K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
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I can wait for you to finish then hunt down the comic for a compare contrast after the fact...
Pokémon The Devil You Know
- Thread starter Blackjack Gabbiani
- Start date
Joshthewriter
Charizard Fan
Alright, so I’ll just get this out of the way first. You should not, under any circumstances, be telling readers “go look up these characters if you don’t know them.”
It’s a terrible look. I want you to tell me the story, not be told that I can’t understand it without having read ancillary material (especially the manga considering it’s probably the least known of the canons).
I’ll give you this example: I use tertiary Rocket characters like Vicious and Domino in my fics, but its not necessary for you to have seen them before at all. I tell you what you need to know about them in the story itself.
I love this as an opener. I don’t know the Manga, but this tells me that it’s after their big defeat and that things may have gone differently than the canon I know (which is a huge plus to me lol). I also really like the way it sets our POV character out in front of us right off the bat.
Here’s what I meant. I know you’re probably not trying to bog the fic down, but if this character is important, then their significance should be explained in the fic (even if it’s not explained at this point).
As it is, it does make me want to know more about her and why she left Galactic. Perfect opportunity for you to expand on it at some point for readers who aren’t familiar with her.
I kinda wondered why Charon apparently took over Galactic after Cyrus lost. It never really got explained, and the fact that everyone disliked him made it more confusing.
That being said, Charon just figuring it out and manipulating events in his favour works as a villain trope.
Lol, the matter of fact-ness of this makes me smile. Like, Saturn isn’t wrong that people probably want to kill Cyrus, but he’s probably not wrong that some would want to see him for other reasons.
Ho boy, Charon really doesn’t think much of Cyrus, eh?
Me too, Saturn. Me too. The smug little prick seems to need it.
Well, being entrusted with the safety of a man who you served unquestionably and attempted to kill you all the same (probably some other “bad boss” shit as well) would undeniably be A heavy burden to bear.
Alright, so overall I thought this was an excellent piece. The concept of following a defeated villain after their defeat is great, and other than a quibble about looking up characters, I honestly don’t have an issue with anything here.
This is a great fic idea with great potential for fantastic character work. Hopefully catnip or another event brings me back soon (and hopefully I’m not as depressed next time lol)!
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
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Glad you liked it! The part about looking characters up was really just for this forum since a prior DPA fic had people wondering if Mitsumi (a major character in the manga) was an original character so I wanted to avoid any further confusion. That intro doesn't exist in any other posting.
chapter 8
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
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- Them
- Partners
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And Saturn had his own part to play. If Rowan was at the Canalave Library, it would put Hareta there too, almost certainly. He bet. He hoped. He guessed.
But bets and hopes and guesses were all the intel he could have. Rowan was a well-known figure and was easy to track, at the very least, but everything else was uncertain.
It was the most he had.
"All right!" he told himself with a clap of his hands. As enthusiastic as he could pretend to be, he forced a commanding expression and entered the commons room. "All right!" It was in the same tone he had said it to himself, but none of the assembled grunts knew that.
They turned towards him, quizzically. Some of them saluted, but still seemed confused.
Every eye was on Saturn, every identical eye, identical contact lenses, identical colors matching identical wigs over identical uniforms. A sea of conformity, trained to obey as if they were the drones of a Vespiquen. Idly, Saturn wondered why Cyrus never thought to train one. They had so much in common. "All right!" he repeated, but this time the tone was different, flatter, more blunt. "I have a special mission for whoever among you has a Golbat!"
None of them would have a Crobat, after all.
He was able to assemble a surprisingly populous force, though he suspected it was less due to the availability of Golbat and more to do with a want to get away from Charon for a few hours. The only thing he had planned for them in his current incarnation of what passed as a plan was to act as guards in case anything surprising happened. Oh, and to be enough of a noticeable force to draw attention to Galactic's continued presence in Sinnoh. And to get the attention of everybody in the library. And probably any other number of things that could come up at any given time. But whatever came up, he could handle it, or at least that was what Saturn told himself.
The more he drew attention to Galactic, the sooner the International Police would stop dragging their feet over the bombing incident and finally do something about it. They had waited long enough, and it spoke poorly of however they were run if this was how they handled a terrorist threat. It wasn't as though Galactic was hard to find, but all they had sent was a small detachment led by a fool and a child, to Stark Mountain of all places. An entirely different region, likely with entirely different laws, but it shouldn't take that long. Not nearly this long.
And that Saturn was hoping for the International Police, hoping for anybody, to invade the Galactic base was a twisting knot in his stomach that he had to force himself to ignore. Just so long as what the team had been distorted into no longer existed. It would be better to have no Team Galactic at all than to permit it to continue on as nothing but Charon's bloody plaything.
Maybe, he thought, this was what Cyrus had felt. Better to terminate the world, all creation, than to permit it to exist as a den of strife and suffering. No, one organization couldn't possibly stand on the same level as the concept of existence. But it was, perhaps, the same sort of rationale that had driven Cyrus to such an extreme.
This was an extreme too, wasn't it?
The flurry of the bat swarm battalion--a name being spoken by several of the grunts, in eager tones--clouded the skies for the land below. Saturn could hear people exclaim as they passed over Jubilife City. Good, his plan was working. They could have easily taken a transport and simply crossed the channel to Canalave, but he had explained it to the grunts as sending a message. That Team Galactic still existed and could expend any force they cared to. At least they had believed it.
Maybe it was this easy to lie after all. Somehow it felt good, and that was dangerous.
No, he would have to channel that into something more productive. Something considerably more than anything he had done in his life.
Would people expect him to go even further? Once this was done, if things played out like he wanted, would they want so much more from him than they ever had before? Success could destroy him and yet it was the only possible outcome. Anything else was unthinkable.
The latest intel showed that Rowan was still inside the library, and hacking the security cameras in the rare book section had showed that he was indeed accompanied by not only Hareta and Mitsumi, but a wiry yellow haired kid that had been identified as the Tower Tycoon's son. Chances are he would be a powerful trainer as well, if someone as competitive as Palmer had raised him. He vaguely remembered the boy being on the Spear Pillar with the others, but couldn't think of anything he had accomplished there.
At least the target was still in position, but the thought of encountering Hareta again made Saturn's blood boil. A squeak from his Golbat startled him into realizing that he had tightened his fist, and he relaxed his hand enough to still hold on in flight.
Was that caring, he wondered. Was it compassion or just good sense? After the events of Lake Valor, Cyrus had chided him for treating his Gallade so cruelly, but it wasn't as though Cyrus had encouraged compassion. If you view your pokémon as tools, he had told Saturn, then treat them as such. You do not abuse a hammer, or else it will be unable to serve its purpose. A bent nail cannot hold fast.
It was a striking lesson, and yet utterly devoid of emotion.
He knew Cyrus had emotions, despite claims to the contrary, despite claiming that emotions only caused pain. And yet the man had said before that he did not, that he had banished them as unnecessary. That was impossible, wasn't it? And even if it wasn't, it still didn't apply to Cyrus. He would smile, he would get angry, he would demonstrate emotion in a thousand different ways and still deny they dwelled within him.
He was saving a hypocrite, and a madly dangerous one at that, simply because he was preferable to the alternative.
No, Saturn's thoughts drifted around, that wasn't why. He was saving Cyrus because he was still faultlessly loyal, despite all reason and rationality.
Saturn knew that Cyrus was well aware of this, and moreover so was Charon. The twin spectres of both "Cyrus is lying to you he hasn't changed at all" and "Charon is watching your every move why are you being so overt?" hung over him, no matter how he tried to keep his thoughts on only his mission.
"Did you say something, commander?" a nearby voice called.
"Did I?" He must have voiced his thoughts aloud. The Golbat troops were too far apart for him to have been properly heard, though, and he took comfort from that.
"Saw your mouth moving like you were talking!" The grunt had to project considerably. "Thought I missed something."
Saturn shook his head and turned his gaze to the approaching city. He would have to keep himself from getting so lax. This time he had said it where he couldn't be heard, but he couldn't afford to drop the ball at the last second. His anxiety was wearing on him, and he couldn't give in.
That anxiety, he knew, along with years of strife and subservience, had eroded at him like a stone in a river, life passing him by as he rested in his niche, and now that he was high and dry, it was disgustingly unfamiliar. It may well have been an entirely new world; not the one Cyrus was after, but something foreign to either of them.
If he couldn't feel, none of this would matter. But it wouldn't do anybody any good either, no matter how much Cyrus insisted otherwise. To have no suffering would be meaningless in a world where nobody could enjoy peace. But a world of pure suffering, the world Charon was angling towards, was even worse. It may have purpose, but it was a purpose of greed, turning all against each other for the aggrandizement of a scant few.
A hollow life or a life lived in fear. Saturn couldn't let either of those happen, and holding those tides away beat down on his back as if it was a physical burden.
They had forced him into this position, to play mediator for two lunatics, to pick the lesser of two evils, and it was a damn good thing that Hareta awaited at the end of this because he wasn't about to let his anger and frustration just get bottled up inside. That was Cyrus's domain, and even he had challenged the brat on multiple occasions. Hareta would make the perfect idiot-shaped punching bag.
And Saturn had gotten considerable stronger. His Gallade was sharper than ever, he had added a Magmortar to his roster. They were an unbeatable pair, and it was going to be an utter blessing to finally be able to trounce that brat.
The idea of defeating the very person whose strength he was trying to recruit was, perhaps, a contradictory one, and it played at the back of his mind, but like every other doubt he had, it went ignored. Besides, anyone he found only needed to be strong ENOUGH. They didn't need to be entirely unbeatable, only someone that could cut through Charon's forces and defeat whatever the old man had in store.
Which itself was a complete unknown. Charon apparently had the perfect weapon to combat a specific member of the International Police, but that was about all Saturn knew.
He signaled for his cloud of bats to start their descent, and grinned as he heard the shouts and screams from below. There was, he had to admit, something fun about being able to instill fear simply by existing. Golbat already did so inherently, especially in great numbers, and taking control of that phobia in others gave Saturn quite an inappropriate but heady rush. He let himself smile and was positive beyond all doubt that it was a very wicked one indeed.
A window on the side of the top floor opened, the inhabitants peering out to see what was going on. Several people had gathered, and it confirmed Saturn's intel.
Hareta was indeed there. This would be utterly delicious revenge.
"Are...you all right, commander?"
Saturn was still twitching slightly from the massive electric shock that Hareta's Minun had attacked him with. The weakling-seeming newborn mouse had proven to be a powerhouse, and Saturn didn't know if it was from Hareta's influence or Kaisei's. After all, this had to be the result of the egg that Kaisei had given the boy at the league.
"Commander?"
The concern in the grunt's voice grated on Saturn's nerves. Under most other circumstances, he would be far more receptive, perhaps even grateful. But at the time, he had only to keep focus on keeping his hand tight around Golbat's leg.
The grunt didn't ask again. That was fine. That was more than fine. He had delivered the message he meant to, planted the seed in Hareta's mind. And Hareta was an unpredictable element in everything he did, but he could never resist the promise of an excellent battle.
Something else pulled at his attention, but rather than a grunt crossing a personal line, it was a com line beeping. Saturn stuffed his headset around his ear with his free hand and waited to be addressed.
"My boy!" Charon, his thick voice in a chaotic way, "you'll never guess what's happening!" After a very brief pause, too quick for Saturn to even try, Charon continued. "It's the International Police! They think they can even make a dent in our defenses! We'll need you to shore things up inside just in case. And bring those grunts back with you! You picked a hell of a time to take a battalion, my god." His tone was the very definition of annoyance. "Why, I'd almost think you were working against me."
"I can assure you," Saturn said as dully as he possibly could, ignoring another twitch, "that everything I'm doing is to keep the team safe." It was the truth, and nothing could shake that. It just so happened that he and Charon had different definitions of what that meant.
"Yeah well, hurry back. We need to make an example of these upstarts before they learn too much. Keep them at arm's length." And the call suddenly cut out.
It was uncertain to Saturn if the call's hastened conclusion was due to an emergency situation or if Charon simply didn't have the patience to continue speaking to him. Either way, they had to get back.
To think that the International Police had waited that long. The league bombing, or the attempt at it, had been so long ago that Saturn figured they would have overlooked it, though he couldn't figure out why. Thousands of people and pokémon would have died if Charon's plan had come to fruition, all to serve his own ego and establish himself as a criminal mastermind, and yet in that time there was no rumbling of police involvement. But then, nobody had ever said that the International Police were good at what they did.
In a way it suited Team Galactic. Galactic was shockingly good at what they did if one only considered Cyrus. Even Saturn's success rate was quite low. He had destroyed Lake Valor and captured Azelf, but lost a subsequent battle and was fired on the spot.
His memory of that time was spotty, and thinking of it wound through him like a virulent toxin, stabbing from the inside. He couldn't let go, not of Golbat, not that high up, but he couldn't let go of the memory of his utter humiliation at Lake Valor either.
He had a tendency to hang on. To memories, to pain, to his devotion to a man who had tried to kill everyone, to his bitterness. The sooner he could let go, he knew he would be happier.
The only thing he really *had* to hold onto was Golbat. Everything else was his own choice.
Except...he realized something strange. There was a choice remaining, and it was one granted to him by the invaders. If he could take this brief chance, it could end everything in his favor. And suddenly everything seemed as clear as the view from Coronet's peak.
"All right!" he shouted to the flock of grunts, the sudden sound startling his Golbat. "I've received word that the base in Veilstone is under attack! The moment we arrive, we begin to battle, so everyone is to be prepared!"
The grunts around him murmured in surprise, some expressing gratefulness that they hadn't battled in Canalave, others griping that they hadn't packed their strongest pokémon. Saturn doubted any of them had anything that could be considered truly "strong", but it was relative anyway. Any obstacle they could throw at the International Police would be worthwhile.
If they could divert attention entirely on Charon, Saturn could slip in and free Cyrus without notice. And then Cyrus would have no choice, would he? He had claimed he wanted to give up, and even if the claim had been as false as Cyrus's vows to save the world, the former leader would be in no position to object.
Saturn could force honesty out of the man, but only if he had the backing of the invading officers. It was a window that wouldn't be open forever, and he had to use every available inch of it.
Finally, by sheer chance, dumb luck, and an unanticipated amount of actual planning on Saturn's part, things were falling into place.
The assault on the base was visible from the air the moment the swarm passed into Veilstone, but Saturn was more interested in what he saw closer to the warehouse. "Go on ahead and find out what our leader wants!" he ordered. Whoever the grunts took that to mean was on them.
Landing at the side of the warehouse, he approached the target and waited. B-2 was there, looking as though he had been looking forward to this his entire life. "Sir!"
"Report."
B-2 saluted, the strong gesture seeming to wobble his considerable rear from the shock wave. "Sir I was able to track down Jupiter. Just like you said--my Skuntank-attracting abilities are unparalleled! Found at least five of them before I got her. One was even red!"
Under less hectic, less serious circumstances, Saturn would have had several questions, none of which were comfortable, likely starting with 'at least five? You couldn't tell?' and followed quickly by 'did you capture the shiny?', but there was no time for any of that. "Excellent. Where is she?"
"Awaiting your orders inside, sir. And Mars is here too!" B-2's smile broadened. "Turns out they found each other and were keeping each other safe."
Under less hectic, less serious circumstances, Saturn would have felt relieved, but there was no room, no time to relax. "Excellent. I'll--"
But his instruction was caught short by a sharp string of beeps. Before he could even properly place his headset back on, Charon's voice cut through. "Saturn, where the hell are you? You'd better not be skipping town on me!"
To the side, B-2's eyes widened, his fists clenched and mouth tightened.
Saturn, on the other hand, took it in stride. If Charon didn't know where he was, it meant he wasn't watching any security cameras. And that meant that all Saturn had to do was tell the truth. "Sir, I've sent most of the detachment back to the base. I'm currently leading a faction in from the warehouse."
Charon chuckled, a surprisingly casual sound given the tension of a moment ago. "Clever lad! Didn't think you had it in you. If you're successful in this, you'll be rewarded." A click deadened the line, and the two agents were alone again.
B-2 waited to say anything, making sure his words wouldn't be heard by anybody but Saturn. "...you really just told him what we were doing." His usually hyper voice was slow and breathy.
Saturn sighed deeply before smiling, though the smile faded by the end. "Yeah. But not why. He's got no idea what we're really doing. Or even where we are, or else he wouldn't ask with that fervency."
"That makes sense..." B-2 sighed. It was jarring to see that sort of distress on the normally hyper and chaotic agent. "I just...don't know what else to do. It's stupid to wish Cyrus was here but I still do."
With so much chaos around them, it had been vital for Saturn to keep his cards close to his chest, but with B-2 and the other officers at hand, it was finally time to show what he had. "I think it's time," Saturn's smile returned as he opened the door to the warehouse "that you hear about who's being held in the base."
But bets and hopes and guesses were all the intel he could have. Rowan was a well-known figure and was easy to track, at the very least, but everything else was uncertain.
It was the most he had.
"All right!" he told himself with a clap of his hands. As enthusiastic as he could pretend to be, he forced a commanding expression and entered the commons room. "All right!" It was in the same tone he had said it to himself, but none of the assembled grunts knew that.
They turned towards him, quizzically. Some of them saluted, but still seemed confused.
Every eye was on Saturn, every identical eye, identical contact lenses, identical colors matching identical wigs over identical uniforms. A sea of conformity, trained to obey as if they were the drones of a Vespiquen. Idly, Saturn wondered why Cyrus never thought to train one. They had so much in common. "All right!" he repeated, but this time the tone was different, flatter, more blunt. "I have a special mission for whoever among you has a Golbat!"
None of them would have a Crobat, after all.
He was able to assemble a surprisingly populous force, though he suspected it was less due to the availability of Golbat and more to do with a want to get away from Charon for a few hours. The only thing he had planned for them in his current incarnation of what passed as a plan was to act as guards in case anything surprising happened. Oh, and to be enough of a noticeable force to draw attention to Galactic's continued presence in Sinnoh. And to get the attention of everybody in the library. And probably any other number of things that could come up at any given time. But whatever came up, he could handle it, or at least that was what Saturn told himself.
The more he drew attention to Galactic, the sooner the International Police would stop dragging their feet over the bombing incident and finally do something about it. They had waited long enough, and it spoke poorly of however they were run if this was how they handled a terrorist threat. It wasn't as though Galactic was hard to find, but all they had sent was a small detachment led by a fool and a child, to Stark Mountain of all places. An entirely different region, likely with entirely different laws, but it shouldn't take that long. Not nearly this long.
And that Saturn was hoping for the International Police, hoping for anybody, to invade the Galactic base was a twisting knot in his stomach that he had to force himself to ignore. Just so long as what the team had been distorted into no longer existed. It would be better to have no Team Galactic at all than to permit it to continue on as nothing but Charon's bloody plaything.
Maybe, he thought, this was what Cyrus had felt. Better to terminate the world, all creation, than to permit it to exist as a den of strife and suffering. No, one organization couldn't possibly stand on the same level as the concept of existence. But it was, perhaps, the same sort of rationale that had driven Cyrus to such an extreme.
This was an extreme too, wasn't it?
The flurry of the bat swarm battalion--a name being spoken by several of the grunts, in eager tones--clouded the skies for the land below. Saturn could hear people exclaim as they passed over Jubilife City. Good, his plan was working. They could have easily taken a transport and simply crossed the channel to Canalave, but he had explained it to the grunts as sending a message. That Team Galactic still existed and could expend any force they cared to. At least they had believed it.
Maybe it was this easy to lie after all. Somehow it felt good, and that was dangerous.
No, he would have to channel that into something more productive. Something considerably more than anything he had done in his life.
Would people expect him to go even further? Once this was done, if things played out like he wanted, would they want so much more from him than they ever had before? Success could destroy him and yet it was the only possible outcome. Anything else was unthinkable.
The latest intel showed that Rowan was still inside the library, and hacking the security cameras in the rare book section had showed that he was indeed accompanied by not only Hareta and Mitsumi, but a wiry yellow haired kid that had been identified as the Tower Tycoon's son. Chances are he would be a powerful trainer as well, if someone as competitive as Palmer had raised him. He vaguely remembered the boy being on the Spear Pillar with the others, but couldn't think of anything he had accomplished there.
At least the target was still in position, but the thought of encountering Hareta again made Saturn's blood boil. A squeak from his Golbat startled him into realizing that he had tightened his fist, and he relaxed his hand enough to still hold on in flight.
Was that caring, he wondered. Was it compassion or just good sense? After the events of Lake Valor, Cyrus had chided him for treating his Gallade so cruelly, but it wasn't as though Cyrus had encouraged compassion. If you view your pokémon as tools, he had told Saturn, then treat them as such. You do not abuse a hammer, or else it will be unable to serve its purpose. A bent nail cannot hold fast.
It was a striking lesson, and yet utterly devoid of emotion.
He knew Cyrus had emotions, despite claims to the contrary, despite claiming that emotions only caused pain. And yet the man had said before that he did not, that he had banished them as unnecessary. That was impossible, wasn't it? And even if it wasn't, it still didn't apply to Cyrus. He would smile, he would get angry, he would demonstrate emotion in a thousand different ways and still deny they dwelled within him.
He was saving a hypocrite, and a madly dangerous one at that, simply because he was preferable to the alternative.
No, Saturn's thoughts drifted around, that wasn't why. He was saving Cyrus because he was still faultlessly loyal, despite all reason and rationality.
Saturn knew that Cyrus was well aware of this, and moreover so was Charon. The twin spectres of both "Cyrus is lying to you he hasn't changed at all" and "Charon is watching your every move why are you being so overt?" hung over him, no matter how he tried to keep his thoughts on only his mission.
"Did you say something, commander?" a nearby voice called.
"Did I?" He must have voiced his thoughts aloud. The Golbat troops were too far apart for him to have been properly heard, though, and he took comfort from that.
"Saw your mouth moving like you were talking!" The grunt had to project considerably. "Thought I missed something."
Saturn shook his head and turned his gaze to the approaching city. He would have to keep himself from getting so lax. This time he had said it where he couldn't be heard, but he couldn't afford to drop the ball at the last second. His anxiety was wearing on him, and he couldn't give in.
That anxiety, he knew, along with years of strife and subservience, had eroded at him like a stone in a river, life passing him by as he rested in his niche, and now that he was high and dry, it was disgustingly unfamiliar. It may well have been an entirely new world; not the one Cyrus was after, but something foreign to either of them.
If he couldn't feel, none of this would matter. But it wouldn't do anybody any good either, no matter how much Cyrus insisted otherwise. To have no suffering would be meaningless in a world where nobody could enjoy peace. But a world of pure suffering, the world Charon was angling towards, was even worse. It may have purpose, but it was a purpose of greed, turning all against each other for the aggrandizement of a scant few.
A hollow life or a life lived in fear. Saturn couldn't let either of those happen, and holding those tides away beat down on his back as if it was a physical burden.
They had forced him into this position, to play mediator for two lunatics, to pick the lesser of two evils, and it was a damn good thing that Hareta awaited at the end of this because he wasn't about to let his anger and frustration just get bottled up inside. That was Cyrus's domain, and even he had challenged the brat on multiple occasions. Hareta would make the perfect idiot-shaped punching bag.
And Saturn had gotten considerable stronger. His Gallade was sharper than ever, he had added a Magmortar to his roster. They were an unbeatable pair, and it was going to be an utter blessing to finally be able to trounce that brat.
The idea of defeating the very person whose strength he was trying to recruit was, perhaps, a contradictory one, and it played at the back of his mind, but like every other doubt he had, it went ignored. Besides, anyone he found only needed to be strong ENOUGH. They didn't need to be entirely unbeatable, only someone that could cut through Charon's forces and defeat whatever the old man had in store.
Which itself was a complete unknown. Charon apparently had the perfect weapon to combat a specific member of the International Police, but that was about all Saturn knew.
He signaled for his cloud of bats to start their descent, and grinned as he heard the shouts and screams from below. There was, he had to admit, something fun about being able to instill fear simply by existing. Golbat already did so inherently, especially in great numbers, and taking control of that phobia in others gave Saturn quite an inappropriate but heady rush. He let himself smile and was positive beyond all doubt that it was a very wicked one indeed.
A window on the side of the top floor opened, the inhabitants peering out to see what was going on. Several people had gathered, and it confirmed Saturn's intel.
Hareta was indeed there. This would be utterly delicious revenge.
"Are...you all right, commander?"
Saturn was still twitching slightly from the massive electric shock that Hareta's Minun had attacked him with. The weakling-seeming newborn mouse had proven to be a powerhouse, and Saturn didn't know if it was from Hareta's influence or Kaisei's. After all, this had to be the result of the egg that Kaisei had given the boy at the league.
"Commander?"
The concern in the grunt's voice grated on Saturn's nerves. Under most other circumstances, he would be far more receptive, perhaps even grateful. But at the time, he had only to keep focus on keeping his hand tight around Golbat's leg.
The grunt didn't ask again. That was fine. That was more than fine. He had delivered the message he meant to, planted the seed in Hareta's mind. And Hareta was an unpredictable element in everything he did, but he could never resist the promise of an excellent battle.
Something else pulled at his attention, but rather than a grunt crossing a personal line, it was a com line beeping. Saturn stuffed his headset around his ear with his free hand and waited to be addressed.
"My boy!" Charon, his thick voice in a chaotic way, "you'll never guess what's happening!" After a very brief pause, too quick for Saturn to even try, Charon continued. "It's the International Police! They think they can even make a dent in our defenses! We'll need you to shore things up inside just in case. And bring those grunts back with you! You picked a hell of a time to take a battalion, my god." His tone was the very definition of annoyance. "Why, I'd almost think you were working against me."
"I can assure you," Saturn said as dully as he possibly could, ignoring another twitch, "that everything I'm doing is to keep the team safe." It was the truth, and nothing could shake that. It just so happened that he and Charon had different definitions of what that meant.
"Yeah well, hurry back. We need to make an example of these upstarts before they learn too much. Keep them at arm's length." And the call suddenly cut out.
It was uncertain to Saturn if the call's hastened conclusion was due to an emergency situation or if Charon simply didn't have the patience to continue speaking to him. Either way, they had to get back.
To think that the International Police had waited that long. The league bombing, or the attempt at it, had been so long ago that Saturn figured they would have overlooked it, though he couldn't figure out why. Thousands of people and pokémon would have died if Charon's plan had come to fruition, all to serve his own ego and establish himself as a criminal mastermind, and yet in that time there was no rumbling of police involvement. But then, nobody had ever said that the International Police were good at what they did.
In a way it suited Team Galactic. Galactic was shockingly good at what they did if one only considered Cyrus. Even Saturn's success rate was quite low. He had destroyed Lake Valor and captured Azelf, but lost a subsequent battle and was fired on the spot.
His memory of that time was spotty, and thinking of it wound through him like a virulent toxin, stabbing from the inside. He couldn't let go, not of Golbat, not that high up, but he couldn't let go of the memory of his utter humiliation at Lake Valor either.
He had a tendency to hang on. To memories, to pain, to his devotion to a man who had tried to kill everyone, to his bitterness. The sooner he could let go, he knew he would be happier.
The only thing he really *had* to hold onto was Golbat. Everything else was his own choice.
Except...he realized something strange. There was a choice remaining, and it was one granted to him by the invaders. If he could take this brief chance, it could end everything in his favor. And suddenly everything seemed as clear as the view from Coronet's peak.
"All right!" he shouted to the flock of grunts, the sudden sound startling his Golbat. "I've received word that the base in Veilstone is under attack! The moment we arrive, we begin to battle, so everyone is to be prepared!"
The grunts around him murmured in surprise, some expressing gratefulness that they hadn't battled in Canalave, others griping that they hadn't packed their strongest pokémon. Saturn doubted any of them had anything that could be considered truly "strong", but it was relative anyway. Any obstacle they could throw at the International Police would be worthwhile.
If they could divert attention entirely on Charon, Saturn could slip in and free Cyrus without notice. And then Cyrus would have no choice, would he? He had claimed he wanted to give up, and even if the claim had been as false as Cyrus's vows to save the world, the former leader would be in no position to object.
Saturn could force honesty out of the man, but only if he had the backing of the invading officers. It was a window that wouldn't be open forever, and he had to use every available inch of it.
Finally, by sheer chance, dumb luck, and an unanticipated amount of actual planning on Saturn's part, things were falling into place.
The assault on the base was visible from the air the moment the swarm passed into Veilstone, but Saturn was more interested in what he saw closer to the warehouse. "Go on ahead and find out what our leader wants!" he ordered. Whoever the grunts took that to mean was on them.
Landing at the side of the warehouse, he approached the target and waited. B-2 was there, looking as though he had been looking forward to this his entire life. "Sir!"
"Report."
B-2 saluted, the strong gesture seeming to wobble his considerable rear from the shock wave. "Sir I was able to track down Jupiter. Just like you said--my Skuntank-attracting abilities are unparalleled! Found at least five of them before I got her. One was even red!"
Under less hectic, less serious circumstances, Saturn would have had several questions, none of which were comfortable, likely starting with 'at least five? You couldn't tell?' and followed quickly by 'did you capture the shiny?', but there was no time for any of that. "Excellent. Where is she?"
"Awaiting your orders inside, sir. And Mars is here too!" B-2's smile broadened. "Turns out they found each other and were keeping each other safe."
Under less hectic, less serious circumstances, Saturn would have felt relieved, but there was no room, no time to relax. "Excellent. I'll--"
But his instruction was caught short by a sharp string of beeps. Before he could even properly place his headset back on, Charon's voice cut through. "Saturn, where the hell are you? You'd better not be skipping town on me!"
To the side, B-2's eyes widened, his fists clenched and mouth tightened.
Saturn, on the other hand, took it in stride. If Charon didn't know where he was, it meant he wasn't watching any security cameras. And that meant that all Saturn had to do was tell the truth. "Sir, I've sent most of the detachment back to the base. I'm currently leading a faction in from the warehouse."
Charon chuckled, a surprisingly casual sound given the tension of a moment ago. "Clever lad! Didn't think you had it in you. If you're successful in this, you'll be rewarded." A click deadened the line, and the two agents were alone again.
B-2 waited to say anything, making sure his words wouldn't be heard by anybody but Saturn. "...you really just told him what we were doing." His usually hyper voice was slow and breathy.
Saturn sighed deeply before smiling, though the smile faded by the end. "Yeah. But not why. He's got no idea what we're really doing. Or even where we are, or else he wouldn't ask with that fervency."
"That makes sense..." B-2 sighed. It was jarring to see that sort of distress on the normally hyper and chaotic agent. "I just...don't know what else to do. It's stupid to wish Cyrus was here but I still do."
With so much chaos around them, it had been vital for Saturn to keep his cards close to his chest, but with B-2 and the other officers at hand, it was finally time to show what he had. "I think it's time," Saturn's smile returned as he opened the door to the warehouse "that you hear about who's being held in the base."
K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
-
Love how everything Saturn values is boiled down to "a hope'. Snorts.
In that he's not too dissimular to many of the Manga protagonists who get backed into that same corner.
I imagine all the volenteers were all "get away from Charon, sign me up" and didn't even look at the fine print, with a few more of the desperate doing under-the-table mon trades to have those Golbats on hand...
You know things are bad if the crime lord's second in comand is hoping Interpol will save their bacon. I'm imaging a swarm of grunts doling up Charon in a bow and shoving him to the fore in the case of a takedown, before booking it for themselves.
And seriously what is Interpol doing besides twiddling their fingers?
I love how you can see the desperation squeezing Saturn's composure out in bits and pieces. This is a man falling apart and holding on by his teeth and nails, and it shows. I'm surprised the grunts aren't reacting to that more...
I'd like to host a funeral wake for Saturn's dignity here, beat by a Minum has got to be one of the worst ways to go, especially considering the heavy hitters on his team...
And of course Charon's going to be right on hand to buzz himand irritate him further. Saturn is catching no breaks. While Saturn's having a bit of an "a-ha" moment I'd say the only part of his idea that's grounded in reality is his grasp of his own flaws. AKA his clinginess to things he really should not be holding on to. If Cyrus hasn't spoken after Charon's incarceration/torment Saturn's got a bit of a reality check coming if mere coppers, part of the world order that Cyrus seemed to hate (or view as too flawed to matter) is going to make Cyrus become chatty.
Gotta love the false optimism being flaunted here. ANd though subbdued you gotta love that in this madhouse of a Team he's got a few iotas of atention to be releived that Mars made it. And that his other Executives are guarding each other's backs. I'm sure the attendent feels will come out more front and center when his world's less falling apart.
Though I do have to wonder are they helping in the assault with Interpool or just bailing out their won resources or just caught in the cross fire of a Region's TEam going to hades courtousy of CHaron's mismanagment. All options feel perfectly valid since last I remember Charon was gunning for them for crocked up "disloyalty" charges.
As for telling B-2, winces, I get Saturn's desperate, but I wonder what the reaction of letting Mr. chatterbox/running gag get a hold of that information, and if it trickles down to the lower levels, is going to be.
As always thanks for sharing this tale, I enjoyed the most recent update.
In that he's not too dissimular to many of the Manga protagonists who get backed into that same corner.
I imagine all the volenteers were all "get away from Charon, sign me up" and didn't even look at the fine print, with a few more of the desperate doing under-the-table mon trades to have those Golbats on hand...
You know things are bad if the crime lord's second in comand is hoping Interpol will save their bacon. I'm imaging a swarm of grunts doling up Charon in a bow and shoving him to the fore in the case of a takedown, before booking it for themselves.
And seriously what is Interpol doing besides twiddling their fingers?
I love how you can see the desperation squeezing Saturn's composure out in bits and pieces. This is a man falling apart and holding on by his teeth and nails, and it shows. I'm surprised the grunts aren't reacting to that more...
I'd like to host a funeral wake for Saturn's dignity here, beat by a Minum has got to be one of the worst ways to go, especially considering the heavy hitters on his team...
And of course Charon's going to be right on hand to buzz himand irritate him further. Saturn is catching no breaks. While Saturn's having a bit of an "a-ha" moment I'd say the only part of his idea that's grounded in reality is his grasp of his own flaws. AKA his clinginess to things he really should not be holding on to. If Cyrus hasn't spoken after Charon's incarceration/torment Saturn's got a bit of a reality check coming if mere coppers, part of the world order that Cyrus seemed to hate (or view as too flawed to matter) is going to make Cyrus become chatty.
Gotta love the false optimism being flaunted here. ANd though subbdued you gotta love that in this madhouse of a Team he's got a few iotas of atention to be releived that Mars made it. And that his other Executives are guarding each other's backs. I'm sure the attendent feels will come out more front and center when his world's less falling apart.
Though I do have to wonder are they helping in the assault with Interpool or just bailing out their won resources or just caught in the cross fire of a Region's TEam going to hades courtousy of CHaron's mismanagment. All options feel perfectly valid since last I remember Charon was gunning for them for crocked up "disloyalty" charges.
As for telling B-2, winces, I get Saturn's desperate, but I wonder what the reaction of letting Mr. chatterbox/running gag get a hold of that information, and if it trickles down to the lower levels, is going to be.
As always thanks for sharing this tale, I enjoyed the most recent update.
chapter 9
New
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
- Pronouns
- Them
- Partners
-
That smile had to vanish entirely soon after. Reuniting with the other commanders, seeing them safe for the time being, was encouraging, but it wasn't the end of the road, and it was a dangerous road indeed.
They had to split up again. B-2, the only one of the group able to maneuver the grounds without attracting undue attention, was sent to find Hareta. The promise of seeking out Cyrus would no doubt be irresistible to the battle-happy twerp, and with Kaisei still in the base, Hareta would be even more useful. The fact that B-2 wasn't the dimmest person in the base was also somewhat encouraging, in a darkly comedic way.
And Mitsumi was on her way. Saturn couldn't figure out why, but if they got through this he could ask her. He could be bold, he had learned. He could get to the bottom of things himself.
And if they got through this, he would have allies to aid with enforcing Cyrus's promise. He wouldn't have to stand alone in confronting either Cyrus or Charon.
Mars had smiled at him as they parted, and Jupiter had smirked and told him that they trusted he would succeed. Memories of his shaky legs and wobbly vision when he had gone to have it out Charon after the League incident seemed so long ago, distant and bygone.
In a way, it was a new world after all. Not a wicked one held to Charon's whims that he would betray so long as he came out on top. Not an emotionless one devoid of hate and love alike that Cyrus would have sacrificed everything but himself for. Something entirely removed from that, something that had long since existed for others but had always seemed like a distant star for Saturn.
And now he held that star of confidence and hope in his hand. Just for a moment, he let himself feel the power from it.
But in the midst of a battlefield, even a distant corner of one, it could only be a moment. He had to descend into the fray.
Ensuring that Charon was well occupied was something Saturn had to do himself. He couldn't take any risks.
/"Why, I'd almost think you were working against me."/ Charon's sticky voice resonated in Saturn's head. The man had made his suspicion very clear, and during such a chaotic time, Saturn had to be above reproach.
A sudden sharp pain in his hand suddenly grabbed his attention. He had clenched his fist so hard that his nails had dug into his palm. But that was something he had to overcome, to fight the urge he had to run, or to vomit, or anything else that would take him away from the present danger.
Forcing himself into utter awareness brought a strange sort of serenity, but even that was, paradoxically, a form of detachment. Saturn twisted his face up in a scowl, hoping the displeasure it conveyed would shove his emotions into the present. But it was a mask, not even skin deep.
To check in would be all he needed. That was it. He could leave then, getting the suspicion off his own back. Showing up in the auditorium, putting in an appearance, would make Charon think that he wasn't plotting anything.
"Commander! Do you have a moment?" Some nearby grunts were struggling with a caged pokémon, a Growlithe from what Saturn could tell, and called out to him.
All right, helping out as if nothing was wrong would serve to further his facade. "What do you need?"
"This damn thing won't stay still! We gotta get it to the auditorium and fast." The grunt who seemed to be in charge grabbed the back of the cage, only to be met by a fierce bark. In response, she started to kick at it, but turned to kick the wall instead. "Goddamn stupid dog. Can't even punish it when it's in here."
Saturn's practiced scowl deepened, but he only looked at the containment. It seemed to be outfitted with multiple security measures, including a hefty lock, a tracking chip, and full walls with very few bars that could possibly catch ferocious jaws. It was small enough that the contained Growlithe couldn't use any real attacks, only Leer. Even Roar would be ineffective in there, since the muzzle strapped around its head made it impossible for the Growlithe to fully open its mouth for the necessary effect.
But that didn't stop the imprisoned canine from trying. The determined sounds made its utter hatred very clear, and the frantic wriggling reminded Saturn all too strongly of the abominations he had seen in the lab.
"Wait..." he mused. "This thing is altered, isn't it?"
"Ugh, who cares! Probably!" the grunt in charge exclaimed. "Boss Charon is doing some big confrontation with some international police brat. He had this thing brought in from Hoenn just for the occasion. Too much work if you ask me." She extended an arm and gestured towards the cage with a pointed finger. "I'd just *bang*!, y'know?"
"...I do know." So much violence. All of this would hopefully be over soon enough, and the dullness of the thought was unsettling in a distinctly Cyrus-like way. Somehow, Saturn felt a little more empathy towards his former leader, and he shoved that away from his mind as well. It was an act, he had to keep up the act, he couldn't fall into the act. "Regardless, I'll take this the rest of the way."
The other grunt laughed. "Thanks! You'll be doing us a big favor. God, my arms hurt lugging that thing around."
"Don't say that in front of a commander!" the leader grunt chided. "You'll get dropped down to latrine work."
Saturn shook his head. "It's fine. It's not far. Gallade can do it." He called out the blade pokémon and tapped the cage, prompting a frustrated snarl from inside it. "Hey Gallade, I need you to carry this thing. And you two," he said to the grunts, "go bolster the front lines."
"Yes sir!" they said in unison, saluting just barely out of sync. One of them immediately turned to go, with the other pausing to add "Good luck out there, sir!" before following suit, leaving Saturn and Gallade alone with their target.
He glared down at the ferocious, furious canine, refusing to let his emotions show. How did Cyrus do it all the time? It was a terrible thing to get used to. "Gallade. Hypnosis."
Gallade nodded and focused its glowing gaze on the Growlithe, who wobbled slightly before slumping over. It was too enraged to fully pacify, but it permitted Saturn a closer look.
"So, you belong to that International Police brat..." he mused in a flat tone imitating Cyrus's infamous monotone, but nowhere near as steady. "I imagine this is psychological warfare." He crouched down to peer further in the cage. "I wonder how he tracked you down so quickly. And from Hoenn no less."
The distance would have required very swift action, and the precision of it would mean there could be absolutely no screwups. The tracker was there to ensure that the target was delivered with no diversion. Saturn didn't want to think about what would happen to whoever dragged their feet on taking this to Charon.
But it was there, and so the tracker wasn't needed any more. It was still letting out a signal, and likely the device receiving it was nearby. Saturn was willing to bet that it was somewhere on Charon's person.
A plan began to vaguely swirl together in the back of his mind, but it was nothing that he could grab hold of just yet. He had to verify that most important part first.
"Well," he said, rising to his feet, "pick up the cage and let's go. Can't keep Charon waiting."
"Oh goodie!" Charon was far too enthusiastic at the sight of the caged Growlithe. "Saturn, my boy, I didn't even have to ask. You're so eager to please."
Saturn forced his expression into a dim smile. "Absolutely, sir. You'll always get things done with me around."
"I'll give you this," Charon chuckled as he leaned to investigate the furious beast, "you certainly know how to keep things fresh around here. It's not every day a commander loses to Magikarp." Before Saturn could react, he continued, rising to stretch his back. "But I digress. You're learning to be much more obedient. Soon you'll really be worthy of your rank, and you'll have the world at your feet."
Just how much of that world Charon intended to let anyone else have could likely be measured on the back of a Stunky, and would smell just as heinous. "Yes sir. Um..." It was an artificial insert, as he knew exactly what he wanted to say. "I was thinking. If the invaders make it this far, which I grant you is a big 'if'," He winced and worked it into his presentation, "then they may try to find out where this little guy came from. And I have a feeling you don't want that to happen. So if you have the tracker, I'll go get the data wiped for you."
Charon pondered that for a moment before fumbling in the pocket of his lab coat. "So long as you can do it without getting distracted from the fight. You're...well, you're not the front line, and you're not the last line of defense. Mid line? Whatever." He waved his hand, now holding a small device with a blinking monitor. "Your first duty is to--"
Growlithe barked, as much as it could with the restrictive muzzle, coming out as more of a distorted cacophony from the top of its throat, though the effect was clear. Charon turned to glower at it, and Saturn saw his opening and took it. "Wow!" he exclaimed as he toppled off balance and brought a hand down on Charon's upper back to steady himself. "Wasn't expecting such a noise out of this brat!"
"Expect lesser beings to do anything," Charon chided, brushing Saturn's hand away.
But the tracker was now firmly attached to the underside of the lab coat's collar, and when the elderly commander stood back up, the collar flopped back over, concealing the evidence. "I'm sorry, sir. You were saying?"
Charon harumphed as he turned to face the auditorium. "These foolish beasts have no sense of their place in the world. It's our job to remind them. And that includes little wild upstarts who think they can worm their way into my base. Anyway, your first duty is to go repel any intruders. Pick them off as you see them. Make sure nobody can find Cyrus--some idiot damaged the lock on his door. They didn't seem to get in, though."
Saturn knew better than to reveal that it was likely Kaisei. The man was still roaming the halls somewhere, after all. "When this is over, we'll need to do repairs anyway."
"When this is over, we'll be finding Giratina. That's all there is to it. Then we'll be off to take over the world. You'll have a front-row seat!" He shoved the device into Saturn's hand.
"And Cyrus?"
The old man wobbled his now-free hand in a noncommittal gesture. "Tied up in the trunk, to continue the metaphor. Eh, I might see what Giratina does to him. Haven't quite decided yet. Whatever it is needs to really stand out. Send a message, you know? Or I could just throw him in a pit somewhere. Do you think it would take a lot to install an oubliette in the base?" Seeing Saturn's dour expression, he laughed and patted him sarcastically on the back. "I've got a job to do, and so do you! Go get 'em."
"Yes sir." Saturn saluted with a sharp intake of breath.
Charon returned the salute with a distinctly mocking tone to it before turning on his heel with a sudden burst of speed that Saturn wouldn't have thought possible.
His absence left Saturn alone with his plan. He remained where he was for just long enough to come across as casual, or so he hoped. Maybe it was only his paranoia, overthinking anything that could possibly happen. Maybe he was too casual. Or maybe his nerves were evident to any observer. But no matter. He had some people to meet.
They had to split up again. B-2, the only one of the group able to maneuver the grounds without attracting undue attention, was sent to find Hareta. The promise of seeking out Cyrus would no doubt be irresistible to the battle-happy twerp, and with Kaisei still in the base, Hareta would be even more useful. The fact that B-2 wasn't the dimmest person in the base was also somewhat encouraging, in a darkly comedic way.
And Mitsumi was on her way. Saturn couldn't figure out why, but if they got through this he could ask her. He could be bold, he had learned. He could get to the bottom of things himself.
And if they got through this, he would have allies to aid with enforcing Cyrus's promise. He wouldn't have to stand alone in confronting either Cyrus or Charon.
Mars had smiled at him as they parted, and Jupiter had smirked and told him that they trusted he would succeed. Memories of his shaky legs and wobbly vision when he had gone to have it out Charon after the League incident seemed so long ago, distant and bygone.
In a way, it was a new world after all. Not a wicked one held to Charon's whims that he would betray so long as he came out on top. Not an emotionless one devoid of hate and love alike that Cyrus would have sacrificed everything but himself for. Something entirely removed from that, something that had long since existed for others but had always seemed like a distant star for Saturn.
And now he held that star of confidence and hope in his hand. Just for a moment, he let himself feel the power from it.
But in the midst of a battlefield, even a distant corner of one, it could only be a moment. He had to descend into the fray.
Ensuring that Charon was well occupied was something Saturn had to do himself. He couldn't take any risks.
/"Why, I'd almost think you were working against me."/ Charon's sticky voice resonated in Saturn's head. The man had made his suspicion very clear, and during such a chaotic time, Saturn had to be above reproach.
A sudden sharp pain in his hand suddenly grabbed his attention. He had clenched his fist so hard that his nails had dug into his palm. But that was something he had to overcome, to fight the urge he had to run, or to vomit, or anything else that would take him away from the present danger.
Forcing himself into utter awareness brought a strange sort of serenity, but even that was, paradoxically, a form of detachment. Saturn twisted his face up in a scowl, hoping the displeasure it conveyed would shove his emotions into the present. But it was a mask, not even skin deep.
To check in would be all he needed. That was it. He could leave then, getting the suspicion off his own back. Showing up in the auditorium, putting in an appearance, would make Charon think that he wasn't plotting anything.
"Commander! Do you have a moment?" Some nearby grunts were struggling with a caged pokémon, a Growlithe from what Saturn could tell, and called out to him.
All right, helping out as if nothing was wrong would serve to further his facade. "What do you need?"
"This damn thing won't stay still! We gotta get it to the auditorium and fast." The grunt who seemed to be in charge grabbed the back of the cage, only to be met by a fierce bark. In response, she started to kick at it, but turned to kick the wall instead. "Goddamn stupid dog. Can't even punish it when it's in here."
Saturn's practiced scowl deepened, but he only looked at the containment. It seemed to be outfitted with multiple security measures, including a hefty lock, a tracking chip, and full walls with very few bars that could possibly catch ferocious jaws. It was small enough that the contained Growlithe couldn't use any real attacks, only Leer. Even Roar would be ineffective in there, since the muzzle strapped around its head made it impossible for the Growlithe to fully open its mouth for the necessary effect.
But that didn't stop the imprisoned canine from trying. The determined sounds made its utter hatred very clear, and the frantic wriggling reminded Saturn all too strongly of the abominations he had seen in the lab.
"Wait..." he mused. "This thing is altered, isn't it?"
"Ugh, who cares! Probably!" the grunt in charge exclaimed. "Boss Charon is doing some big confrontation with some international police brat. He had this thing brought in from Hoenn just for the occasion. Too much work if you ask me." She extended an arm and gestured towards the cage with a pointed finger. "I'd just *bang*!, y'know?"
"...I do know." So much violence. All of this would hopefully be over soon enough, and the dullness of the thought was unsettling in a distinctly Cyrus-like way. Somehow, Saturn felt a little more empathy towards his former leader, and he shoved that away from his mind as well. It was an act, he had to keep up the act, he couldn't fall into the act. "Regardless, I'll take this the rest of the way."
The other grunt laughed. "Thanks! You'll be doing us a big favor. God, my arms hurt lugging that thing around."
"Don't say that in front of a commander!" the leader grunt chided. "You'll get dropped down to latrine work."
Saturn shook his head. "It's fine. It's not far. Gallade can do it." He called out the blade pokémon and tapped the cage, prompting a frustrated snarl from inside it. "Hey Gallade, I need you to carry this thing. And you two," he said to the grunts, "go bolster the front lines."
"Yes sir!" they said in unison, saluting just barely out of sync. One of them immediately turned to go, with the other pausing to add "Good luck out there, sir!" before following suit, leaving Saturn and Gallade alone with their target.
He glared down at the ferocious, furious canine, refusing to let his emotions show. How did Cyrus do it all the time? It was a terrible thing to get used to. "Gallade. Hypnosis."
Gallade nodded and focused its glowing gaze on the Growlithe, who wobbled slightly before slumping over. It was too enraged to fully pacify, but it permitted Saturn a closer look.
"So, you belong to that International Police brat..." he mused in a flat tone imitating Cyrus's infamous monotone, but nowhere near as steady. "I imagine this is psychological warfare." He crouched down to peer further in the cage. "I wonder how he tracked you down so quickly. And from Hoenn no less."
The distance would have required very swift action, and the precision of it would mean there could be absolutely no screwups. The tracker was there to ensure that the target was delivered with no diversion. Saturn didn't want to think about what would happen to whoever dragged their feet on taking this to Charon.
But it was there, and so the tracker wasn't needed any more. It was still letting out a signal, and likely the device receiving it was nearby. Saturn was willing to bet that it was somewhere on Charon's person.
A plan began to vaguely swirl together in the back of his mind, but it was nothing that he could grab hold of just yet. He had to verify that most important part first.
"Well," he said, rising to his feet, "pick up the cage and let's go. Can't keep Charon waiting."
"Oh goodie!" Charon was far too enthusiastic at the sight of the caged Growlithe. "Saturn, my boy, I didn't even have to ask. You're so eager to please."
Saturn forced his expression into a dim smile. "Absolutely, sir. You'll always get things done with me around."
"I'll give you this," Charon chuckled as he leaned to investigate the furious beast, "you certainly know how to keep things fresh around here. It's not every day a commander loses to Magikarp." Before Saturn could react, he continued, rising to stretch his back. "But I digress. You're learning to be much more obedient. Soon you'll really be worthy of your rank, and you'll have the world at your feet."
Just how much of that world Charon intended to let anyone else have could likely be measured on the back of a Stunky, and would smell just as heinous. "Yes sir. Um..." It was an artificial insert, as he knew exactly what he wanted to say. "I was thinking. If the invaders make it this far, which I grant you is a big 'if'," He winced and worked it into his presentation, "then they may try to find out where this little guy came from. And I have a feeling you don't want that to happen. So if you have the tracker, I'll go get the data wiped for you."
Charon pondered that for a moment before fumbling in the pocket of his lab coat. "So long as you can do it without getting distracted from the fight. You're...well, you're not the front line, and you're not the last line of defense. Mid line? Whatever." He waved his hand, now holding a small device with a blinking monitor. "Your first duty is to--"
Growlithe barked, as much as it could with the restrictive muzzle, coming out as more of a distorted cacophony from the top of its throat, though the effect was clear. Charon turned to glower at it, and Saturn saw his opening and took it. "Wow!" he exclaimed as he toppled off balance and brought a hand down on Charon's upper back to steady himself. "Wasn't expecting such a noise out of this brat!"
"Expect lesser beings to do anything," Charon chided, brushing Saturn's hand away.
But the tracker was now firmly attached to the underside of the lab coat's collar, and when the elderly commander stood back up, the collar flopped back over, concealing the evidence. "I'm sorry, sir. You were saying?"
Charon harumphed as he turned to face the auditorium. "These foolish beasts have no sense of their place in the world. It's our job to remind them. And that includes little wild upstarts who think they can worm their way into my base. Anyway, your first duty is to go repel any intruders. Pick them off as you see them. Make sure nobody can find Cyrus--some idiot damaged the lock on his door. They didn't seem to get in, though."
Saturn knew better than to reveal that it was likely Kaisei. The man was still roaming the halls somewhere, after all. "When this is over, we'll need to do repairs anyway."
"When this is over, we'll be finding Giratina. That's all there is to it. Then we'll be off to take over the world. You'll have a front-row seat!" He shoved the device into Saturn's hand.
"And Cyrus?"
The old man wobbled his now-free hand in a noncommittal gesture. "Tied up in the trunk, to continue the metaphor. Eh, I might see what Giratina does to him. Haven't quite decided yet. Whatever it is needs to really stand out. Send a message, you know? Or I could just throw him in a pit somewhere. Do you think it would take a lot to install an oubliette in the base?" Seeing Saturn's dour expression, he laughed and patted him sarcastically on the back. "I've got a job to do, and so do you! Go get 'em."
"Yes sir." Saturn saluted with a sharp intake of breath.
Charon returned the salute with a distinctly mocking tone to it before turning on his heel with a sudden burst of speed that Saturn wouldn't have thought possible.
His absence left Saturn alone with his plan. He remained where he was for just long enough to come across as casual, or so he hoped. Maybe it was only his paranoia, overthinking anything that could possibly happen. Maybe he was too casual. Or maybe his nerves were evident to any observer. But no matter. He had some people to meet.
chapter 10
New
Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
- Pronouns
- Them
- Partners
-
It was over.
Word had come through that Charon had been arrested. And with the deal Cyrus had signed with the International Police, it marked the complete termination of Team Galactic.
The emblem on his uniform no longer had any meaning, Saturn thought as he traced it with a finger, feeling the threads in lieu of feeling much else. There wasn't much to feel, not the slight chill in the night air, not the merry cries of Mars and B-2 as they ran their excess energy off in the field where only a short time ago they had fought Giratina, not the sense of the weight off his chest that he couldn't quite get used to.
Hareta had run off somewhere, and Mitsumi had followed, and the whole field had gotten a lot quieter.
Jupiter had been spending the most time with Cyrus, making sure he was all right, straightening his clothes, tending to the faint bruises on his wrists, but she had since gotten worn out by the impact of the day and fallen asleep. Saturn noticed she was out of general view, hidden away behind a bush. She would be overjoyed to be able to sleep in a bed again, after her flight from Charon's forces, though that joy would likely be tempered by lingering paranoia.
This left Cyrus alone, and he sat on a fallen log that looked to have been purposefully placed some time ago. His hands were folded on his lap in a manner that had been denied to him when he was bound, and he stared off at nothing in particular.
Saturn approached, but waited until Cyrus looked at him to proceed further. It took over a minute. He wondered if it had taken that long for Cyrus to break from his reverie. "Can I sit with you?"
Cyrus remained silent, but gestured to the space beside him.
The log was splintery and partially rotten but Saturn's uniform was thick enough that it didn't matter. At least it was still good for something, he thought.
They sat there together with nothing spoken. Saturn wondered if Cyrus felt as hollowed out as he did, but could never possibly ask such a thing.
Somewhere in the field, B-2 attempted a cartwheel, only to fall over onto his considerable hindquarters, so Mars picked up his legs and they ran around as a wheelbarrow. As silly as they looked, the carefree nature of it was enviable, and Saturn wondered when the last time was that he had felt anything even close to that joy. All he could think of was some sort of crazed zeal, found in the depths of his all-consuming devotion to Cyrus's carefully cultivated vision.
Eventually, however, Cyrus spoke. "I wanted to thank you. Your devotion and loyalty saved us all, and put a stop to Charon's reign."
Saturn shook his head, still looking away from him. "Don't mistake wanting him gone for any sort of loyalty to you."
Silence again, before Cyrus chuckled softly. "To your fellow commanders. To your fellow Galactics."
"There's no such thing as a Galactic now, Cyrus." Saturn made a point to address him with no title, by his plain name itself. "All of that is gone now."
"By my word, yes." The sighed confirmation carried with it a deep sense of loss, but Saturn noted the wording still placed Cyrus in a position of lingering power, as if he could simply issue another word and expect everyone to reconvene.
They fell silent again. In the distance, some unknown pokémon called out, and another replied. Saturn wondered what they could be talking about.
Cyrus's posture slumped, and his gaze fell to his hands, still in his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, Saturn could see him start several times to say something, but no words came.
It was strange, the silence between them. Cyrus was so rarely quiet when among others that this was unsettling, disturbing in a way that felt almost blasphemous. A mad god with no further prayers or edicts, stilled and powerless.
But Saturn couldn't underestimate him. After everything that had happened, and everything that Cyrus was getting away with thanks to his plea bargain with the International Police, the man still had every opportunity to return to his old ways. There couldn't be any risks, no surrender of guard, no matter how contrite Cyrus claimed to be.
It was clear that he was regretful, but exactly what part of it he regretted was always going to be relegated to mere speculation. And even if he was genuine at the time, the idea that he could relapse and try to assert control again would always be present.
Amidst the cheer and comfort felt by the other commanders, Saturn couldn't help but fear for what lay ahead.
For that time, however, he could sit in silence with a broken man and wait for whatever the world would bring.
Word had come through that Charon had been arrested. And with the deal Cyrus had signed with the International Police, it marked the complete termination of Team Galactic.
The emblem on his uniform no longer had any meaning, Saturn thought as he traced it with a finger, feeling the threads in lieu of feeling much else. There wasn't much to feel, not the slight chill in the night air, not the merry cries of Mars and B-2 as they ran their excess energy off in the field where only a short time ago they had fought Giratina, not the sense of the weight off his chest that he couldn't quite get used to.
Hareta had run off somewhere, and Mitsumi had followed, and the whole field had gotten a lot quieter.
Jupiter had been spending the most time with Cyrus, making sure he was all right, straightening his clothes, tending to the faint bruises on his wrists, but she had since gotten worn out by the impact of the day and fallen asleep. Saturn noticed she was out of general view, hidden away behind a bush. She would be overjoyed to be able to sleep in a bed again, after her flight from Charon's forces, though that joy would likely be tempered by lingering paranoia.
This left Cyrus alone, and he sat on a fallen log that looked to have been purposefully placed some time ago. His hands were folded on his lap in a manner that had been denied to him when he was bound, and he stared off at nothing in particular.
Saturn approached, but waited until Cyrus looked at him to proceed further. It took over a minute. He wondered if it had taken that long for Cyrus to break from his reverie. "Can I sit with you?"
Cyrus remained silent, but gestured to the space beside him.
The log was splintery and partially rotten but Saturn's uniform was thick enough that it didn't matter. At least it was still good for something, he thought.
They sat there together with nothing spoken. Saturn wondered if Cyrus felt as hollowed out as he did, but could never possibly ask such a thing.
Somewhere in the field, B-2 attempted a cartwheel, only to fall over onto his considerable hindquarters, so Mars picked up his legs and they ran around as a wheelbarrow. As silly as they looked, the carefree nature of it was enviable, and Saturn wondered when the last time was that he had felt anything even close to that joy. All he could think of was some sort of crazed zeal, found in the depths of his all-consuming devotion to Cyrus's carefully cultivated vision.
Eventually, however, Cyrus spoke. "I wanted to thank you. Your devotion and loyalty saved us all, and put a stop to Charon's reign."
Saturn shook his head, still looking away from him. "Don't mistake wanting him gone for any sort of loyalty to you."
Silence again, before Cyrus chuckled softly. "To your fellow commanders. To your fellow Galactics."
"There's no such thing as a Galactic now, Cyrus." Saturn made a point to address him with no title, by his plain name itself. "All of that is gone now."
"By my word, yes." The sighed confirmation carried with it a deep sense of loss, but Saturn noted the wording still placed Cyrus in a position of lingering power, as if he could simply issue another word and expect everyone to reconvene.
They fell silent again. In the distance, some unknown pokémon called out, and another replied. Saturn wondered what they could be talking about.
Cyrus's posture slumped, and his gaze fell to his hands, still in his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, Saturn could see him start several times to say something, but no words came.
It was strange, the silence between them. Cyrus was so rarely quiet when among others that this was unsettling, disturbing in a way that felt almost blasphemous. A mad god with no further prayers or edicts, stilled and powerless.
But Saturn couldn't underestimate him. After everything that had happened, and everything that Cyrus was getting away with thanks to his plea bargain with the International Police, the man still had every opportunity to return to his old ways. There couldn't be any risks, no surrender of guard, no matter how contrite Cyrus claimed to be.
It was clear that he was regretful, but exactly what part of it he regretted was always going to be relegated to mere speculation. And even if he was genuine at the time, the idea that he could relapse and try to assert control again would always be present.
Amidst the cheer and comfort felt by the other commanders, Saturn couldn't help but fear for what lay ahead.
For that time, however, he could sit in silence with a broken man and wait for whatever the world would bring.
The End
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