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Look at that, another chapter. It must be a miracle~ That or I finally bothered to finish the thing that'd been sitting and taking up space in my computer, could be that too~ ^,^; either way I might actually get this Act finished at this rate~
As before here's a link to the previous parts for those who missed them.
Part 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/21268019/
Part 2: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/25115551/
Part 3: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35525503/
We pick up the next day with Mam & Joe discussing things from yesterday and all seems well… but of course it isn't~ Petie is up to something strange and it's up to Mam to get to the bottom of it… and what's this meeting Neoma set up? What will come of that~? We'll just have to see~
Anyway please enjoy, fav & comment, and have a nice day ^,^
Neoma owned by
xehta13
Other characters owned by me
Pokemon owned by neither of us
"So, how much did the little one manage to sweet talk out of you~? 50% cut and all the candy he can eat~?"
"Noooo… we're still working on the cut, but I talked him down to just as much treats as he wants while on the clock~ He's a good haggler for such a little guy~ We'll have our first session at the warehouse later this week, hope you don't mind."
"Your house, your rules~ We just have team meetings there is all, you actually rent the place~ Oh, Joe?"
"Yeah Mam?"
"Be honest… how much of agreeing to help me train Rose was so you can try and get Petie to model for you?"
Shutting his locker tight the large conkedurr smirked at his scolipede friend "What, you think I was scheming something? I leave all that stuff to YOU Mam~ I assure you, that was at most… 50% of why I agreed to help~" he said, chuckling as his long time friend and team captain made a mock hurt expression before chuckling as well. "Well I hope it all goes well for you… and I want to see the carvings if possible~ Want to judge for myself if you managed to capture Petie's adorable cherub look properly~" she teased right back. Both happily chatting after the school day had ended… as they tried not to take up TOO much of the hallway. He had some stuff to talk to his team captain about involving her need to meddle… and some stuff related to the little teddiursa too.
"Anyway, all that aside-" Joe said, dropping his voice low for a moment "was that little dramatic reveal yesterday enough of a reminder to not scheme with peoples lives?" as he gave her a stern look. Mam just up her hands defensively and blushed "The point was already made, you don't need to bring it up in the middle of the hallway." she whispered back "And don't even PRETEND you had any idea what her life story was when you asked her to explain Joe. That's my thing and even I didn't see that coming." Mam grumbled, punctuating it with a glare.
"Fine, I didn't. I just hoped it'd be enough to remind you about that whole "Try not to be evil" thing you promised a while back, remember?" he asked, softening his gaze "So you're NOT going to meddle any further in their lives, right?" The glare he got from Mam reminded him she hated being talked down to like that… before the scolipede let out a sigh "Right. I've washed my hands of taking an active role here, made enough of a mess of it already." she held up her four hands for emphasis "Been brain storming ways to fix it and keep coming up empty handed, so I am just going to have to step back and hope for the best…"
"…… be honest Mam, how many possibly plans did you cook up?"
"Possible plans or possible plans that could actually work?" she asked, giving him a annoyed look "Yeah I had some ideas…" Mam just sighed and shook her head "But nothing that could actually FIX the situation before the match. In fact I couldn't come up with anything that could even deescalate it before then. I'm not close enough to it." That last part caught Joe a little by surprise since he knew Mam had no issues building bridges with people in a hurry (whether they knowingly wanted it or not) for her plans. "Dunno, seems like you did a pretty good job inserting yourself into Rose & Petie's little group…" he trailed off as Mam just shook her head.
"Not enough, they're easy to make friends with due to being so open, but unless I can get close to Keith I can't make anything happen… and he's not the type to LET people get close." she explained "The only way this whole mess could take any step in the right direction is if we somehow got Rose and Keith to meet and actually talk to each other. Try and find some common ground-" Joe winced, easily picturing the scene in his head from what he'd heard about their last meeting, and cut in "Without beating the shit out of each other." Mam just nodded "Exactly."
Sighing the scolipede just folded her arms and pursed her lips "And that's why I can't do anything. I'm not close enough to both sides to get them to come to a meeting point… and have no way to guarantee the two meeting won't just result in a bigger incident. I've already done enough damage, what with getting innocents like Petie and Eugene dragged into it. So it's time to step back and just make plans to try and help in the aftermath of the match…" Joe wasn't sure that counted as "Not Meddling" as he watched Mam give a halfhearted smile and a dry chuckle.
"And who knows? Maybe things will work themselves out without me, right?"
******************
Keith cracked his knuckles loudly as he glared daggers at Rose who clinched her fists tight and glared blades right back at him. Neither saying a word.
Neoma and Bea stood off to the side, glancing between the two and sweating bullets. Thanks to their combined efforts (aka badgering him among other tactics) they'd managed to talk Keith into meeting with Rose. Afterwards Neoma had talked the reluctant kangaskhan into agreeing to the meeting. They'd even managed to find a good place for the meeting to happen… sorta. Outside the school, right in front of the doors and on the main part of campus, where everybody could see them. Bea had thought it discouraged any possibility of a punch-up if they were super public like this and they didn't have the time to find something better. So they'd just hoped the two would start talking when they got them together face to face…
The frog girls watched Keith & Rose's narrowed glares and aggressive postures and felt the steadily growing tension in the air. They might have rushed this plan a bit too much…
******************
"Well that's optimistic of you. What, not gonna risk saying it can't get any worse?"
"Don't joke about that Joe, we've been through this before and you know the universe loves a challenge."
"Right, right, I'm sure it's fine. Not like they're somewher-"
Joe stopped short as Mam's antenna snapped to attention and swivel before swishing wildly. He'd known her long enough to recognize "Someones coming, who is it?" when he saw it. She did that whenever they were talking about something she didn't want overheard. Inwardly wincing the conkeldurr hoped he hadn't jinxed them. To his confusion Mam got this strange look on her face instead of horror, panic, or anything he'd been expecting. It looked like she'd just bitten into a lemon, which considering how she hated sour stuff was quite the face. He had't a clue what was going on so he just followed her gaze to see who was going to show u-
"Duuuuuuude!"
And just stared as two spider guys walked passed them heading towards a stairway. One was a lanky ariados and the other a massive galvantual with a multi-legged lower body like Mam. Weirder still they seemed to be having some kind of conversation straight out of a stoner comedy. He couldn't follow it but from the snippet he overheard it involved filming or something. It also apparently required them to use "Dude" ever single sentence. He just watched them go past blankly before looking to Mam's still soured face. "… okay, probably don't wanna know… but I gotta know. Who are dumb and dumber and do you know them?" he asked, pointing a thumb where the two had vanished.
"Randal and Arnie, I know them from the Bug Type Association. And that's a good way to refer to them. Every single student from the B.T.A. who knows them knows to stay away from them and their hair-brained stunts if you value your health." was the scolipede's curt reply. Her still annoyed expression made it clear to Joe she'd been involved in said "Hair-Brained Stunts" at least once. He just shrugged and scratched his chin absentmindedly "Right…" it felt like he'd forgotten something he wanted to mention from earlier, but he couldn't place what it was "and B.T.A.? I thought they called it The Hive or something? You know, like how they give cutesy names to the other type support classes?"
The Type Associations, T.A.'s for short, were a long standing PCA tradition. After school clubs set up for students to help other students with issues related to moves, skills, or even day to day problems. At least if they related to their typing anyway, or that's how it was supposed to go. They were meant to help bring the student body together and let older students pass down their knowledge to younger ones… like how you aren't supposed to set a T.A. classroom on fire (oh the stories he'd hear about the Fire group). It was basically a student run mentoring program… for better or for worse.
"Yes, they call it The Hive… the also call it The Swarm, The Nest, The Web and probably a few OTHER names they tried since I stopped going. Aaaaall depending on whose claiming to be in charge of them this week." her voice was dripping with sarcasm as he winced. He knew Mam winding up for a rant when he heard it. "Whoever thought making those type support groups student run needs their head examined. Sure it might work if you can get the group to elect a representative or leader or whatever and STICK with it, but do you know HOW MANY bug types there are at this school?" he didn't answer, he knew she wasn't looking for one as he just sighed and waited for her to continue. Still racking his brain. He'd forgotten something. What was it, what was it…?
"Too many! And EVERY SINGLE SENIOR thinks they should be in charge of the club and should get to name it. Then they get any underclassmen they can bully, bribe, or sweet-talk into supporting them… while all the others are doing the same thing! I quit going because I couldn't stand the politics anymore! Last I recall there were at least 4 groups claiming to be the REAL B.T.A. and arguing over meeting times, tutoring sessions, gym usage-"
"That was it!" Joe thudded his fist into an upturned palm suddenly, his friend jumping a little in surprise "That's what I was trying to remember!' he added, grinning proudly… both at having remembered and at having a good excuse to cut Mam's rant short. She gave him a sour look "… well? Don't leave me in suspense?" his best friend almost sounded huffy at being interrupted as she folded her arms. He had to fight the urge to chuckle at seeing her like this… especially since this was genuinely importantly information… maybe. He hoped it was nothing, he really did… but... "Well-" he started "it involves Petie."
Aaaand he immediately had her complete attention, the huffiness replaced with confusion and concern. "I bumped into him earlier…" Joe began, not really sure he should be sharing this info. Especially since he'd just chastised Mam for butting into others lives when she shouldn't. Bringing this up was probably hypocritical "When we were negotiating earlier he wanted to know about something I found kinda… odd." but he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had. His best friend might be a meddler, but he did know she meant well and could be trusted for stuff like this if it was a case where somebody needed to step in. "He wanted to know if I knew any gyms that he could use without being bothered this afternoon… aaaand he made me promise not to tell his sister or his teammates about it."
"… so you're telling ME instead,"
"I dunno what kind of training he wants to do, but I rather he not be doing it completely on his own. Probably shouldn't have helped him but he was begging and pleading and I didn't know what else to do… it wasn't like a little kid. He was acting like this was REALLY important to him and-"
"Right, I'll check in on him and make sure he's okay. It's probably nothing, so don't worry about it okay?" Mam said, giving him a broad smile.. as he watched her antenna erratically twitch just slight, a tell tail sign of worry. "He seems much more grounded than his sister despite still being so little, so I'm sure whatever it is he's doing won't be too bad. Besides, he didn't make you promise not to tell ME, did he~?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't help but Joe appreciated his captain's effort. "I'll just peek in on him, make sure he's alright, and then be on my way~ He'll never even know I'm there~" she added, gesturing to illustrate her plan.
"Right… I'll tell you which gym I sent him too… oh! Right! He did mention it needing one thing specifically. Dunno what it has to do with whatever training he's doing but you should probably know about it."
"What was that?"
"A low hanging, weighted punching bag. He was really insistent that it be low hanging so he could reach it. Fumbled something about Fury Swipes when I asked why."
"Huh… that is odd. No worries though Joe, as a big sis I can promise you I'll handle this~"
"… aaaaaand now I'm worried…"
"Hey!"
*****************
Standing in front of the door to the gym Mam had to admit one thing, it was out of the way at least. Even with Joe telling her what the number was it still took her forever to find it. Petie definitely wouldn't be disturbed while training here… if he was actually in here. Mam was still hoping this was nothing and she'd find the place empty as she used two of her arms to slowly, silently ease the door open… and immediately frowned. With the door barely opened her antenna were already twitching like mad as she could feel something moving in the gym.
Not bothering to wait to "sense" a better picture of what was going on the scolipede pushed open the door as quietly as she could to see with her own eyes. It was Petie, so that hope was dashed. With that confirmed she noticed two more things… one was what he was doing. She watched the bear SHOVE the weighted training bag in front of him with all his might and then just stand there as it swung back into him with a whump that made her wince. Beyond just standing there and taking it Petie seemed to be trying to strike back at the bag as it hit him… but what exactly he was doing she couldn't tell. It just looked like he was trying to punch it in retaliation but that didn't make any sense. Either way each time he got pushed back by the impact, wheezed for breath… and then just did it again.
She was a little ashamed to admit that this was the second thing she noticed. The first thing was that, thanks to experience with her little siblings and Petie having his back to her, the teddiursa was long overdue for a fresh diaper. Considering how self-conscious and easily shamed the bear always seemed the fact he was either oblivious to or ignoring this fact left Mam… concerned. Standing in the doorway she considered how to approach this since she doubted Petie would appreciate seeing her… and the last thing she wanted was for him to take a weighted bag to the face cause she distracted him. She'd need to be carefu-
"D-darn it! W-wo-work already!"
The bug winced at the pleading squeak from Petie as he shoved the bag with all the desperate strength he could muster… followed by a pained yelp as it swung back into him full force and took him clean off his feet. He didn't even get a chance to try and punch it this time. The matter was further taken out of her hands as Petie landed on his bottom with a very obvious squish and she heard the sound of a building crying fit coming from the little bear as he pawed at his face in fury. Shutting the door quickly she hurried over to him. Not bothering to be quiet at this point… but the frustrated teddiursa still didn't notice her till she was right on top of him. He looked up at her and she could see his tear filled eyes filling with confusion, horror, and shame as she tried to give him her best reassuring smile and opened her mouth to greet him.
"Uu--uuwaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
She wasn't surprised in the least when he started bawling and curled up in a little bawl of shame.
*****************
While she didn't exactly feel good about rummaging through his backpack Mam was glad Petie had left it nearby… and that it had his changing supplies in it. Also a pacifier. She wasn't proud about doing it to him but she needed to stop the bawling before somebody came to check and it did the work well enough. Stopped the loud bawling at least even if she could still hear the muffled crying behind the nursing noises and let her focus on the task at hand. She didn't know how long Petie had been at it or if getting smacked by the bag constantly had anything to do with it but he was probably on the cusp of getting a rash with how loaded his diaper was.
Skipping the cooing and comfort, as well as anything that might have helped his dignity, Mam just focused on getting him cleaned up as quickly and efficiently as possible. By the time she'd managed that the quite crying had died down to soft sniffles and she could focus on her next move. Petie had actually tried to plan this out some judging by the bottles of potion she'd found in his bag so she put those to use treating the developing bruises she found on his tummy, arms, and fists. Mentally restraining herself from chastising him for this as she did so… THAT would come later.
Only after his bruises were tended to, his bottom had a fresh coat of rash cream just to be safe, his dignity (if you could use that word in this context) was again covered by a new diaper, and everything was put away did Mam consider how she was going to start this little discussion. "So…" she said, exhaling the word as she looked down at Petie who was still laying where she'd left him. The teddiursa was sucking his pacifier and refusing to look her in the eyes. Easily able to backslide into another crying fit if she said the wrong thing. "Sooooo…." slipping the teddy's pants back up and picking him up Mam looked Petie in the eyes… the teary, shamed, hurt eyes… and sighed.
The lecture on "Unsafe Training Practices" would have to wait for a bit.
"So… care to share what you were up to?" she said lightly, trying to use a casual tone to keep Petie from working himself up any further. "Could tell you were training-" she added, settling down on the gym floor (since her body made chairs unusable) and sitting Petie in front of her "but couldn't tell exactly what. Just that it wasn't going well." There was no immediate answer as Petie had gone back to not looking her in the eyes as he sat there. His legs splayed wide like a toddler as he nervously fiddled with his paws and stared at the floor in front of him. Pacifier still bobbing in and out of his mouth. It was the waiting game to see if he'd be up to share what was going on with her or not. Considering he probably didn't like her much she wouldn't be surprise if he didn-
"… ounter…"
"Hmmm?" she almost missed the soft mumble "A little louder please? I couldn't quite hear that." Mam kept her tone calm and reassuring, really curious what the teddy had just said. Petie took a deep breath, Mam noting his body shook as he did so, and mumbled around his pacifier "C-Counter… w-was working on m-my Counter." Mam just blinked and twitched her antenna. That made… sense actually. Letting the bag hit him and trying to counter attack it WOULD be a decent, if dangerous and dumb, way to actually practice Counter. It just left her with one lingering question and she bit her tongue to keep from blurting it out in a way that could upset him again.
"I… actually didn't know you knew Counter." she said hesitantly. Recalling the matches she'd watched and heard about… she was pretty sure he knew Fury Swipes, Feint Attack, Bulk Up, Rest, and Snore… and maybe Attract if she remembered right. She wasn't sure on that last one… but she honestly didn't recalled anything about him every using Counter.
"Y-yeah… i-it's an egg move. M-my d-dad's… m-my other big sibs h-have it…" he mumbled… which obviously meant his birth father and blood-related big siblings rather than Rose or her dad… Mam decided not to ask about that right now even if this was another fact she hadn't been aware of. "M-my big sis t-taught me how to do i-it when I was little… b-but I never got it to work l-like it suppos'ta…" Petie sniffled, clumsily wiping his eyes with his paws as Mam mulled over this. This explanation made sense… but opened up the door to a whole laundry list of other questions. It'd be best if she stayed on topic though so it wasn't hard to narrow down what to ask.
"Never got it t work right… how? Can you explain? If that's not too much I mean." she hastily added. If the question bothered Petie any he didn't show it as he just sniffled "… I-I'm doing it like s-sis taught me a-and everything… I-I even double checked w-with Jules! H-how he does it! B-But… but…" the teddy fidgeted nervously, pulling his legs in close and hugging his knees "It… it just… won't work… I h-hit 'em like I'm supposed to but it just… doesn't… I d-don't know why…" he trailed off, putting his head on his knees as Mam reached forward and gently rubbed his head to comfort him… on reflex more than anything else. Her mind was racing through what Petie had described to her.
Specifically she was remember a class she'd sat in on for an elective on Move Tutors and how moves worked. Part of it had focused on the fact that knowing HOW to do a move, being able to PERFORM that action, and actually being able to DO THE MOVE were different. The example they used that'd always stuck with her was that Rock Throw and "throwing a rock" were two different things. Anybody can pick up a rock and chuck it… but if somebody knows Rock Throw and how to use it the same action becomes a move, they glossed over the whole "How it becomes a move" part and Mam hadn't bothered to research on her own, and deals significantly more damage. If Petie DID have all the technical information down correctly and was performing the move right then that'd mean-
Mam's train of thought abruptly crashed hard into a wall with no survivors as she pulled the brakes on it herself. Petie had said Counter was an Egg Move from his father… and his two blood-related big siblings had it… it was acting like he somehow hadn't gotten the move… aaaand she wasn't willing to follow this track of details to their conclusion. She was NOT going to be responsible for sharing assumptions this unpleasant with Petie. Not when she could be wrong. God she hoped she was wrong. She couldn't imagine Petie's reaction if he was already this fragile about it…
Better to try and change the direction of conversation away from this. "By the way… any reason you're working so hard on Counter?" she asked, faking a soothing smile to hide her internal turmoil over her thoughts. "Cause… w-wanna help Rose in the match…" Petie mumbled, still curled up. Taking another shuddering breath the teddiursa suddenly looked up, taking his pacifier out as he looked Mam in the eyes. The scolipede internally flinched at the lost and confused look in the baby bears gaze. It made her wanna cuddle and shush him and tell him everything would be okay… but she was sure that'd make things worse. "Mam… d-do you think I… I'm useless?" Petie mumbled softly, still looking her in the eyes.
The scolipede just smiled back, her frantically twitching tail antenna the only sign in her otherwise calm composure that she was internally screaming in panic, and patted his head "Of course your not useless Petie, why would you ever think that?" Petie's head just sunk as his gaze fell "…….. cause… my teams dun need me…" he mumbled. Mam's internal screaming getting worse since this conversation had somehow managed to get WORSE. "… Rose doesn't need me… th-this whole Nanny a-and Teddy-chan stuff was just her idea… to h-help… me…" he sniffled a little "A-and T… Team Pre-K doesn't n-need me either…"
"Have they said that? Have any of them actually said that?" she interjected as sharply as she could while not sounding forceful. Petie flinching and shifting nervously at the question "N-No… b-but…" That was officially it, Mam was taking charge of this right now. "Then don't put words in your friends mouths." the teddiursa squeaked in surprise as two of Mam's four hands wormed their way under his arms and lifted him up to look her in the eye's properly. "They're you're friends, right? You enjoy spending time with them?" the teddiursa just nodded, legs peddling the air as he dangled "Then don't go thinking they don't need you, got it? If you're friends with them then that's enough." she finished firmly. Fully intending to nip this destructive thought pattern Petie had admitted in the bud.
"… b-but… I d-don't bring a-anything new t-to the team… J-Jane and J-Jules do my s-stuff better…"
Mam internally winced. She hadn't expected Petie to actually have thought it out that far. She'd hoped the standard motivational cliches would be enough to snap him out of it. While she found them adorable and was a fan she actually didn't know enough about Team Pre-K to refute that argument. In fact the more logistic based side of her could see where Petie was coming from just from a pure move-set/fighting style standpoint… even as her emotional side said that was a horrible thought. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to get Petie out of this self-destructive rut and that left her flummoxed. She couldn't NOT try and help the poor little one…
"A-and w-what do you know a-anyway!? P-put me down! W-who said you could pick me up! Put me down! D-down!"
Fortunately the problem seem to have momentarily fix itself as she watched Petie's expression shift from depression and tears to annoyance and tears. Kicking furiously like a toddler not wanting to be held the little bear was working himself up into full on anger as he struggled. Mam was soooorely tempted to catch one of those kicking legs and tickle his foot till and the grump left his face… but she thought better of it. Mad was better than depressed, at least in this case anyway.
"Well since you asked so nicely~" she cooed, slipping her other two hands under his bottom to stop his kicking as she lowered the teddiursa to sit in front of her, She barely managed to keep from giggling as he wiggled his arms furiously for freedom the moment she let go of him only to fold them in an adorable toddlerish pouting stance. "W-who do you think you a-are anyway!? I-I don't even know you!' he spat at her, mumbling and sulking with his face screwed up. Despite her usually good self restraint Mam couldn't keep herself from replying "And yet you let me change your 'tinky pants~" making the teddy's cheeks go bright red.
"D-da-da-at… t-that was d-dif-differnt a-an-"
"Buuut fair point~" she sing-song, cutting in to his stuttering. If she could keep his mind anywhere but on his own problems she might be able to keep him from being so miserable. "You DON'T know me, at least not well enough for it to mean anything… so lets fix that~" she spread her arms wide and smiled brightly to him "So ask my anything~ I'll be happy to answer whatever you want to know~" she chuckled and decided to just go ahead and add a little joke in "Except where babies come from~ Had that chat with my little sibs already and I thin-"
"No baby sibling stories! No thank you! Already heard enough 'bout them for a while!"
Mam couldn't keep from pouting at how quickly Petie had said that. She DID know she talked about her baby sibs a lot… but she couldn't help it! They're just too adorable NOT to talk about! "A-anyway… how'd you'd fine me… did Jo-" Petie started to say as Mam cut in… a little more forcefully than she meant to "Joe didn't tell me, I MADE him tell me." She said quickly, watching Petie blink and look at her in utter confusion. "What's the difference, right~?" she chuckled "I noticed something was bothering him so I bugged him and bugged him till he told me what it was~ Bug/Poison, remember~? Comes with the typing~" she added, pointing to her antenna and wiggling them for emphasis as she smiled.
It was nothing short of a big ugly lie… but Mam had a reason for telling it. Especially as she watched Petie's confusion turn to understanding and acceptance. She was preeeeetty sure Petie already didn't like her, BUT he and Joe seemed to get along okay. Both as friends and as far as working relationships go. She wasn't about to risk Petie getting upset at her best friend and risking that budding friendship just cause Joe was worried about the teddy. Since he already didn't like her she was happy to take the blame.
"Okay… why did you care? Heck, why was it bothering him anyway? Why do you keep butting in on stuff?" Petie asked accusingly, starting to sound more like his usual pouty self… before blushing and adding a mumbled "O-oh… t-thanks for changing me and stuff too…" Mam couldn't contain her grin at that last one but just baaaarely kept herself from scooping him up and rubbing noses with the baby bear. "You're welcome Petie~ Always happy to help a little one in need~" she chirped before tallying them off on one hand "As for your other three questions… I think I'll tackle question one and question three first since the answer is simple as can be~ You see, I-" she paused for emphasis as she held her hands up dramatically before twirling them theatrically "am a busybody~"
"… yeeeeeeah, I already figured that part out."
The teddy looked thoroughly unimpressed and Mam was only slightly put out about that… but she wasn't gonna let that stop her little spiel now that the train was rolling. "You see I have always been gifted with a talent for reading people~ Knowing if they're happy or sad, if they're hiding something, if they're bothered by something, if they're not being honest, the whole nine yards~" she explained, briefly covering and uncovering her eyes peek-a-boo style at the hiding comment "Aaaaaand I've never been able to resist getting involved cause of that~ It's a weakness I'll proudly admit to~ I just can't help it~" she didn't keep herself from puffing up a little with pride. Petie already found her annoying, might as well play it up a little and get to stoke her ego at the same time~
"Buuuuuut that's question one and three, now as for question two…" she took a deep breath and adjusted herself to come out a little more seriously, It was lecture time about the dangers of training alone… especially when you don't know what you're doing. "Joe was worried about you becaus-"
And suddenly the door flew open with a slam and she jumped to her feet on reflex.
****************************
"-a weakness I'll proudly admit to~ I just can't help it~"
Watching the bug puff herself up Petie wasn't sure whether she was being serious about this or not. The bragging would explain her constantly, annoyingly, guessing what he was thinking or people were gonna say… but could he reeeeally believe somebody tooting their own horn like this? Being thankful to her for changing him and helping with his bruises only went so far… and even he could guess what was coming next, people reading skills or not. Some kind of lecture about training alone and not to do it. He'd already gotten one of those from Rose before… one she said she quoted from JAMES… it's why he'd told Joe not to tell her! Was he gonna have to sit through anoth-
BAM!!
Nearly dirtying his fresh diaper Petie jumped with a start and scrambled to turn around and face the door. Wincing as he crawled on the ground pitifully, still sore from the training, while doing so . He was always painfully aware whenever he was doing something he considered babyish while around other people. Even with that thought nagging at him he still had the presence of mind to be confused. Somebody had just come in, you don't slam a door and NOT come in… but he wasn't hearing footsteps. Heck, the best way to describe what he was hearing was "Rapid-Fire Clicking/Tapping" pounding the floor. Finally he managed to get turned around, plopping on his butt as he did so, and saw who'd come in… and promptly scooted back into one of Mam's legs as fast as he could. All his mind registered was a wiggling, serpentine motion and it immediately scream "SNAKE! RUN!" to him!
It took several seconds for him to remember the noise, realize it was coming from the figure, and his mind to register this was NOT, in fact, a snake. It followed this realization with an involuntary shudder all the same since snake or not this guy was still unnerving. It took him a moment to remember the species name was Centiskorch but he was actually reminded of Mam with her weird, extra limbed body… except this guy went beyond weird straight into creepy.
The long, almost flat looking body with lots of simplified legs lining it. Petie was counting at least six more developed legs touching the ground and two sets of developed arms. There was a long neck to a flat head with flaming… eyelashes and mustache? He wasn't sure what to make of the flames except he could see a similar pattern of them on the bugs ass. Wispy white smoke trailed from these flames too circling the guy who was sporting what had to be incredibly customized clothes as the teddy had no clue how the shirt and jacket, let alone the pants, worked. All of this built up to his expression…
Which is where Petie went from being creepy out to dumbfounded as he found himself staring.
"MAM! H-here ya are! B-been lookin' for you! E-er… n-nice ter see you, yeah?" the flaming bug stuttered out, somehow managed to alternate between an angry roar and sounding half drugged. Petie could almost swear there were hearts in his blazing yellow eyes as he struggled to meet the scolipede's gaze. He also didn't know if the guy was intentionally checking Mam out or if he just couldn't look her in the eyes for long or something… but his eyes went up and down the plush bugs form several times in as many seconds. Even HE could see whoever-this-weirdo-was had some kind of feelings for Mam…
And glancing at her confirmed it was somehow completely going over the bug/poison types head. "Hello Kai, yes it's nice to see you." Mam's tone was flat and slightly annoyed as if she'd jumped up for nothing "Do we have to do this now?" Petie just rolled his eyes at that… great at reading people his cushie undies. This solidified it for him… Mam was a busybody with an over-inflated ego. He was still on the fence whether she meant to be as annoying as she came off since he did kinda appreciate her TRYING to talk to him like he was a teen… but he was 100% there was NO way she could read people like she said. The thing with Joe must have been a fluke or something.
"D-don't be like d-dat… j-just… happy ter see you is all, yeah." Kai, if he'd caught what Mam had said right, stuttered out. The clicking echoing through the gym as he scuttled over toward them, weaving as he did so (Petie's stomach turning at the snake-like motion). The teddiursa scooted back on his butt as the guy got close. Eyes wide as he realized just how LARGE the Centiskorch was. "D-did ya think about m-my offer? W-we could meet up an talk some l-later or somethin'… I-IF… if ya w-want I mean," the fire bug stuttered out as Petie craned his neck and nearly fell backwards to look up at him… Kai was easily as tall as Mam was and that was with his upper body curled into an S curve. Why did he always attract giants for some reason!?
"I'm already on a team Kai, we've been over this before." was Mam's response as Petie opened his mouth a little, wondering if he should point out that he was pretty sure that wasn't what Kai wanted to talk about. "Anyway what are you doing here? How did you find me THIS time?" Mam said, letting out a chest shaking sigh as she did so. Petie noticed Kai's eyes flick to the bug girls chest during that sigh before rapidly trying to find anything else to look at. He almost swore Kai's cheeks, or what he ASSUMED counted as his cheeks, were turning pink for good measure.
Petie could appreciate that he wasn't the one in the awkward situation for once… but this was just too weird for him. He started eyeing the door and considering how to sneak away…
"I-I asked Joe about it! I asked him where ya were an' h-he said ya were wiv… YOU!"
Petie nearly had a heart attack as Kai's head swiveled, his whole body arching down in the process, to look him in the eyes. "YOU! You're that Peter kid, that Teddy-somethin'-or-other right? Kangaskhan big sister, yeah? You're da kid?" Petie's bugged out eyes and panicked breathing must have tipped Kai off that the teddiursa didn't appreciate the bug being close enough he could feel the flames of his face and quickly backed off. "Right, right, sorry. Didn't mean ter spook ya. Sorry. You're that kid though, yeah?" the centiskorch said, now at a more acceptable distance as Petie waited for his heart to stop feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest. He really, REALLY hoped he didn't need a fresh diaper out of that. Even if he was scared of snakes and not bugs LORD was he not prepared for a close up of that face, mandibles and all!
Stil finding his voice after that scare Petie just nodded, wondering why this guy was looking for him in the first place. He was pretty sure he'd remember if he'd seen this guy before. "Good, your sis is in da nurse's office." Kai said as Petie blinked a few times… and internally groaned. He was willing to bet that Rose had done something stupid while training, AGAIN. Probably had to be found by somebody and taken to the nurse's office or limped her way there herself. Still didn't explain why the bug was telling him thou-
"Wiv some poliwrath guy or somethin'. They got carried in wiv da tw-yeah that's 'bout right."
Petie barely caught the tail end of Kai's comment. Barely aware of the centiskorch moving aside for him as he scrambled out the door far faster than he'd have thought possible with the bulk of his baby undies. Rose got into another fight with Keith. That's the only poliwrath he knew. That was the only explanation he could think of. She got into a fight AGAIN! He'd told her not to go near that guy till the match, OTHER people she'd actually LISTEN to told her not to! When the nurse's finished patching her up he was gonna, gonna…
Grumbling and muttering as he pumped his legs down the mostly empty hall he wasn't sure who to be more angry at. The jerkass poliwrath who probably started it, his dense-as-a-slowpoke big sis who went looking for him, himself for not being there to try and make her not do it… for once he was more happy to blame JUST the first two! When he got to Rose he was gonna… gonna… do something. Would extra diaper duty punish her? Probably not. As for the poliwrath he was gonna yell at him, whether he'd listen or not, SO much for this! He was gonna-
Squeak in surprise as hand slipped under his bottom and scooped him up. Legs still pumping and arms waving he found himself lifted up as whoever grabbed him was moving at what he could only describe as a gallop. "Tisk tisk, didn't even ask WHICH nurse's office~" Between the voice and second set of hands wrapping around him Petie realized Mam had grabbed him "And you'd have left your backpack behind too if I didn't grab it~ Let me handle the hurrying, four legs beat two little one-"
"Less cooing more running!"
"Got it. … aaand I'll change you after we make sure Rose is alright."
"I said less cooing!"
To Be Continued...
As before here's a link to the previous parts for those who missed them.
Part 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/21268019/
Part 2: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/25115551/
Part 3: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35525503/
We pick up the next day with Mam & Joe discussing things from yesterday and all seems well… but of course it isn't~ Petie is up to something strange and it's up to Mam to get to the bottom of it… and what's this meeting Neoma set up? What will come of that~? We'll just have to see~
Anyway please enjoy, fav & comment, and have a nice day ^,^
Neoma owned by
xehta13Other characters owned by me
Pokemon owned by neither of us
Double Act 3
Part 4 – Efforts of the Weakest, Trouble Approaching"So, how much did the little one manage to sweet talk out of you~? 50% cut and all the candy he can eat~?"
"Noooo… we're still working on the cut, but I talked him down to just as much treats as he wants while on the clock~ He's a good haggler for such a little guy~ We'll have our first session at the warehouse later this week, hope you don't mind."
"Your house, your rules~ We just have team meetings there is all, you actually rent the place~ Oh, Joe?"
"Yeah Mam?"
"Be honest… how much of agreeing to help me train Rose was so you can try and get Petie to model for you?"
Shutting his locker tight the large conkedurr smirked at his scolipede friend "What, you think I was scheming something? I leave all that stuff to YOU Mam~ I assure you, that was at most… 50% of why I agreed to help~" he said, chuckling as his long time friend and team captain made a mock hurt expression before chuckling as well. "Well I hope it all goes well for you… and I want to see the carvings if possible~ Want to judge for myself if you managed to capture Petie's adorable cherub look properly~" she teased right back. Both happily chatting after the school day had ended… as they tried not to take up TOO much of the hallway. He had some stuff to talk to his team captain about involving her need to meddle… and some stuff related to the little teddiursa too.
"Anyway, all that aside-" Joe said, dropping his voice low for a moment "was that little dramatic reveal yesterday enough of a reminder to not scheme with peoples lives?" as he gave her a stern look. Mam just up her hands defensively and blushed "The point was already made, you don't need to bring it up in the middle of the hallway." she whispered back "And don't even PRETEND you had any idea what her life story was when you asked her to explain Joe. That's my thing and even I didn't see that coming." Mam grumbled, punctuating it with a glare.
"Fine, I didn't. I just hoped it'd be enough to remind you about that whole "Try not to be evil" thing you promised a while back, remember?" he asked, softening his gaze "So you're NOT going to meddle any further in their lives, right?" The glare he got from Mam reminded him she hated being talked down to like that… before the scolipede let out a sigh "Right. I've washed my hands of taking an active role here, made enough of a mess of it already." she held up her four hands for emphasis "Been brain storming ways to fix it and keep coming up empty handed, so I am just going to have to step back and hope for the best…"
"…… be honest Mam, how many possibly plans did you cook up?"
"Possible plans or possible plans that could actually work?" she asked, giving him a annoyed look "Yeah I had some ideas…" Mam just sighed and shook her head "But nothing that could actually FIX the situation before the match. In fact I couldn't come up with anything that could even deescalate it before then. I'm not close enough to it." That last part caught Joe a little by surprise since he knew Mam had no issues building bridges with people in a hurry (whether they knowingly wanted it or not) for her plans. "Dunno, seems like you did a pretty good job inserting yourself into Rose & Petie's little group…" he trailed off as Mam just shook her head.
"Not enough, they're easy to make friends with due to being so open, but unless I can get close to Keith I can't make anything happen… and he's not the type to LET people get close." she explained "The only way this whole mess could take any step in the right direction is if we somehow got Rose and Keith to meet and actually talk to each other. Try and find some common ground-" Joe winced, easily picturing the scene in his head from what he'd heard about their last meeting, and cut in "Without beating the shit out of each other." Mam just nodded "Exactly."
Sighing the scolipede just folded her arms and pursed her lips "And that's why I can't do anything. I'm not close enough to both sides to get them to come to a meeting point… and have no way to guarantee the two meeting won't just result in a bigger incident. I've already done enough damage, what with getting innocents like Petie and Eugene dragged into it. So it's time to step back and just make plans to try and help in the aftermath of the match…" Joe wasn't sure that counted as "Not Meddling" as he watched Mam give a halfhearted smile and a dry chuckle.
"And who knows? Maybe things will work themselves out without me, right?"
******************
Keith cracked his knuckles loudly as he glared daggers at Rose who clinched her fists tight and glared blades right back at him. Neither saying a word.
Neoma and Bea stood off to the side, glancing between the two and sweating bullets. Thanks to their combined efforts (aka badgering him among other tactics) they'd managed to talk Keith into meeting with Rose. Afterwards Neoma had talked the reluctant kangaskhan into agreeing to the meeting. They'd even managed to find a good place for the meeting to happen… sorta. Outside the school, right in front of the doors and on the main part of campus, where everybody could see them. Bea had thought it discouraged any possibility of a punch-up if they were super public like this and they didn't have the time to find something better. So they'd just hoped the two would start talking when they got them together face to face…
The frog girls watched Keith & Rose's narrowed glares and aggressive postures and felt the steadily growing tension in the air. They might have rushed this plan a bit too much…
******************
"Well that's optimistic of you. What, not gonna risk saying it can't get any worse?"
"Don't joke about that Joe, we've been through this before and you know the universe loves a challenge."
"Right, right, I'm sure it's fine. Not like they're somewher-"
Joe stopped short as Mam's antenna snapped to attention and swivel before swishing wildly. He'd known her long enough to recognize "Someones coming, who is it?" when he saw it. She did that whenever they were talking about something she didn't want overheard. Inwardly wincing the conkeldurr hoped he hadn't jinxed them. To his confusion Mam got this strange look on her face instead of horror, panic, or anything he'd been expecting. It looked like she'd just bitten into a lemon, which considering how she hated sour stuff was quite the face. He had't a clue what was going on so he just followed her gaze to see who was going to show u-
"Duuuuuuude!"
And just stared as two spider guys walked passed them heading towards a stairway. One was a lanky ariados and the other a massive galvantual with a multi-legged lower body like Mam. Weirder still they seemed to be having some kind of conversation straight out of a stoner comedy. He couldn't follow it but from the snippet he overheard it involved filming or something. It also apparently required them to use "Dude" ever single sentence. He just watched them go past blankly before looking to Mam's still soured face. "… okay, probably don't wanna know… but I gotta know. Who are dumb and dumber and do you know them?" he asked, pointing a thumb where the two had vanished.
"Randal and Arnie, I know them from the Bug Type Association. And that's a good way to refer to them. Every single student from the B.T.A. who knows them knows to stay away from them and their hair-brained stunts if you value your health." was the scolipede's curt reply. Her still annoyed expression made it clear to Joe she'd been involved in said "Hair-Brained Stunts" at least once. He just shrugged and scratched his chin absentmindedly "Right…" it felt like he'd forgotten something he wanted to mention from earlier, but he couldn't place what it was "and B.T.A.? I thought they called it The Hive or something? You know, like how they give cutesy names to the other type support classes?"
The Type Associations, T.A.'s for short, were a long standing PCA tradition. After school clubs set up for students to help other students with issues related to moves, skills, or even day to day problems. At least if they related to their typing anyway, or that's how it was supposed to go. They were meant to help bring the student body together and let older students pass down their knowledge to younger ones… like how you aren't supposed to set a T.A. classroom on fire (oh the stories he'd hear about the Fire group). It was basically a student run mentoring program… for better or for worse.
"Yes, they call it The Hive… the also call it The Swarm, The Nest, The Web and probably a few OTHER names they tried since I stopped going. Aaaaall depending on whose claiming to be in charge of them this week." her voice was dripping with sarcasm as he winced. He knew Mam winding up for a rant when he heard it. "Whoever thought making those type support groups student run needs their head examined. Sure it might work if you can get the group to elect a representative or leader or whatever and STICK with it, but do you know HOW MANY bug types there are at this school?" he didn't answer, he knew she wasn't looking for one as he just sighed and waited for her to continue. Still racking his brain. He'd forgotten something. What was it, what was it…?
"Too many! And EVERY SINGLE SENIOR thinks they should be in charge of the club and should get to name it. Then they get any underclassmen they can bully, bribe, or sweet-talk into supporting them… while all the others are doing the same thing! I quit going because I couldn't stand the politics anymore! Last I recall there were at least 4 groups claiming to be the REAL B.T.A. and arguing over meeting times, tutoring sessions, gym usage-"
"That was it!" Joe thudded his fist into an upturned palm suddenly, his friend jumping a little in surprise "That's what I was trying to remember!' he added, grinning proudly… both at having remembered and at having a good excuse to cut Mam's rant short. She gave him a sour look "… well? Don't leave me in suspense?" his best friend almost sounded huffy at being interrupted as she folded her arms. He had to fight the urge to chuckle at seeing her like this… especially since this was genuinely importantly information… maybe. He hoped it was nothing, he really did… but... "Well-" he started "it involves Petie."
Aaaand he immediately had her complete attention, the huffiness replaced with confusion and concern. "I bumped into him earlier…" Joe began, not really sure he should be sharing this info. Especially since he'd just chastised Mam for butting into others lives when she shouldn't. Bringing this up was probably hypocritical "When we were negotiating earlier he wanted to know about something I found kinda… odd." but he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had. His best friend might be a meddler, but he did know she meant well and could be trusted for stuff like this if it was a case where somebody needed to step in. "He wanted to know if I knew any gyms that he could use without being bothered this afternoon… aaaand he made me promise not to tell his sister or his teammates about it."
"… so you're telling ME instead,"
"I dunno what kind of training he wants to do, but I rather he not be doing it completely on his own. Probably shouldn't have helped him but he was begging and pleading and I didn't know what else to do… it wasn't like a little kid. He was acting like this was REALLY important to him and-"
"Right, I'll check in on him and make sure he's okay. It's probably nothing, so don't worry about it okay?" Mam said, giving him a broad smile.. as he watched her antenna erratically twitch just slight, a tell tail sign of worry. "He seems much more grounded than his sister despite still being so little, so I'm sure whatever it is he's doing won't be too bad. Besides, he didn't make you promise not to tell ME, did he~?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't help but Joe appreciated his captain's effort. "I'll just peek in on him, make sure he's alright, and then be on my way~ He'll never even know I'm there~" she added, gesturing to illustrate her plan.
"Right… I'll tell you which gym I sent him too… oh! Right! He did mention it needing one thing specifically. Dunno what it has to do with whatever training he's doing but you should probably know about it."
"What was that?"
"A low hanging, weighted punching bag. He was really insistent that it be low hanging so he could reach it. Fumbled something about Fury Swipes when I asked why."
"Huh… that is odd. No worries though Joe, as a big sis I can promise you I'll handle this~"
"… aaaaaand now I'm worried…"
"Hey!"
*****************
Standing in front of the door to the gym Mam had to admit one thing, it was out of the way at least. Even with Joe telling her what the number was it still took her forever to find it. Petie definitely wouldn't be disturbed while training here… if he was actually in here. Mam was still hoping this was nothing and she'd find the place empty as she used two of her arms to slowly, silently ease the door open… and immediately frowned. With the door barely opened her antenna were already twitching like mad as she could feel something moving in the gym.
Not bothering to wait to "sense" a better picture of what was going on the scolipede pushed open the door as quietly as she could to see with her own eyes. It was Petie, so that hope was dashed. With that confirmed she noticed two more things… one was what he was doing. She watched the bear SHOVE the weighted training bag in front of him with all his might and then just stand there as it swung back into him with a whump that made her wince. Beyond just standing there and taking it Petie seemed to be trying to strike back at the bag as it hit him… but what exactly he was doing she couldn't tell. It just looked like he was trying to punch it in retaliation but that didn't make any sense. Either way each time he got pushed back by the impact, wheezed for breath… and then just did it again.
She was a little ashamed to admit that this was the second thing she noticed. The first thing was that, thanks to experience with her little siblings and Petie having his back to her, the teddiursa was long overdue for a fresh diaper. Considering how self-conscious and easily shamed the bear always seemed the fact he was either oblivious to or ignoring this fact left Mam… concerned. Standing in the doorway she considered how to approach this since she doubted Petie would appreciate seeing her… and the last thing she wanted was for him to take a weighted bag to the face cause she distracted him. She'd need to be carefu-
"D-darn it! W-wo-work already!"
The bug winced at the pleading squeak from Petie as he shoved the bag with all the desperate strength he could muster… followed by a pained yelp as it swung back into him full force and took him clean off his feet. He didn't even get a chance to try and punch it this time. The matter was further taken out of her hands as Petie landed on his bottom with a very obvious squish and she heard the sound of a building crying fit coming from the little bear as he pawed at his face in fury. Shutting the door quickly she hurried over to him. Not bothering to be quiet at this point… but the frustrated teddiursa still didn't notice her till she was right on top of him. He looked up at her and she could see his tear filled eyes filling with confusion, horror, and shame as she tried to give him her best reassuring smile and opened her mouth to greet him.
"Uu--uuwaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
She wasn't surprised in the least when he started bawling and curled up in a little bawl of shame.
*****************
While she didn't exactly feel good about rummaging through his backpack Mam was glad Petie had left it nearby… and that it had his changing supplies in it. Also a pacifier. She wasn't proud about doing it to him but she needed to stop the bawling before somebody came to check and it did the work well enough. Stopped the loud bawling at least even if she could still hear the muffled crying behind the nursing noises and let her focus on the task at hand. She didn't know how long Petie had been at it or if getting smacked by the bag constantly had anything to do with it but he was probably on the cusp of getting a rash with how loaded his diaper was.
Skipping the cooing and comfort, as well as anything that might have helped his dignity, Mam just focused on getting him cleaned up as quickly and efficiently as possible. By the time she'd managed that the quite crying had died down to soft sniffles and she could focus on her next move. Petie had actually tried to plan this out some judging by the bottles of potion she'd found in his bag so she put those to use treating the developing bruises she found on his tummy, arms, and fists. Mentally restraining herself from chastising him for this as she did so… THAT would come later.
Only after his bruises were tended to, his bottom had a fresh coat of rash cream just to be safe, his dignity (if you could use that word in this context) was again covered by a new diaper, and everything was put away did Mam consider how she was going to start this little discussion. "So…" she said, exhaling the word as she looked down at Petie who was still laying where she'd left him. The teddiursa was sucking his pacifier and refusing to look her in the eyes. Easily able to backslide into another crying fit if she said the wrong thing. "Sooooo…." slipping the teddy's pants back up and picking him up Mam looked Petie in the eyes… the teary, shamed, hurt eyes… and sighed.
The lecture on "Unsafe Training Practices" would have to wait for a bit.
"So… care to share what you were up to?" she said lightly, trying to use a casual tone to keep Petie from working himself up any further. "Could tell you were training-" she added, settling down on the gym floor (since her body made chairs unusable) and sitting Petie in front of her "but couldn't tell exactly what. Just that it wasn't going well." There was no immediate answer as Petie had gone back to not looking her in the eyes as he sat there. His legs splayed wide like a toddler as he nervously fiddled with his paws and stared at the floor in front of him. Pacifier still bobbing in and out of his mouth. It was the waiting game to see if he'd be up to share what was going on with her or not. Considering he probably didn't like her much she wouldn't be surprise if he didn-
"… ounter…"
"Hmmm?" she almost missed the soft mumble "A little louder please? I couldn't quite hear that." Mam kept her tone calm and reassuring, really curious what the teddy had just said. Petie took a deep breath, Mam noting his body shook as he did so, and mumbled around his pacifier "C-Counter… w-was working on m-my Counter." Mam just blinked and twitched her antenna. That made… sense actually. Letting the bag hit him and trying to counter attack it WOULD be a decent, if dangerous and dumb, way to actually practice Counter. It just left her with one lingering question and she bit her tongue to keep from blurting it out in a way that could upset him again.
"I… actually didn't know you knew Counter." she said hesitantly. Recalling the matches she'd watched and heard about… she was pretty sure he knew Fury Swipes, Feint Attack, Bulk Up, Rest, and Snore… and maybe Attract if she remembered right. She wasn't sure on that last one… but she honestly didn't recalled anything about him every using Counter.
"Y-yeah… i-it's an egg move. M-my d-dad's… m-my other big sibs h-have it…" he mumbled… which obviously meant his birth father and blood-related big siblings rather than Rose or her dad… Mam decided not to ask about that right now even if this was another fact she hadn't been aware of. "M-my big sis t-taught me how to do i-it when I was little… b-but I never got it to work l-like it suppos'ta…" Petie sniffled, clumsily wiping his eyes with his paws as Mam mulled over this. This explanation made sense… but opened up the door to a whole laundry list of other questions. It'd be best if she stayed on topic though so it wasn't hard to narrow down what to ask.
"Never got it t work right… how? Can you explain? If that's not too much I mean." she hastily added. If the question bothered Petie any he didn't show it as he just sniffled "… I-I'm doing it like s-sis taught me a-and everything… I-I even double checked w-with Jules! H-how he does it! B-But… but…" the teddy fidgeted nervously, pulling his legs in close and hugging his knees "It… it just… won't work… I h-hit 'em like I'm supposed to but it just… doesn't… I d-don't know why…" he trailed off, putting his head on his knees as Mam reached forward and gently rubbed his head to comfort him… on reflex more than anything else. Her mind was racing through what Petie had described to her.
Specifically she was remember a class she'd sat in on for an elective on Move Tutors and how moves worked. Part of it had focused on the fact that knowing HOW to do a move, being able to PERFORM that action, and actually being able to DO THE MOVE were different. The example they used that'd always stuck with her was that Rock Throw and "throwing a rock" were two different things. Anybody can pick up a rock and chuck it… but if somebody knows Rock Throw and how to use it the same action becomes a move, they glossed over the whole "How it becomes a move" part and Mam hadn't bothered to research on her own, and deals significantly more damage. If Petie DID have all the technical information down correctly and was performing the move right then that'd mean-
Mam's train of thought abruptly crashed hard into a wall with no survivors as she pulled the brakes on it herself. Petie had said Counter was an Egg Move from his father… and his two blood-related big siblings had it… it was acting like he somehow hadn't gotten the move… aaaand she wasn't willing to follow this track of details to their conclusion. She was NOT going to be responsible for sharing assumptions this unpleasant with Petie. Not when she could be wrong. God she hoped she was wrong. She couldn't imagine Petie's reaction if he was already this fragile about it…
Better to try and change the direction of conversation away from this. "By the way… any reason you're working so hard on Counter?" she asked, faking a soothing smile to hide her internal turmoil over her thoughts. "Cause… w-wanna help Rose in the match…" Petie mumbled, still curled up. Taking another shuddering breath the teddiursa suddenly looked up, taking his pacifier out as he looked Mam in the eyes. The scolipede internally flinched at the lost and confused look in the baby bears gaze. It made her wanna cuddle and shush him and tell him everything would be okay… but she was sure that'd make things worse. "Mam… d-do you think I… I'm useless?" Petie mumbled softly, still looking her in the eyes.
The scolipede just smiled back, her frantically twitching tail antenna the only sign in her otherwise calm composure that she was internally screaming in panic, and patted his head "Of course your not useless Petie, why would you ever think that?" Petie's head just sunk as his gaze fell "…….. cause… my teams dun need me…" he mumbled. Mam's internal screaming getting worse since this conversation had somehow managed to get WORSE. "… Rose doesn't need me… th-this whole Nanny a-and Teddy-chan stuff was just her idea… to h-help… me…" he sniffled a little "A-and T… Team Pre-K doesn't n-need me either…"
"Have they said that? Have any of them actually said that?" she interjected as sharply as she could while not sounding forceful. Petie flinching and shifting nervously at the question "N-No… b-but…" That was officially it, Mam was taking charge of this right now. "Then don't put words in your friends mouths." the teddiursa squeaked in surprise as two of Mam's four hands wormed their way under his arms and lifted him up to look her in the eye's properly. "They're you're friends, right? You enjoy spending time with them?" the teddiursa just nodded, legs peddling the air as he dangled "Then don't go thinking they don't need you, got it? If you're friends with them then that's enough." she finished firmly. Fully intending to nip this destructive thought pattern Petie had admitted in the bud.
"… b-but… I d-don't bring a-anything new t-to the team… J-Jane and J-Jules do my s-stuff better…"
Mam internally winced. She hadn't expected Petie to actually have thought it out that far. She'd hoped the standard motivational cliches would be enough to snap him out of it. While she found them adorable and was a fan she actually didn't know enough about Team Pre-K to refute that argument. In fact the more logistic based side of her could see where Petie was coming from just from a pure move-set/fighting style standpoint… even as her emotional side said that was a horrible thought. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to get Petie out of this self-destructive rut and that left her flummoxed. She couldn't NOT try and help the poor little one…
"A-and w-what do you know a-anyway!? P-put me down! W-who said you could pick me up! Put me down! D-down!"
Fortunately the problem seem to have momentarily fix itself as she watched Petie's expression shift from depression and tears to annoyance and tears. Kicking furiously like a toddler not wanting to be held the little bear was working himself up into full on anger as he struggled. Mam was soooorely tempted to catch one of those kicking legs and tickle his foot till and the grump left his face… but she thought better of it. Mad was better than depressed, at least in this case anyway.
"Well since you asked so nicely~" she cooed, slipping her other two hands under his bottom to stop his kicking as she lowered the teddiursa to sit in front of her, She barely managed to keep from giggling as he wiggled his arms furiously for freedom the moment she let go of him only to fold them in an adorable toddlerish pouting stance. "W-who do you think you a-are anyway!? I-I don't even know you!' he spat at her, mumbling and sulking with his face screwed up. Despite her usually good self restraint Mam couldn't keep herself from replying "And yet you let me change your 'tinky pants~" making the teddy's cheeks go bright red.
"D-da-da-at… t-that was d-dif-differnt a-an-"
"Buuut fair point~" she sing-song, cutting in to his stuttering. If she could keep his mind anywhere but on his own problems she might be able to keep him from being so miserable. "You DON'T know me, at least not well enough for it to mean anything… so lets fix that~" she spread her arms wide and smiled brightly to him "So ask my anything~ I'll be happy to answer whatever you want to know~" she chuckled and decided to just go ahead and add a little joke in "Except where babies come from~ Had that chat with my little sibs already and I thin-"
"No baby sibling stories! No thank you! Already heard enough 'bout them for a while!"
Mam couldn't keep from pouting at how quickly Petie had said that. She DID know she talked about her baby sibs a lot… but she couldn't help it! They're just too adorable NOT to talk about! "A-anyway… how'd you'd fine me… did Jo-" Petie started to say as Mam cut in… a little more forcefully than she meant to "Joe didn't tell me, I MADE him tell me." She said quickly, watching Petie blink and look at her in utter confusion. "What's the difference, right~?" she chuckled "I noticed something was bothering him so I bugged him and bugged him till he told me what it was~ Bug/Poison, remember~? Comes with the typing~" she added, pointing to her antenna and wiggling them for emphasis as she smiled.
It was nothing short of a big ugly lie… but Mam had a reason for telling it. Especially as she watched Petie's confusion turn to understanding and acceptance. She was preeeeetty sure Petie already didn't like her, BUT he and Joe seemed to get along okay. Both as friends and as far as working relationships go. She wasn't about to risk Petie getting upset at her best friend and risking that budding friendship just cause Joe was worried about the teddy. Since he already didn't like her she was happy to take the blame.
"Okay… why did you care? Heck, why was it bothering him anyway? Why do you keep butting in on stuff?" Petie asked accusingly, starting to sound more like his usual pouty self… before blushing and adding a mumbled "O-oh… t-thanks for changing me and stuff too…" Mam couldn't contain her grin at that last one but just baaaarely kept herself from scooping him up and rubbing noses with the baby bear. "You're welcome Petie~ Always happy to help a little one in need~" she chirped before tallying them off on one hand "As for your other three questions… I think I'll tackle question one and question three first since the answer is simple as can be~ You see, I-" she paused for emphasis as she held her hands up dramatically before twirling them theatrically "am a busybody~"
"… yeeeeeeah, I already figured that part out."
The teddy looked thoroughly unimpressed and Mam was only slightly put out about that… but she wasn't gonna let that stop her little spiel now that the train was rolling. "You see I have always been gifted with a talent for reading people~ Knowing if they're happy or sad, if they're hiding something, if they're bothered by something, if they're not being honest, the whole nine yards~" she explained, briefly covering and uncovering her eyes peek-a-boo style at the hiding comment "Aaaaaand I've never been able to resist getting involved cause of that~ It's a weakness I'll proudly admit to~ I just can't help it~" she didn't keep herself from puffing up a little with pride. Petie already found her annoying, might as well play it up a little and get to stoke her ego at the same time~
"Buuuuuut that's question one and three, now as for question two…" she took a deep breath and adjusted herself to come out a little more seriously, It was lecture time about the dangers of training alone… especially when you don't know what you're doing. "Joe was worried about you becaus-"
And suddenly the door flew open with a slam and she jumped to her feet on reflex.
****************************
"-a weakness I'll proudly admit to~ I just can't help it~"
Watching the bug puff herself up Petie wasn't sure whether she was being serious about this or not. The bragging would explain her constantly, annoyingly, guessing what he was thinking or people were gonna say… but could he reeeeally believe somebody tooting their own horn like this? Being thankful to her for changing him and helping with his bruises only went so far… and even he could guess what was coming next, people reading skills or not. Some kind of lecture about training alone and not to do it. He'd already gotten one of those from Rose before… one she said she quoted from JAMES… it's why he'd told Joe not to tell her! Was he gonna have to sit through anoth-
BAM!!
Nearly dirtying his fresh diaper Petie jumped with a start and scrambled to turn around and face the door. Wincing as he crawled on the ground pitifully, still sore from the training, while doing so . He was always painfully aware whenever he was doing something he considered babyish while around other people. Even with that thought nagging at him he still had the presence of mind to be confused. Somebody had just come in, you don't slam a door and NOT come in… but he wasn't hearing footsteps. Heck, the best way to describe what he was hearing was "Rapid-Fire Clicking/Tapping" pounding the floor. Finally he managed to get turned around, plopping on his butt as he did so, and saw who'd come in… and promptly scooted back into one of Mam's legs as fast as he could. All his mind registered was a wiggling, serpentine motion and it immediately scream "SNAKE! RUN!" to him!
It took several seconds for him to remember the noise, realize it was coming from the figure, and his mind to register this was NOT, in fact, a snake. It followed this realization with an involuntary shudder all the same since snake or not this guy was still unnerving. It took him a moment to remember the species name was Centiskorch but he was actually reminded of Mam with her weird, extra limbed body… except this guy went beyond weird straight into creepy.
The long, almost flat looking body with lots of simplified legs lining it. Petie was counting at least six more developed legs touching the ground and two sets of developed arms. There was a long neck to a flat head with flaming… eyelashes and mustache? He wasn't sure what to make of the flames except he could see a similar pattern of them on the bugs ass. Wispy white smoke trailed from these flames too circling the guy who was sporting what had to be incredibly customized clothes as the teddy had no clue how the shirt and jacket, let alone the pants, worked. All of this built up to his expression…
Which is where Petie went from being creepy out to dumbfounded as he found himself staring.
"MAM! H-here ya are! B-been lookin' for you! E-er… n-nice ter see you, yeah?" the flaming bug stuttered out, somehow managed to alternate between an angry roar and sounding half drugged. Petie could almost swear there were hearts in his blazing yellow eyes as he struggled to meet the scolipede's gaze. He also didn't know if the guy was intentionally checking Mam out or if he just couldn't look her in the eyes for long or something… but his eyes went up and down the plush bugs form several times in as many seconds. Even HE could see whoever-this-weirdo-was had some kind of feelings for Mam…
And glancing at her confirmed it was somehow completely going over the bug/poison types head. "Hello Kai, yes it's nice to see you." Mam's tone was flat and slightly annoyed as if she'd jumped up for nothing "Do we have to do this now?" Petie just rolled his eyes at that… great at reading people his cushie undies. This solidified it for him… Mam was a busybody with an over-inflated ego. He was still on the fence whether she meant to be as annoying as she came off since he did kinda appreciate her TRYING to talk to him like he was a teen… but he was 100% there was NO way she could read people like she said. The thing with Joe must have been a fluke or something.
"D-don't be like d-dat… j-just… happy ter see you is all, yeah." Kai, if he'd caught what Mam had said right, stuttered out. The clicking echoing through the gym as he scuttled over toward them, weaving as he did so (Petie's stomach turning at the snake-like motion). The teddiursa scooted back on his butt as the guy got close. Eyes wide as he realized just how LARGE the Centiskorch was. "D-did ya think about m-my offer? W-we could meet up an talk some l-later or somethin'… I-IF… if ya w-want I mean," the fire bug stuttered out as Petie craned his neck and nearly fell backwards to look up at him… Kai was easily as tall as Mam was and that was with his upper body curled into an S curve. Why did he always attract giants for some reason!?
"I'm already on a team Kai, we've been over this before." was Mam's response as Petie opened his mouth a little, wondering if he should point out that he was pretty sure that wasn't what Kai wanted to talk about. "Anyway what are you doing here? How did you find me THIS time?" Mam said, letting out a chest shaking sigh as she did so. Petie noticed Kai's eyes flick to the bug girls chest during that sigh before rapidly trying to find anything else to look at. He almost swore Kai's cheeks, or what he ASSUMED counted as his cheeks, were turning pink for good measure.
Petie could appreciate that he wasn't the one in the awkward situation for once… but this was just too weird for him. He started eyeing the door and considering how to sneak away…
"I-I asked Joe about it! I asked him where ya were an' h-he said ya were wiv… YOU!"
Petie nearly had a heart attack as Kai's head swiveled, his whole body arching down in the process, to look him in the eyes. "YOU! You're that Peter kid, that Teddy-somethin'-or-other right? Kangaskhan big sister, yeah? You're da kid?" Petie's bugged out eyes and panicked breathing must have tipped Kai off that the teddiursa didn't appreciate the bug being close enough he could feel the flames of his face and quickly backed off. "Right, right, sorry. Didn't mean ter spook ya. Sorry. You're that kid though, yeah?" the centiskorch said, now at a more acceptable distance as Petie waited for his heart to stop feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest. He really, REALLY hoped he didn't need a fresh diaper out of that. Even if he was scared of snakes and not bugs LORD was he not prepared for a close up of that face, mandibles and all!
Stil finding his voice after that scare Petie just nodded, wondering why this guy was looking for him in the first place. He was pretty sure he'd remember if he'd seen this guy before. "Good, your sis is in da nurse's office." Kai said as Petie blinked a few times… and internally groaned. He was willing to bet that Rose had done something stupid while training, AGAIN. Probably had to be found by somebody and taken to the nurse's office or limped her way there herself. Still didn't explain why the bug was telling him thou-
"Wiv some poliwrath guy or somethin'. They got carried in wiv da tw-yeah that's 'bout right."
Petie barely caught the tail end of Kai's comment. Barely aware of the centiskorch moving aside for him as he scrambled out the door far faster than he'd have thought possible with the bulk of his baby undies. Rose got into another fight with Keith. That's the only poliwrath he knew. That was the only explanation he could think of. She got into a fight AGAIN! He'd told her not to go near that guy till the match, OTHER people she'd actually LISTEN to told her not to! When the nurse's finished patching her up he was gonna, gonna…
Grumbling and muttering as he pumped his legs down the mostly empty hall he wasn't sure who to be more angry at. The jerkass poliwrath who probably started it, his dense-as-a-slowpoke big sis who went looking for him, himself for not being there to try and make her not do it… for once he was more happy to blame JUST the first two! When he got to Rose he was gonna… gonna… do something. Would extra diaper duty punish her? Probably not. As for the poliwrath he was gonna yell at him, whether he'd listen or not, SO much for this! He was gonna-
Squeak in surprise as hand slipped under his bottom and scooped him up. Legs still pumping and arms waving he found himself lifted up as whoever grabbed him was moving at what he could only describe as a gallop. "Tisk tisk, didn't even ask WHICH nurse's office~" Between the voice and second set of hands wrapping around him Petie realized Mam had grabbed him "And you'd have left your backpack behind too if I didn't grab it~ Let me handle the hurrying, four legs beat two little one-"
"Less cooing more running!"
"Got it. … aaand I'll change you after we make sure Rose is alright."
"I said less cooing!"
To Be Continued...
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 174 x 310px
File Size 4.4 kB
Listed in Folders
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