Team Rocket: How the Muk are They Still Alive?

[IrnBruAddict]

'No offence Gerald, but no child should be left in your care. You're not stable enough to be a guardian.' Romeo stares daggers at Gerald. No way was this sick and twisted guy getting his hands on John. He had already started trying to turn Arte similar to him. Romeo wasn't going to let him turn a child into a little hitman.

'I promised John I'd take him to see his mother in the Pokemon Tower. I'll take care of him until a family can be found. I was planning on visiting Lavander soon if possible. I can take care of him till then, then see about placing him in the care of a religious organisation there. A proper carer.'

[Arcran]

Artemis steps forward, relieved at the guns being lowered. "So where are we to report to?"

"Follow me," she says, turning and heading inside.

Ma'am, if I may be so bold. I know I am not a recruiter but the adults here have shown remarkable skill, and may find worth in our organization. Mark is an excellent leader and battler, and the Twins are superb marksmen with great coordination.

"I'll add them to the watch list. If they show promise, we'll try to pick them up."

"Understood, though I would like to keep contact with the one likely orphaned until he's settled elsewhere, or see to training him. As I said, he has shown potential in tech, and I would like to see if it can be melded into something useful between missions."
He looks to the ship.
"Do you mind if we take care of a few things before departure? Paul managed to tame a pack of wild rattata that flew with us, and as Ethan said, there is a friendly rotom in the computer systems. Due to being wild, it would likely be best to let the people who they're comfortable with remove them."

'No offence Gerald, but no child should be left in your care. You're not stable enough to be a guardian.' Romeo stares daggers at Gerald. No way was this sick and twisted guy getting his hands on John. He had already started trying to turn Arte similar to him. Romeo wasn't going to let him turn a child into a little hitman.

'I promised John I'd take him to see his mother in the Pokemon Tower. I'll take care of him until a family can be found. I was planning on visiting Lavander soon if possible. I can take care of him till then, then see about placing him in the care of a religious organisation there. A proper carer.'

"What you do with the child is your own decision. As for the Pokemon, this will only take a few minutes, understand?" she says, heading inside. She leads you to the elevator, inserting her key card and riding the elevator to the bottom in silence. When you arrive, she takes you all to her office.

"So, how the hell did a group of new recruits manage to take down somebody like Akinektos? How did you guys manage to pull that off?" she asks, staring right at you. You can all feel the presence of her mind.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Would you like us to start from the beginning or from when we were captured? We can start from out capture but it leaves out some important details.

[IrnBruAddict]

Romeo suddenly remembered, then dropped to his knees in panic. 'Oh Mew! Crap, crap, crap, how could I forget.'


'That chair was a rental! Crapcrapcrapcrap!' Romeo starts to panic, trying to figure out a way to get his wheelchair back so he wasn't sued by the hospital.

[Esprit15]

Artemis grabs Romeo by the shoulders as he freaks out. Relax. Explain the situation to them, or have the boss send a message through to them. They'll probably understand. Worst that happens, you get a stern talking to and a small fine for losing it.

[Eshkigal]

Gerald eyes Romeo as he seems to turn cold. What was his problem? Ah, well, bigger things to do. Once they're in the debriefing room, he opens his mouth to speak, before Romeo has his little outburst. He shakes his head, before grabbing Romeo's shirt and hoisting him up to his feet.
"Come on, man, you were in such a rush to talk about this part, you can at least stay focused."
His head's still a bit of a mess, but she can feel him getting the events of that day together into a coherent whole.

[Arcran]

Would you like us to start from the beginning or from when we were captured? We can start from out capture but it leaves out some important details.

"The full story," she says, looking at Romeo like he was an idiot.

[Esprit15]

"Well on our way to Lavender, after our caravan was attacked by some Steel Skorupi -thanks for the warning about them being Steel by the way. Flying did ****all, Rock was useless, we'd have all died if Paul didn't have a Sandshrew that knew Bulldoze- we were ambushed by him. He faked injury, we were just gonna bring him in to the medics when his friends opened fire.

Next thing I know, I'm in a cell on my own and unable to...well, do anything. My powers were being suppressed, apparently some compound they slipped into my food. Couldn't even move a pencil. Finally got that out of my system, got out of the cell and ran into Gerald. We fought past a few guards and ran into Romeo and Paul, then started looking for a way out. Akni- whatever his name was, pops in with Ethan, Jessica and Taylor bound in some shadow stuff. I don't remember much after that. Tried to fry him and apparently it was just a Double or something. Heard him yell something, my skin started burning, and I was out. Next thing I know-" She pauses, but decides that if her mind is being read anyways, can't exactly hide anything. "Something, a Psychic, a legendary, something is speaking to me. Injuries I had are gone, my mind is clear for once, and the target is dead."

She looks at the others. "That about accurate?"

[Eshkigal]

"For a very abridged version. There were two separate assaults from the steel-skorupi, or steelupi for simplicity's sake, in which we saw nearly two hundred of them all together. In the second assault, there was a huge beast, a...I think it's called drapion? Anyway, after a running fight with that and a hundred more steelupi, of which I think each of us caught one, Aniketos flew overhead and we tried to ambush him, while twelve of his goons, armed with stunky primarily, circled us. The primary idea was to keep the goons off the psychics, but there were too many, and we were captured. From what happened, we were separated, our gear stripped from us or rendered useless, and we were approached by the Bidoof Muk-I mean, Aniketos, separately. He apparently wanted us to agree to act as double agents for his organization."
He begins playing through the conversation they had from the top, remembering the boredom as Aniketos kept trying to make a pitch he couldn't pull off. It fades to black shortly after Ani's fist flies towards his face.
"...To say I was less than compliant might be an understatement. From there, I learned that the target, Aniketos...Miss, before I continue, I must request that you do not alter my file to try and influence anything, first. It's merely for understanding what exactly I missed. It will have no bearing on me in the future, really. Anyway, I awoke from his outburst chained to a wall, staring at the faces of over thirty other Rocket members, some of which I recognized from when you went into the room and debriefed, in a vegetative state and kept in cages. From there, Aniketos...Aniketos proceeded to demonstrate that he can devour memories through some technique that, for some strange reason, had to involve kissing, and proclaimed it was for Darkrai. And he did so. I...I can't remember anything past four months ago, Miss. For better or worse, I really can't. Feel free to verify this with any other psychic, but I really can't."
His gaze lowers, as he remembers his life ebbing away, being torn forcibly from him. He looks up.
"What I can tell you for sure is that he did not like what he saw. He actually had to stop part way through, which is the only reason I'm still responsive to the world. My memory's fuzzy after that, but I saw two apelike pokemon pokemon he kept in the room attack him, and slipped out of my bonds to make my escape. I stole the gun off the first guard I met, killed him, dropped two more, met up with Artemis and barely recognized her, and from there, my memory gets hazier due to a combination of the memory devouring, blood loss, and combat drugs I had to keep taking just to stay standing. I do recall some half schemed idea where if we tried to take the hangar, which was armed for war-there were even tanks, and more jets, before we left-he would likely pop in at the worst moment to thwart our escape, and so I...might have improvised in a drug induced insanity. Mostly by counting on his pride to bring him directly to us if insulted badly enough, I then proceeded to insult him by stating plans to basically kill him and then derail the works of the god he worshiped on such a scale that I would forever cause Aniketos suffering for his failures today, and it started much like how Artemis explained it. Afterwards, after a team effort to take him down, we eventually did so. After which, I put two bullets in his brain, let Aquilla eat his fill, and went to try and help the civilians until the tank fired and Romeo...I don't even know where to start trying to verbally explain this."
Instead, he begins remembering it, even including the message to him.
"Afterwards, we took down two planes carrying some item that they were going to drop on Saffron by sending Mjolnir, Ethan's former beldum, at them. I say former because during the entirety of this, Mjolnir has been evolving. He ate one of the jets, and broke the second to pieces after evolving into a metang with jets fused into it."
He looks at the boss, concerned over what he thinks might risk him Sparky.
"I know that might have been a mistake...but please, I thought it would be for the good of the mission. He was cowardly, and was likely to run rather than face any odds he might possibly lose in rather than take part. It may seem insane, but I swear it was a calculated gamble. I swear to the Judge it seemed the most likely chance for success."

[MesiDoomstalker]

I will clarify a few things, if you don't mind Artemis, Gerald, Ethan clears his throat and pushes up his spare glasses. We were pursuing Anni to Lavender by caravan. We were assaulted by Steel-Skorupi, twice, and after successfully repelling them, twice, I was able to extract that orb Romeo was waving about earlier from one of their corpses. Ethan stares daggers at Romeo. Wanted to study it. Thanks Romeo

Shortly after the second attack, Anni shows up pretending injury and springs a surprise attack on us. Weakened and wearied from the Skorupi's, severely out manned and out gunned, he defeated us and took us prisoner. When I awoke, I was in a rather lavish cell with a laptop, containing this file. Ethan produces his pad and brings up the file on the Steelupi and presents it to the boss lady. The file contains detailed information about the Steel-Shifted Skorupis. Shortly, Anni comes into the room and offers me a position in his organization. A Team Galactic. He also informed me that Rocket developed the Steel-Shifted Skorupi. In short, he wanted me to become a double agent, get on this project, tapping the screen and feed them info. And I said yes.

Now before you freak out, I had an ulterior motive. How the void I kept it from him, I'm not sure, but he took the bait. I knew I had no chance of escape on my own, especially without pokemon. Accepting was my best chance of getting free. However, I never intended on helping him. For a while I was planning on informing you immediately upon my return to civilization and trying to establish a double-bluff and act as a spy for Rocket. Obviously, that isn't on the table anymore, but so is life.

Anyways, gaining a modicum of trust from him, I requested my Pad, which he promptly returned. Little did he know, a wild Rotom, the same on the jet outside, had taken residence there. Me and the Rotom have made a pact, to the effect of I don't mess with him and he doesn't mess with me. I suppose the Rotom was feeling generous, as he helped facilitate our escape. He disabled the camera in my room and then helped free Gerald here from.... Well I'll let Gerald tell you that, as I'm not really sure what to make of that.

After that, nothing happened for a while that I'm aware of. After a time, Anni barged into my cell furious. Spouting about what my plan was and buying time. He knocked me out and broke my scanner, the bastard. I woke up inside some kind of control room. Here is where it gets interesting. Anni is talking to some tech about something called 'The Controller,' some device that, according to Anni, no one on our team knows about except possibly me. Funny, since I knew about it then. He planned on using me, Jessica and Taylor as bait to lure the others into a trap, I'm guessing to recapture them.

Shortly, he returns to bring me to where ever he is setting his trap, but my allies did something, you'd have to ask them, to piss him off. A lot. Mid-way through travel he teleported me and the girls into these odd, ghost-spheres. Without my glasses I couldn't see anything, so not sure how well they blocked vision but I know I couldn't hear anything nor anyone could hear me.

Our team proceeds to fight and beat Anni, resulting in the mess Gerald showed you. My allies freed me and the girls, and the scope of the situation became clear to me. We were in a blocked hallway with only one exit. Into a hangar full of enemies, armed to the teeth with military grade vehicles.

And then...what happened next is difficult to explain. I don't think I fully understand it, I haven't had much time to piece it out but I'll try now. Romeo, it seemed, knew exactly what to do and had all of us gather, including Gerald, Mark and the twins who were holding back the small army in the hangar. Then he shoves this feather in the air, and a tank fires at us. Then this.... my best guess is a very powerful psychic type appears and summoned a psychic barrier, like an overcharged Reflect to block the cannon shell. At the same time, the pokemon telekinetically stopped a very large quantity of bullets in mid air, as well as a rocket and a few grenades. The pokemon quickly returned all this ammunition to their previous owners, painfully, leaving nothing left but pink smears, wreckage and a single jet fighter also protected through the same psychic barrier. Then this pokemon morphed into a human form, something I thought wasn't possible. The only explanation was that the mon didn't change but simply altered my perception to make me believe she did.

She then instructed us to take the remaining jet and catch the two jets that took off moments before her arrival. She touched me and Gerald and seemed to infuse us with some kind of psychic energy, granting us the knowledge to fly the jet, something I was not previously able to do. She called Romeo her 'Chosen' and that she had to leave because her power was used up. But before she left she gave me a message telepathically. A prophetic message.
'Warrior of the Mind, trust your instinct. You know all you need to to make that jet fly swifter than you ever imagined. Just let your hands take over without the shackling control of the mind. And if all seems dark, remember. You have a tool stronger than any missile sitting at your very hip. Do not let your past loss block your mind from this one'
I was confused at first, but it became clear once we boarded the jet and took pursuit. During the very short dog fight, the two planes managed to get behind us. Remembering her words, I released my Beldum, Mjolnir, who was in the process of evolving, and put him in the jet's waste chute. Gerald emptied the chute and Mjolnir consumed one of the jets, which quickly crashed. Jane, the Rotom, told us no one could have survived that, then Mjolnir, fully evolved into a Metang, appears from the wreckage and ripped the second jet apart.

After that, I flew the jet here and you know the rest.

Ethan exhales. It wasn't obvious if that was all said in one breath or he was so use to long-winded explanations he could breath without breaking his speech. He stares at the Boss Lady, waiting for a response.

[hustlertwo]

Paul ruffles Speck's fur and tries not to doze while the others go on with their long-winded stories. You call that an abridged version, Gerry? I'll show you abridged: we came, we saw, we stomped 'em all.

[IrnBruAddict]

'Guess that leaves me' says Romeo. 'I'm the one who can fill in the rest of the blanks.'

'You already know about the repeated attacks on the caravan. On the last one, I was the last non-civilian standing. I was asked to surrender, which I reluctantly did. Then Anni started shooting the civilians in front of me.' Romeo goes quiet, not wanting to continue remembering. 'I begged him to sare the kids, to which he somehow agreed then knocked me out.'

'I awoke in a hospital bed. Most likely I was laced there since I was the least threatening member, and I had 2 broken legs at the time after the Slugma mission.' Romeo points to his foot which he sticks up, and gives it a little wiggle. 'I was contacted by a powerful pokemon, which you may know as Cresselia if you are knowledgeable on Religious matters. She's a goddess of hope and peace. She told me she'd help me, and in return I needed to stop this...' he remembers what Ethan calls them. '...this Team Galactic, and Anni in particular, since he was a chosen of Darkrai. She healed my legs, then gave me three things. A feather to call upon her help once, an amulet which changes my Umbreon into an Espeon, and this necklace which allows me to communicate to her.' He took out the necklace and showed it to her. He didn't give it to her however, keeping hold of it himself.

'Back to the story. She healed my legs for me, and told me where our pokemon were being held. I used my knowledge of medicine and my ... 'skills' to stealth my way to the pokemon holding room. Upon arrival, I found Elly, and gave her the necklace.' With her permission, Romeo lets out Elly and shows off her new form to the woman. 'With the help of my pokemon and a stray Rotom, I was able to unite with Paul, then later Artemis and Gerald. Led by Cresselia's guidance, I was able to steer everyone to where we needed to go. Soon, we had rescued everyone but Ethan, Jessica and Taylor, and had possession of all our teams again.'

'On our way out, we were stopped by Anni. He had Ethan, Taylor and Jess captured. While, I admit I hesitated, Gerald Artemis and Paul made the right choice. They decided to focus on putting him down rather than give in to his demands. It was the right call. Anni knew Arte was our best fighter, so he took her out first. But thanks to Gerald and Paul, we managed to beat him up. And eventually, Paul was the one who took him down. What less would you expect from the ex-champ.'

'Seeing our escape route cut off, I used the feather, and that's when She appeared and stopped the small army they had. She was the one who healed us. She was the one who told us we had to stop the jets. She was the one who made sure Ethan and Gerald were able to stop them. In short, without her aid, we'd probably not have made it out alive.'

'I tried calling you so you could scramble some jets to intercept them, but your phone was disconnected. You may want to look into that. And then I called the only other senior member we knew of, Sabrina. And you know what happened in the air so that about wraps up my tale.'

[Arcran]

The boss lady listens in stunned silence throughout the entire tale.

"That is all... Remarkable," she says, pausing, obviously stunned. "Of all the groups sent out, you were definitely not the ones we expected to succeed. And some parts of the tale..." she says, looking worried.

"Ethan, if what you say about the Skorupi being ours is correct, I have no knowledge of that but I believe I know somebody who does. I'll contact them tonight, see if I can't get some confirmation, alright?" she says, nodding at you. "If it's true, good work. You took a calculated risk and it payed off. Well done."

Spoiler

Show

As she speaks, she also speaks into your mind.

If these things are ours, I'd be more than happy to send you to wherever you work on them. If your desire to study that is any indication, we have a few things that should be right up your alley. We'll find some openings for you. Or make some, if need be.

"Gerald, you said he took years of your memory?" she asks, a strange twinkle in her eye. "You only remember the last four months? That is... quite the feat. I didn't even know that power existed, although Sabrina has done similar feats. We'll see if we can't get you a record of your past, alright?"

"Paul, we're glad to see your mood hasn't changed much. And you made a new friend!" she says with a smile. "If your allies thoughts are anything to go off of, you and your Pokemon proved pivotal in the fights. Well done."

"Artemis, thank you for your assistance. And you say it was a legendary? You and your allies are now part of a lucky few who have actually encountered a legend and lived to tell the tale. Well done."

"Romeo, your tale is perhaps the most outlandish. If what you say is true, you truly are blessed. Cressalia has never been famous for taking an active role in human affairs, although when she does it is always for a good reason."

"Anyways, we had not expected anybody to return so soon. We need to get some things together; it is customary to present a new Team Rocket member with a powerful Pokemon of ours to aid them on their journey. Give us a few days to get some things together. Congratulations are in order though. Here," she says, handing you all hotel keys. "Rooms in a hotel right down the road. 17th floor is reserved completely for Rockets. Good job. You made it."

[Eshkigal]

"Thank you, Miss. It'll probably do me good to say goodbye to a past of depression. From what I do remember, the past sucked anyway, so I look forward to a chance to write something new. Maybe I'll give some of your psychics a chance to write new ones, to see if it can help the vegetative ones."
In his head, he's rejoicing. No threats to Sparky this time! And a steady job! This was the best first day of a new life yet! He takes a key, and waits for the others to head out first, before a thought filters into his head.
"Actually, before we go...Can we find out your name finally? I've been wanting to ask for a week now, but never knew how to put it."
He leaves after any answer on that.

[Esprit15]

Artemis takes her key. "Thank you, madame and thank you in advance for the ally Pokémon." Her mind was racing. We're in! After all of that, we made it! And a place to stay! My own room in somewhere nicer than a crappy motel! Artemis resists the urge to hug the woman. Would be unprofessional. Still, her excitement is hard to hide. "Approximately how long until we might be called on again? Want to remain available if needed."

So guys, what are you all thinking of doing with the rest of the evening? I could go for either a quick battle or a drink. Oh, Taylor, how about a rematch?

[MesiDoomstalker]

Perfect. Thank you Ma'am, for your time, praise and the job. That would be lovely, I do appreciate it. Despite his cool demeanor, he is a ball of joy and excitement inside. He quickly sombers when an image of Audwulf boils to the surface, though he shows no outward change.

[Eshkigal]

After a shower and food? I was thinking of checking out what we stole in a controlled environment, maybe get to know the members of my team again. And a little talk with Romeo.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Actually, I'd like to take care of Mjolnir. He got a bit dirty and I'd like to treat him for doing good work. Ma'am, are there facilities here I could wash him, or do you know of a good Late Night carwash?

[Esprit15]

It's not hard to see what Gerald was planning. I'm fine really. He meant well.

[Eshkigal]

Gerald deflates a bit inside, but is still collected outside.
I call tauros**** on that, but fine. Can I at least ask him about what the hell his problem's been? He's been acting hostile.

[Esprit15]

Talk? Sure, chat his ear off. Muk, this better not gonna start another rift in the team. Her and Paul being at odds was bad enough. Gerald and Romeo too would be... Relax, it'll be fine. Be happy! Things went well! ...Yeah, a drink would be good.

[hustlertwo]

I'm good with whatever, yo. But I guess we did get that nice free heal from the rather disturbing incident I'd rather not talk about. Might as well use it to beat on someone else's poor, unsuspecting mons.

[IrnBruAddict]

Romeo exited the room as soon as possible, and dialled up his Lavander home, trying to reach his mother or sister.

[Eshkigal]

Gerald walks back to the ship, before considering something.
"Hey, Arte. Got any pokemon you'd be willing to trade away? I'd be willing to give you my claim to the first eevee to hatch."

[Esprit15]

"Hm...a couple. A Murkrow, for an Eevee I'd part with the Growlithe..." A few other mons are named.

[Eshkigal]

"Your growlithe would be perfect for what I'm thinking. I need to swing by a center near fighting side to drop a promise off, but maybe there's a PC nearer than that? Promise I'll tell Romeo later."

[Esprit15]

"I'll grab you his ball whenever I stop by the Center. After the battle with Taylor, if she's up for it. Oh, or Romeo and I could have a double battle with her and Jessica. Kind of like when we first met. Hey, that sound good to you guys?" Wow that was a long time ago. Had it really only been... ten days? Feels like months.

[hustlertwo]

I wouldn't mind the Murkrow if it's on the table, Tartemis. I'm heading home to settle these guys into their new home, y'all give me a buzz if there's fighting to be done or you can think of any other fun activities, preferably involving violence.

[Esprit15]

Try to sound positive, not hostile. Bury the hatchet. It was practically ages ago. "Depends what you're offering."

[hustlertwo]

Why, only a genuine, 100% authentic, totally awesome Wingull! The power of flight coupled with the power of making things somewhat damp! Act now and you might get a Rattata thrown in!

Paul chuckles, and then shrugs.

Yeah, honestly, don't think I have much for you. But I guess as long as I know the bird is on the block I can hunt for something that'll catch your eye.