impromptu water fight at Brendan's behest. The instigator himself ran past, his feet pounding against the surf, and he was followed by both May and Wally who were calling out water-based threats they fully intended to follow up on.

"So," Maxie began carefully, "you've trained Kyogre." He turned and began to make his way out of the water, his clothes dripping onto the sand.

"The scamp trained Kyogre," Archie corrected, flashing him a wary smirk and following close behind, "and it's hers to keep."

"Is that a good idea?"

For a moment, they both eyed the huge whale-like Pokémon floating idly in the deeper part of the cove, seemingly content with watching the children play.

"Well, I don't have any better ideas. Do you?" Archie managed a sidelong glance at his rival, and to Maxie's surprise, he looked sincere. Seeing that Maxie didn't seem to have an answer either, Archie relaxed a little and let out a soft sigh. He scratched his beard idly. "She's a headstrong little lass. If she can't handle the beast, I doubt anyone else in Hoenn has any better chances."

There was a high-pitched scream as May made a break for the deeper water and realised her mistake as the water slowed her down. Brendan caught up, and tackled her forwards into the sea.

Wally, lagging behind a little, doubled over to catch his breath.

"I'm soaking," Maxie snapped suddenly, changing the subject. "And so are they. It's irresponsible of you to spend your time gallivanting around with innocent children."

"Aye." Before Maxie could continue, Archie nodded over his shoulder, to where the oversized Venusaur and Snorlax dolls sat together on the beach. "And I suppose those boys bought the merchandise themselves, did they?"

Maxie flushed. "I was trying to rush them. They wouldn't leave until... You know how children are."

"Oh I do, now, do I?" Archie gave him a very pointed look. "Do you?"

"No, not really!" Maxie snapped. "I don't know anything about children! And that's precisely my point. This can't go on. I - I'm calling their parents." He began tugging off his jacket, making a disgusted face upon realising how heavy it had become now that it was waterlogged. "They need to know their children are so naive as to try and make nice with - with adult ideologists like us. It's unheard of. They're the exact reason we agreed on membership age limits, Archie. One of the few things we agreed on after quitting that farce of a team was that we weren't going to brainwash a bunch of underage impressionables. I'm calling their parents, and that's that."

Sensing that Maxie had momentarily run out of steam, Archie opened his mouth to chip in - and hesitated, his gaze fixing on a point a little further out than they were.

"Hey," he called after a moment. "Feeling shipshape over there?"

Wally stayed where he was, still doubled over, knee-deep in the ocean. Slowly, his head gave a small, less than convincing nod.

May and Brendan seemed to have realised what was going on, looking back at him in concern. Archie took a step - but a sodden coat slapped him in the face as his rival unburdened himself and splashed forwards.

"Easy - I'll come and get you! Deep breaths!"

May rubbed her friend's back slowly, kneeling beside him as he rested on the sand. "How do you feel, Wally? Do you need anything?"

The pale boy shook his head, his mouth momentarily occupied with the inhaler.

Brendan groaned. "I didn't realise we were overdoing it... We're sorry, Wally."

Wally quickly shook his head again, a bit more vigorously this time. He took a shaky breath of air and muttered, "'M okay. Happens sometimes."

A little way off, Maxie rummaged through Brendan's bag, cursing the boy's vague instructions. Under the Potions, indeed. Had the boy never heard of travelling light? ...Ah, there it was. He gave the towel a sharp tug and displaced most of the bag's contents out onto the sand, quickly hurrying back to the boy. Maxie wrapped the towel around Wally's shoulder and earned himself a grateful nod in response.

"Did you bring any spare clothes?" he asked, his usual clipped tone sounding a little softer than usual. Wally shook his head. "Hm. Does anyone else-?"

"We have plenty of spares." Archie gave his rival a pointed look. "In our base."

"Right, then. Someone should fetch them." He straightened up, taking the wet coat that Archie handed back to him. Another day, he'd have jumped at an excuse to see the rival hideout, but right now, there was a sick child in front of him. Obviously that took precedence. They weren't monsters.

May raised her hand to volunteer. but Archie got there first.

"We'll all go," he said firmly, earning himself a wary look from his rival.

"Um..." Wally looked cowed. "It... it's not that bad..."

"I'll carry the boy! Maxie, call the lad's parents. Brendan, I'm sure you can find their number, aye?" Before Maxie could argue or question his vague invitation, Archie turned his attention to May. "Scamp, call Kyogre. It can ferry us over."

May nodded, her eyes shining with amusement. "Gee, they're really panicking, huh?" She noticed Wally's uncomfortable expression and her smile dropped. "Hey - I promise Archie won't hurt you. Or drop you. He's strong, but he's nice!"

The boy paused, contemplating this. "...I... It's not that bad. I don't need to be carried around," he muttered. "I'm feeling better already... I just needed my inhaler. I have these all the time..." Wally's face was slowly turning from ghostly-pale to an embarrassed pink, and May laughed nervously. "Please don't let them call my parents, May. This is silly."

"Sorry, Wally." She sighed, glancing over to Brendan and Maxie. The two were hunched over Brendan's PokéNav, scrolling through phone numbers, and the adult pulled out a battered-looking red cell phone. "We just have to deal with it. It can't be that bad, right?"

"I haven't called them s-since I left," he admitted suddenly, and May faltered.

"How irresponsible," came a remark from his right. "All the more reason for me to call them now, don't you think?" Maxie drew level with them, his phone pressed against his ear and his other hand placed on his hip while he waited for someone to answer.

"You don't know what you're doing," Wally warned faintly, burying his face in his hands.

"Ah - hello. Is this one of Wally's carers or family members? ...You're his father? Good. I have your son here, and he appears to have suffered an attack - no, quite mild, I think. He seems alright. I thought I should report..." He trailed off and fussed with his glasses. "Maxie. Of Team Magma. I- oh! No, you have the situation confused, I'm afraid -" His eyes widened. Down on the sand beside him, Wally gave a distressed groan into his hands. "You're mistaken. I wasn't involved in - well, I suppose I - but that's not relevant to the situation at hand, sir, if you would please listen to... Who else? What do you mean, who else? I resent that implication...!" A beat. "Yes... sir. Two friends of his. May and Brendan, I believe. But I assure you, they are completely safe-!"

May stared up at Maxie as he continued to argue ineffectively against whatever Wally's father was saying, and tried not to smile. When the phone gave an audible click and Maxie held it away from his ear, examining the screen with an irritated glare, she rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't have told him who you were. You and Archie don't exactly have a great reputation."

Maxie snapped his phone shut with a little more force than was really needed. "Wally, your father is going to meet you in Lilycove this evening. Considering how concerned he sounded, I think it would be best if we supervised you until he got here. Prone to disappearing acts, are we?"

"I-it's not like that..." He shook his head, glancing apologetically at May. "They're gonna tell your dad, too, you know. And yours, Brendan."

Brendan offered his hand to Wally, pulling the other boy up from the sand. To Wally's further embarrassment, Brendan didn't let go when he was on his feet. "Sorry, guys. I couldn't just say no. He was really insistent." He sighed. "I kinda thought he knew what he was doing."

May stood up and dusted herself down. "Well, too late to do anything about it now. Anyway, when they see we're fine, they'll let us off for sure!"

The day passed with a kind of agonising slowness, the type that stemmed from apprehension. They kept themselves occupied, exploring the Aqua base with May playing confident leader, and tried not to think too hard about what Wally's parents were going to say that evening. It was easier said than done.

At least it gave them all time to change, May had pointed out, and once Archie pointed them to the bunks, May and Brendan had practically turned the place upside down looking for suitable clothes. The novelty of getting to wear Aqua uniforms hadn't been lost on any of them.

"These shorts are way too big," Brendan complained, tugging at them to keep them on his hips. "Wally, where'd you find that belt thing?"

"I think it's a sash," Wally replied uncertainly, tying a clumsy knot in the material. It was never going to win him any fashion awards, but at least his pants weren't threatening to drop around his ankles as soon as he let go. "Uh. It was in that drawer over there..."

May span in a circle, craning her neck to try and see her reflection. She'd been all too eager to get rid of the clingy wetsuit (which she'd also borrowed from Team Aqua), but she'd decided to pretend to have forgotten about leaving her regular outfit neatly-folded under one of the beds. Missing out on this would be unacceptable. And anyway - this was a show of solidarity, she told herself, and it would make the boys feel better. Even if her stockings were threatening to bunch up in her shoes.

"Got it!" Brendan announced, waving the scarf-like sash and quickly tying it around his waist. "Ugh, it's too long. I'm gonna trip on this thing..."

"Tie it in a bow," May suggested. She paused. "Oh! Quick, Wally, pass me a bandana!"

Wally blinked at his reflection, idly swiping a bandana off the bed next to him and tossing it to her. Despite his misgivings about the coming evening and the lingering shake in his hands from the incident earlier, this had been a welcome distraction. And, he had to admit, it was kind of fun to dress up.

"We look like pirates," he observed.

"Yeah! Isn't it awesome?" Brendan vaulted over a bed to join him, dropping his arm around the other boy's shoulders and grabbing May's arm to drag her in, too. "Look at us! We're like... the next generation of Team Aqua," he said, his voice dropping an octave and taking on a gravelly tone. "Arr! Environmentalism!"

May snorted, tying the black bandana in place of her usual striped bow. "You're such a dork, Brendan." Her hand snuck up behind his head, her fingers making bunny-ears on his reflection. "We do look cool, though. I wonder if Archie will let us keep this stuff?"

Wally smiled, tilting his head. "Maybe they won't miss these, at least." He reached up to tug his bandana a little further back, frowning as it made his hair stick out at a comical angle. "I don't think I did this right."

The sound of a teleporter activating made the trio jump, and they quickly turned to face Archie with guilty looks as he stared them down.

His face cracked into a grin. "Bahahah! Well, I'll be keelhauled! Don't you three buccaneers all make those rags look menacing? You put my Grunts to shame."

Brendan clamped a hand over his mouth, the pirate slang making him tremble with effort to keep from laughing.

"Th-thank you for letting us borrow this stuff," Wally piped up quickly, trying to cover for him. "We appreciate it."

Archie waved dismissively. "Naw, they won't be missed. I had a deckhand run your wet clothes over to Lilycove to get 'em dry cleaned. I expect your parents won't be happy if your clothes are salty and damp, eh?"

The teleporter flashed again, and this time it was Maxie who stepped through, looking irritated. "For heaven's sake, Archie, if you're going to allow your greatest rival into your secret base of operations, at least have the foresight to accompany him!"

"Hm?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Did ya get lost, Maxie?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the Magma Leader snapped, drawing level with him and trying not to look uncomfortable. He, too, had been forced to wear borrowed clothing until his dried - May supposed Archie had talked him into it, somehow, because there was no way he'd volunteered to wear a striped shirt and a battered-looking black captain's jacket by himself. "I'm simply pointing out you're being far too relaxed about this."

Brendan, upon seeing Maxie's new attire, lost his battle against hysterics and toppled backwards onto one of the empty beds, cackling helplessly. Maxie scowled.

"Archie, this is precisely what I was talking about. These children are getting far too familiar with your team. Don't you have any outfits lying around that aren't branded with that ridiculous insignia?" He fussed with his overcoat, attempting to fasten it at the front and looking dismayed when he realised the buttons were missing.

Archie tutted, going to stand behind May and looking over her head into the mirror to give her reflection an evaluative look. "Aye, but they chose these themselves. They're not really members, Maxie, so what's the harm in it?"

"It's nonsense," Maxie grumbled, folding his arms petulantly. "Besides, they would all look much better in red."

"Oh-ho?"

"Don't look at me like that. I simply meant blue isn't their colour."

May giggled.

Wally scooped up his satchel from where Brendan had dropped it amongst the rest of their discarded belongings, and began to rummage through it. "Do you want me to take your picture, May?"

"Wait, wait - set the timer! We can all get in on it!" Brendan snatched the camera from his hands and fiddled with the buttons. "Where's the best place to take one?"

Archie opened his mouth, then looked surprised as May beat him to it.

"Archie! Can we pose on the submarine? Please?"

"Well, I-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Maxie interrupted. "I won't have you letting children play around on dangerous machinery. Take one by the entrance - it's far more scenic." He pushed his glasses further up his nose, realised the Aqua Leader was staring at him and looking far too amused for his own good, and frowned. "What! I simply meant you plastered the biggest of your silly banners there. Don't read into it."

The trio closed in around the two team leaders, herding them enthusiastically towards the teleporter, and the two adults didn't find it in them to protest.

A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter, when the angry parent brigade arrives and the proverbial hits the fan.

Also, made a minor edit to one of the previous chapters, upon realising Swellows are not anywhere near as big as I thought they were. Her parents now flew off on a Tropius, for the record. (I'm now also dubious about Steven and his Skarmory, but maybe it's magnets? Pokémon, how do they work, old memes etc etc.)

Hope you're enjoying this runaway train so far!