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(introduction—what we’re doing and why)
Two months in, Tabitha already thought Devon was a dying company. Still, he always smiled thinly and nodded his way through meetings, as he was wont to do.
It wasn’t all bad, though. There was ample funding for well-justified projects, which he had a knack for doing. Creativity was rewarded even if it failed, which Tabitha did not do, and thought was a little too lenient. His peers were talented, to be sure, but they focused too much on their projects, as opposed to their careers.
Well, Tabitha was looking upwards, ever upwards, with every research paper he co-wrote and every scientific advancement he co-authored. And yet, even as his name was so often copied and pasted onto prosperous patent reports, the corporate ladder didn’t seem to get any smaller.
Two months in, Tabitha grew annoyed by the simpering and nodding that were expected of him, without many benefits in exchange. So it was far too easy to look carefully at the deep-red business card on the visitor’s hand.
It was not the first he’d gotten—corporate poaching was a standard, justifiable method—but it was the first one he was interested in. It even had a watermark!
The businessman was older, strict-faced, with lenses so clean they almost gleamed. The scowl on his face told Tabitha his meeting with Stone hadn’t gone well, and that he likely wasn’t one of their pleased investors.
“Joseph can be intractable,” the man said, posture like an arrow, “but he mentioned you were one of his best researchers.”
Tabitha preened, smiling despite himself, and made a show of stashing the card. What harm in doing so? He was a very good corporate drone, with a very good corporate skillset, with a very ambitious mindset!
He would not have to be one for much longer.
(methods—qualitative might be more readily available)
Maxie was, by far, the best boss Tabitha had ever had.
The company’s—no, rather, the organization’s procedures were streamlined, and work processes were duly kept. Tabitha rose to the coveted administrator’s role after an initial testing period. All in all, an obvious success, even after his slightly disharmonious departure from Devon.
Well, Tabitha’s tracks were covered, and the robotic suit’s research was his intellectual property. No matter what Devon’s pack of attorneys might’ve attempted to say in court. Maxie’s smile when the case was dismissed was as beautiful as a fire in winter, and it made Tabitha feel just as warm.
“Though the whole procedure took us some time, the suit will likely pay itself thrice over," Maxie said. He was eyeing Devon’s frustrated legal team as they spoke in murmurs, leaving the room. “To think that Devon would allow the blueprints for such a promising product to waste away in their archives! It boggles the mind.”
Courtney, undercover and plainly-dressed by the door, popped a chewing gum balloon.
Tabitha smiled thinly at her, but he could not contain the pleasure of hearing such praise. It spiraled into his round cheeks like vapor from a hot spring.
“Well, we’ve a schedule to keep,” Maxie said, eyeing his wristwatch. As if remembering something, he paused to glance at Tabitha, and offered a meaningful, satisfied smile. “Let us go, Administrator Tabitha.”
Then he turned away, fetching his Nav from his pocket. He began tapping as he walked, certainly already writing down a draft for their next meeting.
In turn, something inside Tabitha turned to liquid heat. Respect, no doubt. Or professional admiration. Whatever it was, it was fascinating. What must have felt like, to be in such control of one’s plans, of one’s objectives? Tabitha didn’t yet know. For now, it was enough to be Maxie’s right arm, to be the tool with which he advanced Team Magma’s ambitious plans.
It had never been easy for Tabitha to take orders. He was a natural leader, through and through. He’d never seen any promise in the stifling hierarchies of Devon. But now—how obvious it was, to allow himself to be led by a man with such a bright focus.
Maxie threatened to outshine everyone else, and even promised to change the very world they stood on. What else could Tabitha think of doing, except to follow? Any other method would be a waste of his time and potential.
Tabitha suppressed a shiver, looking away, and followed Maxie out of the courthouse.
(literature review—let’s be sure of what we’re saying)
Even as Tabitha was hounded by tenacious children and Archie’s goons, the pieces of Maxie’s wonderful plans slotted seamlessly into their designed places. Even if the missions meant seeing Maxie less, sometimes even not managing to schedule a call, it was worth it.
What had been little more than a watery mirage, at the time of his hiring, was now a nearly tangible dream. Tabitha could almost see the new shores bursting through the waves.
All that new land for the taking… The space for larger agricultural fields, the bountiful quarries that would form, the forests they could plant… The real-estate developments that would make Team Magma—and, by extension, Tabitha—richer beyond all imagination! Maxie could then be prodded into seeing how useful money could be, and how it could fuel Team Magma’s delayed entry into the world of politics.
Ahya, Maxie would look good in a suit, too. Tabitha could see it, perhaps too easily, and the picture he painted was handsome indeed. Maxie had always had an air of tight efficiency about him. The press would eat it up, and waste no time in propping him up into some high and mighty government position. Maybe with the League? Tabitha hadn’t yet reserved much thought for the finer details. No sense wasting time daydreaming about objectives that could be derailed, after all.
What he had thought, over and over, was that Maxie’s new career path would doubtlessly pave the way for Tabitha’s new leadership position. No more meetings in the headquarters, no—they would have international gatherings instead. They would book expensive venues, and toast to their accomplishments with expensive Kalosian champagne. And Maxie would, as always, express his satisfaction with Tabitha’s work.
It was all really inspirational to Tabitha. Really, really, really, really inspirational! Or it had been, up until the point where he skimmed over the stolen Weather Institute’s research. Reading the findings felt like—a sudden and shocking detachment, like the excess corner on a gigantic glacier. A sudden crack turned into a break, where there had only been the solid relief of belonging. And Tabitha was that excess, dropped heavy into frigid waters.
His first thought, under the cold: Did Maxie know?
He couldn’t. No, he couldn’t, because if he knew, and if he was dedicating all his potential to achieve it, then—then what was all this for?
Tabitha wanted, suddenly, to rip the research to absolute shreds. Beneath his hands, the printed letters were already blurring. It was only a matter of luck—either good or bad, Tabitha couldn’t tell—that the foolish, impertinent, annoying child burst into the Institute and declared the intent to punish Tabitha for his misdeeds.
So Tabitha did not cry, even as the lava inside him cooled, and cracked, and left only ash. He threw a tantrum—erm, he failed to recall his Constructive Communication course, wiped out against a kid, again, and stormed out of the Institute with nothing to show for it.
For the first time in his career, he rebelled. He delayed replying to his correspondence, even though he knew Courtney was working on her share of the plans. He even silenced his Nav’s call app, though he kept glancing at it every half hour.
Instead, Tabitha licked his wounds. He cursed the modern TV shows for putting ideas into young, impressionable minds who seemingly had nothing better to do than to save the day. He felt marginally better after that. Then he decided to do some research of his own.
It had been a while since the last time. Nostalgia was a bright spark in the hollowed-out, shocked shell of his mind. It was good to feel meaningful. This had been his element, once. On the other hand, any fledgling hope that this whole thing was a mistake only dwindled. Scientific reports, journal clippings, outdated reference books, library microfiches… All indicated that the sightings of ancient pokémon always brought disasters in their wake.
And Team Magma wanted so much more than a simple sighting.
Tabitha felt both triumphant and nauseated by the end of his impromptu PTO. His final report spanned over a hundred pages in eleven-point serif, double-spacing. Because hey, who knew if he couldn’t publish it, after everything was put back to rights? Might as well do it right the first time. He could even dust off his resumé and move to Unova, where bosses would just shatter his spirit, instead of his heart.
All the marketing posters, all the motivational meetings, all the promises and dreams…
The satisfaction in Maxie’s face, after even the smallest scientific advancement. The rare touch when he was particularly delighted—the warm strength of his uncalloused fingers against Tabitha’s wide shoulder. The way he sometimes paused in thought, when they were both fettered by overtime and vegetarian takeout. The pink sun, setting below his glass-walled, expansive corner office. The way his eyes would brighten behind the lenses of his glasses. It always made him look as if he was considering how Tabitha could be more than he already was.
No, Tabitha couldn’t believe it had all been a lie. He wouldn’t.
He went to get his library card back, and began browsing for the best company-covered flight transportation in the area.
(statement—so what do we want to accomplish, here?)
By the time Tabitha arrived, he owed Courtney a favor for telling him where Maxie had gone. This rankled him almost as much as having to face up to the best boss he’d ever had.
It helped, marginally, that Maxie barely looked like himself. His face was pallid, even as the rest of them stood damp and flushed in the blistering heat of the volcanic cave. His measured gaze, sometimes bordering on unsettling, didn’t pause on any of them for long. No, Maxie’s scattered attention had been captured by the slumbering beast below, barely visible through the flowing lava.
Tabitha held that gaze on a daily basis, preening and simpering, and expecting praise for his magnificent results. He’d never had to share it with anyone other than Courtney, and even then it could barely be considered a draw.
“Do you think I had not noticed?” Maxie asked. His teeth were grit, drawing his cheekbones in sharp angles. Such an emotion on his face was new. A kind of anguished anger that made the pit of Tabitha’s stomach turn hot, despite the occasion. “That I had somehow failed to realize you were after my spot?”
Tabitha closed his mouth, teeth clicking together. There were no excuses he was willing to make up, or confess to. He had always wanted to sit at the top, and had hardly made attempts to hide it. Wasn’t ambition a sought-out trait, after all? But… where he had once pictured himself a lone ruler, now he imagined another desk with a plush office chair. Another person sitting with him in that luxurious corner office. Addition; not such crude replacement.
The heat in the cave was sweltering, slowing his thoughts. Clouds of thin steam hissed out of stone crevices. Tabitha was sweating under his uniform, very nearly seeing white, but…
The meddling child was already jogging past them towards the exit, hand reaching for a pokéball. Maxie was standing very still at the edge of the precipice. Tabitha could not see his expression, but Maxie’s shoulders were tight, his posture firm: the habitual sign of making a hard decision.
Tabitha would not wait to see if it was the right one. He grabbed Maxie’s arm, pulling—the first time he dared to do so—and for an interminable second, he stared at his boss with all the anger he’d never had to muster before.
Maxie’s expression shuttered into a sad resignation, mouth twisting, but he let himself be led. He stole a final glance at the lava churning below, bubbles bursting and sizzling. Tabitha turned and pretended not to see, pulling him by the wrist, arresting him in the reality of what he’d done.
And so it was. A primal, faraway cry split the air, and the world flickered with it. The welcoming, burning sunlight blinded them both as they exited the mouth of the cave.
Despite the looming dread, Tabitha could not help feeling some inappropriate vindication. After all, it seemed the primary question of his research had been answered beyond a shadow of a doubt.
(abstract—will move to top when done)
As the harsh sunlight faded into a more natural degree, Tabitha realized he'd have to thank that insubordinate little kid. But that could be later. Or maybe never, if he could find a way to avoid it. But he was thankful, so much more so than he could ever remember being.
At the end of it all, this is what Tabitha learned: it might’ve been the leadership position he'd craved, at first, but now… Now, it was what his ambition had allowed him to find. The true treasure had hidden under the gilded achievements, harder to find than an honest recommendation letter.
At his side, Maxie was ash-flecked and exhausted. But he was bearing a gaunt smile; the shining proof of Tabitha’s effort. A smile that was, at first, only a reflection, but then moved to be pressed, gently, warmly, against his own.
(conclusion—in progress, but looks promising!)
The trials and the merger took months to finish, even with more contractors to support their legal team. Tabitha was temporarily put under surveillance, and Maxie was temporarily put behind bars. The worst of it all was being forced to work with a dunce like Matt, who kept writing their audit reports without a single drop of plausible deniability.
Soon enough, Tabitha grew used to the clinical décor of the Visitor’s Room, and to the gruff mien of the police force. Two days in, he managed to network his way into smuggling brand-name cappuccinos into the ward.
Maxie’s smiles were rarer, these days, but he always answered Tabitha’s arrival with one. The sight was sweet, but… Tabitha wanted to know what that smile tasted like—without a fine feldspar dust coating. Without the regret and horror of a mistaken choice. Without the urgency of not knowing if it would be their last and only, as opposed to their first of many.
It was selfish, but he’d never claimed to be an altruist. For now, Tabitha contented himself with watching Maxie sip the expensive beverages and draft Gantt charts. He still delighted in filling out timetables and drafting up objectives. It was like nothing had changed. It was like Maxie hadn’t almost crossed a very dangerous line, and taken them all with him.
Anyway. It wouldn’t do Tabitha good to think of such things while they were together. They had many things to do, after all! Their roadmap was no longer as straight-forward as it had been before, sure. But their vision was, for the first time, impressively clear. And Tabitha was sure he’d handle the added workload just fine. He barely felt burdened by, erm, volunteering himself as the interim leader for the soon-to-be-merged Team Magma. After all—
My number two, Maxie had said. Even the anger and betrayal in his voice hadn’t managed to remove Tabitha’s pleasure at finally hearing it officialized… Even if he’d have preferred it in writing as well.
My only one, Tabitha said now, and never failed to laugh, abashed, at the saccharine indignity of such a line. But he would repeat it to exhaustion, if needed; it always provoked the slightest, beautiful softening of Maxie’s tired smile.