Whee, not prompt with this one at all, but oh well. So we finally get to see what happens after Kenneth gets shot... heck, we get to see if it was fatal or not. It's a standard-fare chapter otherwise, I guess, which means, like, lots of talking and stuff. I shouldn't pretend that everyone else in the world thinks that's a bad thing, really, but trained habit of assuming people want nothing but epic battles and the like. One of my flaws, I guess, I make things assuming people hate them, which means I make things for my satisfaction above all, which I'll stroke my ego and say makes it so good, but... yeah. I'll shut up now.
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The look on Kenneth's face was if nothing surprising to Alex. He'd never seen anyone shot before, mainly because he'd never been in any situations where you'd expect a man to be shot. However, he could easily tell that Kenneth was far too relaxed as he slumped to the ground.
Izumi, Yuusuke, and Mikhail were on Kenneth in an instant. Alex glanced over to Ryan, who just shrugged and kept his gun trained on the group.
"Damn it, Kenneth," Izumi said as she desperately tried to keep Kenneth conscious, "Don't die on me."
"Who says I'm gonna die from this?" Kenneth's voice was weak, but he sounded sure of himself. Alex could see that he wasn't shot anywhere vital. The shot had taken Kenneth in the gut, and while Alex knew better than to think a stomach wound was minor, he knew Kenneth wouldn't instantly die from it.
"Well, I personally don't care," Ryan shrugged, glancing at Juliet, who herself looked to be quite shocked.
"You can also tell Lance over there to come on over," Kenneth managed his usual sardonic grin. "I think that's Charlie Evans with him, too."
Ryan whipped around fast enough that Alex was actually amused. He fired off a shot in the general direction of Lance, but didn't hit him. Lance was, for all that Alex could see him off in the entrance to the arena, surprised at this.
"He said let him over, you dingbat," Tschel's voice was mocking.
"Shut up, boy," Ryan hissed.
"You're being defiant because you want to seem in control," Tschel shrugged and explained. Alex hoped that this wouldn't get Tschel shot, too. "That's why you wave that gun around. But you see, it's not that thing that's keeping us from overwhelming you."
"So you say it's Tribo, and that Juliet's the one truly in charge?" Ryan sneered. "Tribo's just the muscle."
"Be that as it may," Tschel continued calmly, "A Pokémon will only fight for its trainer as long as it's willing to be loyal to its trainer. If they were to turn on him, then, well, you can imagine what would happen. The trainer isn't the one in control. The person with the plan isn't the one who's truly essential. What's essential are the people who carry it out—and if they decide they don't like it, they're in a perfect position to stop it."
"You sound like you know anything about what you're talking about," Ryan retorted.
"I haven't been giving Team Rocket fits for the past few years by being stupid," Tschel replied.
What sounded like an amused snort came from behind Tschel.
"Eh?" Ryan asked, his posture betraying that he was extremely tense.
"Kid, I hate to break this to you, but that was just to amuse you," Kenneth chuckled. He was laying on the ground, supported by Izumi and Yuusuke, who were keeping the bleeding down. "You kept trying so hard, so we figured we might as well let you think you were doing well."
"I don't believe you," Tschel sounded sure of himself.
"Me neither," Alex agreed. "I've seen Tschel do some amazing things, between fighting off Elite boy here almost a year ago, to extorting a high-up in Team Aqua. He knows what he's doing."
"I hate to break it to you, but fighting in the memory of a dead Eevee doesn't exactly constitute true motivation," Kenneth gasped at the syllable "ti" but managed to get out the word nonetheless. He took a few deep breaths and continued, "You've got a lot of heart, and even I hate the abuse of Pokémon, especially stolen ones, but in the end they're still Pokémon. They're worthy of respect, and yes, even vengeance, but not of fighting a one-man war."
Alex wasn't exactly sure how Kenneth knew the details of Tschel's lost Eevee, but his train of thought was interrupted by Ryan.
"They're tools," Ryan continued for Kenneth, "Nothing more. We see them as such, and use them as such. Why else did we come up with the Orthan Project, agents as loyal and as strong as Pokémon, and as intelligent as humans? Why else did we create Tribo, the ultimate fighting machine?"
"We created it because we could," Juliet answered with slow determination, catching Alex by surprise. He didn't think she'd interrupt like this. "We did not create it to fight and kill and be the gun in our hands to enforce whatever with. We created it because that's what we as people do—we create. Tribo is not purely a fighting machine."
"I've seen its genetic code!" Ryan shouted.
"You wouldn't know how to analyze genetic code if you took three university courses on the subject," Juliet retorted. "I won't let Tribo be used as a mindless beast, whether to defeat trainers, like these two," she indicated Alex and Tschel, "or defeat the administrators and elite members of the Pokémon League," she indicated Lance and Charlie, who were still standing in the entryway, looking thoroughly confused.
"So you'll do what? Have Tribo stop me?" Ryan asked. "You'd never live through the encounter."
"Ask yourself this," Juliet said darkly, "I have always treated Tribo as it should be treated, as a child. It regards me as its mother, and this is the reason for its unswerving loyalty to me. Shoot me, and not only do you lose control of Tribo, but you also anger it. Would you really want to kill the mother of the strongest fighter on this earth?"
Ryan visibly hesitated for a moment. He raised his left hand to his mouth, thumbed something, and spoke quickly into his cuff. Alex figured there was some kind of device there and that he was talking to some backup.
"So you're not a complete fool," Mikhail shrugged. "You're calling for backup."
"Why do you ask?" Ryan sneered.
"That wasn't a question, it was a statement," Mikhail retorted coolly.
"If I were him," Kenneth laughed to himself, "And I'm really glad I'm not, I'd have at least five or six other Rockets squirrelled away out of sight, not even doing anything, not even if their leader were in danger. They'd only move when called upon, and wouldn't come anywhere near the opposition. If I was really going all-out and not caring about violence, I'd position a sniper team somewhere on top of the—"
"Stop," Ryan hissed. "You're only making a fool of yourself."
Alex smirked internally, and he could have sworn he heard Kenneth mumble something about, "guessed all his plans."
"Well, you two," Ryan waved towards Lance and Charlie with his gun, "Come on over here, get with the group."
Slowly, Lance and Charlie moved into the arena proper, and Ryan again spoke into his left cuff.
Lance was first to arrive at the group, where he looked at the Rockets in confusion.
"Who are they?" Lance asked, and Alex could have sworn he saw Kenneth give a slight visual cue to his fellow Rockets. He hoped he interpreted it correctly.
"Far as I know," Alex explained, "that's Tribo over there, the genetic Pokémon the Rockets made. It's stronger than anything I've ever seen. Its trainer's name is Juliet," Alex knew Lance had already gotten her name, as it had been said a few times already, "I think you already know my father over there, Rei Megumi. The Rockets, as they've been introduced to me, are Mikhail," Alex figured the male Jenny was already known to Lance, "the pair over there are Daisuke and Miyako," he indicated Yuusuke and Izumi, "and they're attending Hoffen, their squad leader."
"Hoffen," Lance looked at Charlie, who gave Lance a puzzled shrug. "And our esteemed armed Rocket?"
"His name's Ryan," Kenneth piped in. "He's basically the head Elite. Real piece of work."
"And that'll be enough out of you, 'Hoffen'," Ryan spoke the name so sarcastically that Alex hoped Lance didn't take the hint.
"I assume you know why I'm here," Lance continued, "So that just leaves the question of why you're here."
Ryan smirked. "I suppose you think I'm like some kind of movie villain, who spills his great plans for all to hear. I might not be as legendary a Rocket as Miyamoto or Kenneth, but I'm not stupid."
Kenneth snorted quietly at hearing that, but said nothing.
"Furthermore, and this is something I think will come as a surprising question to you, but what exactly is the father of a newly-titled Pokémon Master doing in a Rocket operation, anyway?" Lance looked rather smug. "Our two Pokémon Masters were here for a match, and presumably his father was watching... but why get involved with the Rockets?"
"Good question," Ryan smirked at Lance. He then nodded at Kenneth, "Maybe 'Hoffen' here will answer."
"He's a psychologist, he gets a kick out of watching you be a dingbat," Kenneth didn't hide his displeasure with Ryan.
"Shut up!" Ryan shot one bullet into the air to emphasise his point.
"Makes you wonder if he actually has it in him to kill me," Kenneth held his wound tight but managed to stagger to his feet anyway. "He sure has been acting indecisive this entire time, like he's scared of what he's doing. Like he's a kid only pretending to be an adult."
Alex winced almost visibly. He could tell that what Kenneth was doing was extremely dangerous. He certainly wouldn't have wanted to tell a Rocket Elite to shoot him, so he couldn't understand why Kenneth was. It was one hell of a bluff to call, and Alex didn't understand why Kenneth was gambling his life on it.
"Just as I thought," Kenneth stumbled to one knee, and Izumi and Yuusuke were there to help him lie down again in an instant.
"Perhaps I do it because I know there's no sense in killing anyone," Ryan said. "Perhaps I do it because I want to show everyone that I'm not—"
"Oh shut up," Kenneth's voice was more strained than normal. "You don't do anything just to 'show anyone' anything. You do it because it's what you want to do, and damned be image. Image follows result, not procedure."
"Said the man whose image is so hidden nobody outside of Team Rocket could identify him as a Rocket if they tried," Ryan retorted.
"So, what, I'm supposed to be like those laughingstocks Jessie and James?" Kenneth smirked. "Yeah, good luck with that."
"You talk of image like you know anything about it," Mikhail's voice was surprisingly cool and calm.
"Yes, you're going to tell me your image as a male Jenny is more than I've ever had," Ryan said sardonically.
"More complex than that," Mikhail corrected. "There are certain immutable things which you are, and which you cannot overcome. I project a certain image because of what I am, but at the same time this cannot be overcome. You project no image because of what you are, and that as well cannot be overcome."
"The only question left," Kenneth smiled rather scarily, as it was devoid of anything but pure irony, "Is what have we just helped you stall for?"
"What?" Ryan looked surprised.
"Even I can explain this one," Juliet said, "You wouldn't have—"
"Yes, I know," Ryan grumbled, "I just didn't think you'd guessed that. Yes, we are waiting for something, something which I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"Let's play twenty questions, then," Kenneth chuckled. "We're waiting for your operatives to finish something?"
Ryan was silent.
"We're waiting for someone to arrive?"
Ryan was silent.
"So we're waiting for someone to arrive," Kenneth said. Alex had no idea how Kenneth could guess that, and settled on the idea it was done completely at random. "That just leaves who."
"Who, indeed," Juliet looked at Tribo.
Tribo hissed, suddenly the centre of attention.
"Who indeed," Juliet repeated.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that Kenneth is a lot more skilled at his job than anyone gives him credit for. He's one of those types that you just never want to go up against for anything, really. I'd muse about how taking out Roland nearly downed Kenneth and that taking out Simon kind of did, but... that's just splitting hairs. Case in point, Ryan's outmatched. Oh and if you're a very, very astute reader, you'd remember that Kenneth signed something of his as "Kenneth H.", but that H isn't actually short for Hoffen (there's something it is short for, but that's what I call a secret).
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The look on Kenneth's face was if nothing surprising to Alex. He'd never seen anyone shot before, mainly because he'd never been in any situations where you'd expect a man to be shot. However, he could easily tell that Kenneth was far too relaxed as he slumped to the ground.
Izumi, Yuusuke, and Mikhail were on Kenneth in an instant. Alex glanced over to Ryan, who just shrugged and kept his gun trained on the group.
"Damn it, Kenneth," Izumi said as she desperately tried to keep Kenneth conscious, "Don't die on me."
"Who says I'm gonna die from this?" Kenneth's voice was weak, but he sounded sure of himself. Alex could see that he wasn't shot anywhere vital. The shot had taken Kenneth in the gut, and while Alex knew better than to think a stomach wound was minor, he knew Kenneth wouldn't instantly die from it.
"Well, I personally don't care," Ryan shrugged, glancing at Juliet, who herself looked to be quite shocked.
"You can also tell Lance over there to come on over," Kenneth managed his usual sardonic grin. "I think that's Charlie Evans with him, too."
Ryan whipped around fast enough that Alex was actually amused. He fired off a shot in the general direction of Lance, but didn't hit him. Lance was, for all that Alex could see him off in the entrance to the arena, surprised at this.
"He said let him over, you dingbat," Tschel's voice was mocking.
"Shut up, boy," Ryan hissed.
"You're being defiant because you want to seem in control," Tschel shrugged and explained. Alex hoped that this wouldn't get Tschel shot, too. "That's why you wave that gun around. But you see, it's not that thing that's keeping us from overwhelming you."
"So you say it's Tribo, and that Juliet's the one truly in charge?" Ryan sneered. "Tribo's just the muscle."
"Be that as it may," Tschel continued calmly, "A Pokémon will only fight for its trainer as long as it's willing to be loyal to its trainer. If they were to turn on him, then, well, you can imagine what would happen. The trainer isn't the one in control. The person with the plan isn't the one who's truly essential. What's essential are the people who carry it out—and if they decide they don't like it, they're in a perfect position to stop it."
"You sound like you know anything about what you're talking about," Ryan retorted.
"I haven't been giving Team Rocket fits for the past few years by being stupid," Tschel replied.
What sounded like an amused snort came from behind Tschel.
"Eh?" Ryan asked, his posture betraying that he was extremely tense.
"Kid, I hate to break this to you, but that was just to amuse you," Kenneth chuckled. He was laying on the ground, supported by Izumi and Yuusuke, who were keeping the bleeding down. "You kept trying so hard, so we figured we might as well let you think you were doing well."
"I don't believe you," Tschel sounded sure of himself.
"Me neither," Alex agreed. "I've seen Tschel do some amazing things, between fighting off Elite boy here almost a year ago, to extorting a high-up in Team Aqua. He knows what he's doing."
"I hate to break it to you, but fighting in the memory of a dead Eevee doesn't exactly constitute true motivation," Kenneth gasped at the syllable "ti" but managed to get out the word nonetheless. He took a few deep breaths and continued, "You've got a lot of heart, and even I hate the abuse of Pokémon, especially stolen ones, but in the end they're still Pokémon. They're worthy of respect, and yes, even vengeance, but not of fighting a one-man war."
Alex wasn't exactly sure how Kenneth knew the details of Tschel's lost Eevee, but his train of thought was interrupted by Ryan.
"They're tools," Ryan continued for Kenneth, "Nothing more. We see them as such, and use them as such. Why else did we come up with the Orthan Project, agents as loyal and as strong as Pokémon, and as intelligent as humans? Why else did we create Tribo, the ultimate fighting machine?"
"We created it because we could," Juliet answered with slow determination, catching Alex by surprise. He didn't think she'd interrupt like this. "We did not create it to fight and kill and be the gun in our hands to enforce whatever with. We created it because that's what we as people do—we create. Tribo is not purely a fighting machine."
"I've seen its genetic code!" Ryan shouted.
"You wouldn't know how to analyze genetic code if you took three university courses on the subject," Juliet retorted. "I won't let Tribo be used as a mindless beast, whether to defeat trainers, like these two," she indicated Alex and Tschel, "or defeat the administrators and elite members of the Pokémon League," she indicated Lance and Charlie, who were still standing in the entryway, looking thoroughly confused.
"So you'll do what? Have Tribo stop me?" Ryan asked. "You'd never live through the encounter."
"Ask yourself this," Juliet said darkly, "I have always treated Tribo as it should be treated, as a child. It regards me as its mother, and this is the reason for its unswerving loyalty to me. Shoot me, and not only do you lose control of Tribo, but you also anger it. Would you really want to kill the mother of the strongest fighter on this earth?"
Ryan visibly hesitated for a moment. He raised his left hand to his mouth, thumbed something, and spoke quickly into his cuff. Alex figured there was some kind of device there and that he was talking to some backup.
"So you're not a complete fool," Mikhail shrugged. "You're calling for backup."
"Why do you ask?" Ryan sneered.
"That wasn't a question, it was a statement," Mikhail retorted coolly.
"If I were him," Kenneth laughed to himself, "And I'm really glad I'm not, I'd have at least five or six other Rockets squirrelled away out of sight, not even doing anything, not even if their leader were in danger. They'd only move when called upon, and wouldn't come anywhere near the opposition. If I was really going all-out and not caring about violence, I'd position a sniper team somewhere on top of the—"
"Stop," Ryan hissed. "You're only making a fool of yourself."
Alex smirked internally, and he could have sworn he heard Kenneth mumble something about, "guessed all his plans."
"Well, you two," Ryan waved towards Lance and Charlie with his gun, "Come on over here, get with the group."
Slowly, Lance and Charlie moved into the arena proper, and Ryan again spoke into his left cuff.
Lance was first to arrive at the group, where he looked at the Rockets in confusion.
"Who are they?" Lance asked, and Alex could have sworn he saw Kenneth give a slight visual cue to his fellow Rockets. He hoped he interpreted it correctly.
"Far as I know," Alex explained, "that's Tribo over there, the genetic Pokémon the Rockets made. It's stronger than anything I've ever seen. Its trainer's name is Juliet," Alex knew Lance had already gotten her name, as it had been said a few times already, "I think you already know my father over there, Rei Megumi. The Rockets, as they've been introduced to me, are Mikhail," Alex figured the male Jenny was already known to Lance, "the pair over there are Daisuke and Miyako," he indicated Yuusuke and Izumi, "and they're attending Hoffen, their squad leader."
"Hoffen," Lance looked at Charlie, who gave Lance a puzzled shrug. "And our esteemed armed Rocket?"
"His name's Ryan," Kenneth piped in. "He's basically the head Elite. Real piece of work."
"And that'll be enough out of you, 'Hoffen'," Ryan spoke the name so sarcastically that Alex hoped Lance didn't take the hint.
"I assume you know why I'm here," Lance continued, "So that just leaves the question of why you're here."
Ryan smirked. "I suppose you think I'm like some kind of movie villain, who spills his great plans for all to hear. I might not be as legendary a Rocket as Miyamoto or Kenneth, but I'm not stupid."
Kenneth snorted quietly at hearing that, but said nothing.
"Furthermore, and this is something I think will come as a surprising question to you, but what exactly is the father of a newly-titled Pokémon Master doing in a Rocket operation, anyway?" Lance looked rather smug. "Our two Pokémon Masters were here for a match, and presumably his father was watching... but why get involved with the Rockets?"
"Good question," Ryan smirked at Lance. He then nodded at Kenneth, "Maybe 'Hoffen' here will answer."
"He's a psychologist, he gets a kick out of watching you be a dingbat," Kenneth didn't hide his displeasure with Ryan.
"Shut up!" Ryan shot one bullet into the air to emphasise his point.
"Makes you wonder if he actually has it in him to kill me," Kenneth held his wound tight but managed to stagger to his feet anyway. "He sure has been acting indecisive this entire time, like he's scared of what he's doing. Like he's a kid only pretending to be an adult."
Alex winced almost visibly. He could tell that what Kenneth was doing was extremely dangerous. He certainly wouldn't have wanted to tell a Rocket Elite to shoot him, so he couldn't understand why Kenneth was. It was one hell of a bluff to call, and Alex didn't understand why Kenneth was gambling his life on it.
"Just as I thought," Kenneth stumbled to one knee, and Izumi and Yuusuke were there to help him lie down again in an instant.
"Perhaps I do it because I know there's no sense in killing anyone," Ryan said. "Perhaps I do it because I want to show everyone that I'm not—"
"Oh shut up," Kenneth's voice was more strained than normal. "You don't do anything just to 'show anyone' anything. You do it because it's what you want to do, and damned be image. Image follows result, not procedure."
"Said the man whose image is so hidden nobody outside of Team Rocket could identify him as a Rocket if they tried," Ryan retorted.
"So, what, I'm supposed to be like those laughingstocks Jessie and James?" Kenneth smirked. "Yeah, good luck with that."
"You talk of image like you know anything about it," Mikhail's voice was surprisingly cool and calm.
"Yes, you're going to tell me your image as a male Jenny is more than I've ever had," Ryan said sardonically.
"More complex than that," Mikhail corrected. "There are certain immutable things which you are, and which you cannot overcome. I project a certain image because of what I am, but at the same time this cannot be overcome. You project no image because of what you are, and that as well cannot be overcome."
"The only question left," Kenneth smiled rather scarily, as it was devoid of anything but pure irony, "Is what have we just helped you stall for?"
"What?" Ryan looked surprised.
"Even I can explain this one," Juliet said, "You wouldn't have—"
"Yes, I know," Ryan grumbled, "I just didn't think you'd guessed that. Yes, we are waiting for something, something which I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"Let's play twenty questions, then," Kenneth chuckled. "We're waiting for your operatives to finish something?"
Ryan was silent.
"We're waiting for someone to arrive?"
Ryan was silent.
"So we're waiting for someone to arrive," Kenneth said. Alex had no idea how Kenneth could guess that, and settled on the idea it was done completely at random. "That just leaves who."
"Who, indeed," Juliet looked at Tribo.
Tribo hissed, suddenly the centre of attention.
"Who indeed," Juliet repeated.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that Kenneth is a lot more skilled at his job than anyone gives him credit for. He's one of those types that you just never want to go up against for anything, really. I'd muse about how taking out Roland nearly downed Kenneth and that taking out Simon kind of did, but... that's just splitting hairs. Case in point, Ryan's outmatched. Oh and if you're a very, very astute reader, you'd remember that Kenneth signed something of his as "Kenneth H.", but that H isn't actually short for Hoffen (there's something it is short for, but that's what I call a secret).