Marril
04/17/2005, 05:22 PM
Wow, an actual on-time post. I say on-time because most are on Sundays, despite that I'm a lazy mouse and don't post them then usually. Ah, heck, forget that, just read the bloomin' chapter. It's got, um, Rei in it. Yeah.
----------------------------------------------------
“Congratulations, Schuler,” Kenneth grinned as he stepped back into his office. Schuler had definitely kept it in pristine condition while he was gone.
“For what?” Schuler asked, furrowing his brow.
“Guess this means I travel faster than e-mail,” Kenneth frowned. Of course, he could have guessed wrong, or mistimed Giovanni, or any number of a million things.
Schuler clicked a few things on Kenneth’s computer and arced an eyebrow.
“Did I guess right?” Kenneth asked.
“Son of a…” Schuler looked floored. “You really are trying to take over for Giovanni.”
“What?” Kenneth didn’t even understand where the question was coming from.
“Only you would ever have had me promoted to Executive,” Schuler pointed out. “Roland was a great personal enemy of yours, and now you’re having me, a man from your own division, replace him.”
“Let me guess,” Kenneth added dryly, stepping in from the doorframe. “If there had been any replacement for Thompson instead of his division being integrated into Juliet’s, I’d have gotten someone from mine in to be its head?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Schuler nodded.
“Well, even if I was shooting for a coup,” Kenneth shrugged. “Stein would be a tough cookie to swallow. Not to mention Giovanni would floor me.”
“It’s a start,” Schuler retorted.
“So you’re paranoid?” Kenneth asked, wondering what was going through Schuler’s head. “In that case, just e-mail Giovanni back saying ‘thanks for the offer but I’ll have to pass.’”
“Oh, I plan to take it, I just don’t plan on being any puppet of yours.”
“A puppet? You? I’m hurt.”
“Are you really?”
Kenneth frowned. Maybe he’d misgauged Schuler. The man certainly seemed paranoid all of a sudden. Granted, the previous Internal Affairs head had just been killed, but still… Kenneth wouldn’t have been afraid of a thing.
“Sure I am,” Kenneth tipped an imaginary hat as he left the office. Yeah, it was really his office, but he figured he’d let Schuler have a little bit longer in his stint of being Kenneth.
If Kenneth was having a strained time with Schuler, then Juliet was having an even more strained time with the Elites. They’d just barged into Beta Site all of a sudden, demanding that Tribo be put to use.
“Why do you want Tribo to attack the ruddy Neo League championships?” Juliet asked, at a loss for any other words, as Ryan explained his plan as they walked down the hall.
Tribo looked up from Juliet’s arms as it heard its name, but returned to looking oblivious as it heard nothing of importance.
“It’s in the good name of Team Rocket,” Ryan explained, looking disdainfully at Tribo. “Without anything to our name, we might as well not exist. Plus, nobody’s being paid just for the good of science that that… thing is.”
“Do you have any idea the skill level of the trainers in the championships?” Juliet asked. “Lance is going to have Charlie Evans there for sure.”
“I’m sick of how everyone’s so afraid of that lapdog,” Ryan spat. “That Arcanine of his is only hype.”
“He’s more than the strongest trainer in the world,” Juliet explained. “He’s got political weight. Team Rocket only keeps going because we ride the bleeding edge of being too much to ignore, and being something to leave aside.”
“We robbed the SS Anne six years ago,” Ryan pointed out. “We raided the Pokémon League five years ago. We’ve thrown subtlety to the wind before and look how strong Team Rocket’s become now.”
Juliet shook her head. Tribo hissed at Ryan.
“My point is,” Ryan continued, “This has already been planned by myself and Simon. We only need your help.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not asking anything?” Juliet asked. It unnerved her that Ryan would go above her head like that.
Ryan said nothing, merely giving her a look. Juliet scowled.
“If I’m going to be doing this regardless, then at least let me know what I’m doing specifically,” Juliet said.
“It’s simple,” Ryan smirked. “Tribo will drive off the weaklings, and us Elites will scoop up anything of worth.”
So, Juliet figured, it was a glorified criminal run. She was a scientist, not a common criminal, and so she didn’t see what Ryan saw in it.
“No,” Juliet said firmly. “I won’t endanger Tribo by having it attack a convocation of some of the most powerful trainers in the world.”
“Tribo’s battle data places it above Mewtwos Two and Three,” Ryan reminded Juliet. He didn’t care to add that Mewtwo One was uncontrollably strong, as demonstrated during its escape and later its attack on Mossdeep. Developed years before the abnormal British-accented Mewtwo, which was an earlier prototype of the Mewtwo that led a clone army, Mewtwo One was simply never discussed among Team Rocket.
“Tribo can’t withstand that many trainers at once,” Juliet reiterated forcefully. Tribo hissed again at Ryan.
“That’s why I’m not asking you to do anything, I’m telling you,” Ryan reminded her.
Juliet felt like hissing like Tribo at Ryan, but that wouldn’t have been professional. She didn’t even give him a look as she brushed past him, carrying Tribo with her.
“Rei, you’re a smart man,” Kenneth said over the videophone. “I need to know… was I really in the wrong here?”
“About making this man Schuler the new division head, or in killing Roland?” Rei asked.
“A bit of both, I guess,” Kenneth shrugged. “Either way, I can’t quite decide if it was really worth it.”
“Why not?” Rei asked. He sighed, and then smiled. “Yamato was your friend. You were acting on your feelings. Nobody could possibly have been ‘in the right’ here, and at the end of the day, you were the one fighting for something you believe in.”
“Eh, you’ve got a point,” Kenneth admitted. “It’s just… well, before Roland, I’ve never actually killed anyone. None of us have. Plotting someone’s death just makes me feel… dirty.”
“Killing a man is never the right thing to do,” Rei agreed. He hesitated in continuing. “You had little choice, though.”
“Did I?” Kenneth asked. He looked past the videophone camera and to the paperwork on his desk. It was a series of memos to be sent out to the other division heads detailing what had “happened” to Roland.
“This is going to sound odd coming from a counsellor,” Rei admitted. “But if you want my opinion, Yamato wouldn’t have wanted you to sit around and do nothing about his death.”
Kenneth smiled humourlessly.
“Furthermore,” Rei continued, “You’ve been treading on thin ice all your career, and balancing things no man should have to balance. Roland found out about it, tried to stop you, and he got stopped himself. That’s a powerful message.”
“Do you say this to all your patients?” Kenneth asked.
Rei laughed. “Just my Rocket ones.”
“Yeah, I guess it sends a message,” Kenneth admitted. He glanced back at the camera. “Oh, I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Exactly how well were you and Yamato acquainted?”
Rei didn’t answer immediately. “I guess you’ve been waiting years to ask that, eh?”
“Something like that.”
“To be completely honest, it’s not something that can be put into words,” Rei admitted. “He showed me an aspect of life I never even knew existed, and at a time in my life when I needed it the most. In turn, I showed him what it meant to have a friend who never had to hide his name.”
Kenneth nodded. He didn’t question it further.
“I can’t imagine you calling just to lead the conversation there,” Rei added. “What’s really the issue?”
“Your son,” Kenneth answered. Rei looked worried all of a sudden. “The rogue elements of Team Rocket, that is, the ones who try to think like conventional street criminals, are planning something for the Neo League championships.”
“Oh Goddish,” Rei muttered. “Wasn’t Roland their leader? Shouldn’t offing him have gotten rid of them?”
Kenneth smiled sadly. “This Ekans has a few too many heads. I want to let you know about the potential danger, and also to let you know that as long as I’m in Team Rocket, I won’t let anything happen to your son or daughter. You might not be a Rocket, Rei, but you’re still one of the team, and I don’t let anyone on my team suffer.”
“Thanks, Kenneth,” Rei smiled.
“You want him to know about any of this?” Kenneth asked.
Rei took a deep breath, but didn’t say anything.
“He doesn’t have to if you think he doesn’t,” Kenneth reminded Rei.
“I think he should,” Rei said decisively. “It’d be wrong to keep him in the dark that he’s in possible danger.”
“I understand,” Kenneth nodded.
“Just let him know…” Rei added. “Just let him know that he doesn’t have to worry about anything. You’re there to watch over him.”
Kenneth smirked. “I don’t know if you’ve seen that boyfriend of his in action, but it’d take us going specifically after Alex to get past that guy. He might only think he’s one of Team Rocket’s chief nuisances, but that doesn’t mean he’s unskilled.”
Rei chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Don’t worry about your son,” Kenneth reminded Rei. “We’ll take care of him like he was one of our own. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Kenneth hang up and put his feet up on his desk. Stretching, he wondered how he got himself into these messes. Worse, this time he was angsting, and that was something he’d promised himself he’d never do.
Yes, decided Kenneth, he was definitely losing his edge. But he still had plenty of edge left, and any youthful skill he was losing was being replaced with age and experience, two things that Kenneth knew never could steer you wrong.
After all, you didn’t grow old by dying.
----------------------------------------------------
That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember to not die. Oh yeah, and the whole "attacked the Pokémon League five years ago" thing is from original SS, if anyone really cares. It wasn't much, basically a rehash of what happened to the SS Anne.
----------------------------------------------------
“Congratulations, Schuler,” Kenneth grinned as he stepped back into his office. Schuler had definitely kept it in pristine condition while he was gone.
“For what?” Schuler asked, furrowing his brow.
“Guess this means I travel faster than e-mail,” Kenneth frowned. Of course, he could have guessed wrong, or mistimed Giovanni, or any number of a million things.
Schuler clicked a few things on Kenneth’s computer and arced an eyebrow.
“Did I guess right?” Kenneth asked.
“Son of a…” Schuler looked floored. “You really are trying to take over for Giovanni.”
“What?” Kenneth didn’t even understand where the question was coming from.
“Only you would ever have had me promoted to Executive,” Schuler pointed out. “Roland was a great personal enemy of yours, and now you’re having me, a man from your own division, replace him.”
“Let me guess,” Kenneth added dryly, stepping in from the doorframe. “If there had been any replacement for Thompson instead of his division being integrated into Juliet’s, I’d have gotten someone from mine in to be its head?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Schuler nodded.
“Well, even if I was shooting for a coup,” Kenneth shrugged. “Stein would be a tough cookie to swallow. Not to mention Giovanni would floor me.”
“It’s a start,” Schuler retorted.
“So you’re paranoid?” Kenneth asked, wondering what was going through Schuler’s head. “In that case, just e-mail Giovanni back saying ‘thanks for the offer but I’ll have to pass.’”
“Oh, I plan to take it, I just don’t plan on being any puppet of yours.”
“A puppet? You? I’m hurt.”
“Are you really?”
Kenneth frowned. Maybe he’d misgauged Schuler. The man certainly seemed paranoid all of a sudden. Granted, the previous Internal Affairs head had just been killed, but still… Kenneth wouldn’t have been afraid of a thing.
“Sure I am,” Kenneth tipped an imaginary hat as he left the office. Yeah, it was really his office, but he figured he’d let Schuler have a little bit longer in his stint of being Kenneth.
If Kenneth was having a strained time with Schuler, then Juliet was having an even more strained time with the Elites. They’d just barged into Beta Site all of a sudden, demanding that Tribo be put to use.
“Why do you want Tribo to attack the ruddy Neo League championships?” Juliet asked, at a loss for any other words, as Ryan explained his plan as they walked down the hall.
Tribo looked up from Juliet’s arms as it heard its name, but returned to looking oblivious as it heard nothing of importance.
“It’s in the good name of Team Rocket,” Ryan explained, looking disdainfully at Tribo. “Without anything to our name, we might as well not exist. Plus, nobody’s being paid just for the good of science that that… thing is.”
“Do you have any idea the skill level of the trainers in the championships?” Juliet asked. “Lance is going to have Charlie Evans there for sure.”
“I’m sick of how everyone’s so afraid of that lapdog,” Ryan spat. “That Arcanine of his is only hype.”
“He’s more than the strongest trainer in the world,” Juliet explained. “He’s got political weight. Team Rocket only keeps going because we ride the bleeding edge of being too much to ignore, and being something to leave aside.”
“We robbed the SS Anne six years ago,” Ryan pointed out. “We raided the Pokémon League five years ago. We’ve thrown subtlety to the wind before and look how strong Team Rocket’s become now.”
Juliet shook her head. Tribo hissed at Ryan.
“My point is,” Ryan continued, “This has already been planned by myself and Simon. We only need your help.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not asking anything?” Juliet asked. It unnerved her that Ryan would go above her head like that.
Ryan said nothing, merely giving her a look. Juliet scowled.
“If I’m going to be doing this regardless, then at least let me know what I’m doing specifically,” Juliet said.
“It’s simple,” Ryan smirked. “Tribo will drive off the weaklings, and us Elites will scoop up anything of worth.”
So, Juliet figured, it was a glorified criminal run. She was a scientist, not a common criminal, and so she didn’t see what Ryan saw in it.
“No,” Juliet said firmly. “I won’t endanger Tribo by having it attack a convocation of some of the most powerful trainers in the world.”
“Tribo’s battle data places it above Mewtwos Two and Three,” Ryan reminded Juliet. He didn’t care to add that Mewtwo One was uncontrollably strong, as demonstrated during its escape and later its attack on Mossdeep. Developed years before the abnormal British-accented Mewtwo, which was an earlier prototype of the Mewtwo that led a clone army, Mewtwo One was simply never discussed among Team Rocket.
“Tribo can’t withstand that many trainers at once,” Juliet reiterated forcefully. Tribo hissed again at Ryan.
“That’s why I’m not asking you to do anything, I’m telling you,” Ryan reminded her.
Juliet felt like hissing like Tribo at Ryan, but that wouldn’t have been professional. She didn’t even give him a look as she brushed past him, carrying Tribo with her.
“Rei, you’re a smart man,” Kenneth said over the videophone. “I need to know… was I really in the wrong here?”
“About making this man Schuler the new division head, or in killing Roland?” Rei asked.
“A bit of both, I guess,” Kenneth shrugged. “Either way, I can’t quite decide if it was really worth it.”
“Why not?” Rei asked. He sighed, and then smiled. “Yamato was your friend. You were acting on your feelings. Nobody could possibly have been ‘in the right’ here, and at the end of the day, you were the one fighting for something you believe in.”
“Eh, you’ve got a point,” Kenneth admitted. “It’s just… well, before Roland, I’ve never actually killed anyone. None of us have. Plotting someone’s death just makes me feel… dirty.”
“Killing a man is never the right thing to do,” Rei agreed. He hesitated in continuing. “You had little choice, though.”
“Did I?” Kenneth asked. He looked past the videophone camera and to the paperwork on his desk. It was a series of memos to be sent out to the other division heads detailing what had “happened” to Roland.
“This is going to sound odd coming from a counsellor,” Rei admitted. “But if you want my opinion, Yamato wouldn’t have wanted you to sit around and do nothing about his death.”
Kenneth smiled humourlessly.
“Furthermore,” Rei continued, “You’ve been treading on thin ice all your career, and balancing things no man should have to balance. Roland found out about it, tried to stop you, and he got stopped himself. That’s a powerful message.”
“Do you say this to all your patients?” Kenneth asked.
Rei laughed. “Just my Rocket ones.”
“Yeah, I guess it sends a message,” Kenneth admitted. He glanced back at the camera. “Oh, I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Exactly how well were you and Yamato acquainted?”
Rei didn’t answer immediately. “I guess you’ve been waiting years to ask that, eh?”
“Something like that.”
“To be completely honest, it’s not something that can be put into words,” Rei admitted. “He showed me an aspect of life I never even knew existed, and at a time in my life when I needed it the most. In turn, I showed him what it meant to have a friend who never had to hide his name.”
Kenneth nodded. He didn’t question it further.
“I can’t imagine you calling just to lead the conversation there,” Rei added. “What’s really the issue?”
“Your son,” Kenneth answered. Rei looked worried all of a sudden. “The rogue elements of Team Rocket, that is, the ones who try to think like conventional street criminals, are planning something for the Neo League championships.”
“Oh Goddish,” Rei muttered. “Wasn’t Roland their leader? Shouldn’t offing him have gotten rid of them?”
Kenneth smiled sadly. “This Ekans has a few too many heads. I want to let you know about the potential danger, and also to let you know that as long as I’m in Team Rocket, I won’t let anything happen to your son or daughter. You might not be a Rocket, Rei, but you’re still one of the team, and I don’t let anyone on my team suffer.”
“Thanks, Kenneth,” Rei smiled.
“You want him to know about any of this?” Kenneth asked.
Rei took a deep breath, but didn’t say anything.
“He doesn’t have to if you think he doesn’t,” Kenneth reminded Rei.
“I think he should,” Rei said decisively. “It’d be wrong to keep him in the dark that he’s in possible danger.”
“I understand,” Kenneth nodded.
“Just let him know…” Rei added. “Just let him know that he doesn’t have to worry about anything. You’re there to watch over him.”
Kenneth smirked. “I don’t know if you’ve seen that boyfriend of his in action, but it’d take us going specifically after Alex to get past that guy. He might only think he’s one of Team Rocket’s chief nuisances, but that doesn’t mean he’s unskilled.”
Rei chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Don’t worry about your son,” Kenneth reminded Rei. “We’ll take care of him like he was one of our own. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Kenneth hang up and put his feet up on his desk. Stretching, he wondered how he got himself into these messes. Worse, this time he was angsting, and that was something he’d promised himself he’d never do.
Yes, decided Kenneth, he was definitely losing his edge. But he still had plenty of edge left, and any youthful skill he was losing was being replaced with age and experience, two things that Kenneth knew never could steer you wrong.
After all, you didn’t grow old by dying.
----------------------------------------------------
That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember to not die. Oh yeah, and the whole "attacked the Pokémon League five years ago" thing is from original SS, if anyone really cares. It wasn't much, basically a rehash of what happened to the SS Anne.