"That's enough for today" The voice said, as pokemon ranging from Nidorina, to Nidorino; Bellsprouts, to Machop; and even Cubones, to Snubbull, stood before it. They wandered out of the room and down the hallway to the other bunker-like facility three blocks away, connected by the underground passage in that wing. The voice watched them go, and turned to head out another door once the sound of their chatter faded into the tunnel. Pausing, it examined the room, taking note to have the shattered wood panels replaced. Turning off the light with practiced aim, he closed the door and left.
Walking down the hallway, he checked the clock. Three after six. He smiled to himself. The sun was going down, and the summer heat would make for a warm night. How he enjoyed the summer, with the semi-humid air, and the warm rays of the sun upon his skin, able to go as he pleased without worrying of chilly bursts of nightly wind, comparable only to the air conditioning upon entering a building. He imagined the sky as it was predicted that night; clear skies with a full moon above. The blue-black sky, specked with the faint stars hanging before him, twinkling their ancient twinkle, and the wall of clouds drifting towards them from the south. What a sight it was for the young teacher to behold each night.
"Now that is a rare smile, Kaden." The voice snapped him back to reality, his smile fading to an unamused frown. At the stairs stood a larger Pokémon, brown and gray, with a yellow stomach exposed to him. His sharp eyes caught her every detail; the tough hide, the softer belly pouch, empty from lack of children, and the kind and knowledgeable stare of its owner.
"Hello, Tara" Kaden said, his voice churning out his greeting. He looked at her, waiting for the reason behind this interruption.
The large, rock-like hided Pokémon understood the look, and continued. "How were the little ones today? I take it they weren't too hard on you?" Kaden shook his head. "Well, dear, we can talk about it on the way to the compound." Kaden let Tara pass him, heading through the door, before following her into the evening heat.
They began down the road in silence, as the motherly Kangaskhan waited for an answer. Kaden sighed impatiently, knowing that Tara would find a way to get an answer out of him somehow. She was intolerable this way.
"Well," he began, watching as a couple trainers on bikes rode past, heading down the road. "Seriph, the Nidorino, continues to have his dominance problems, and doesn't seem to understand the concept of thinking before charging. Ended up with his face in the wall four times today. I was forced to end his suffering for the opportunity of another stepping up to compare with me. Torra, the Swellow, ended up going after the roots of one of the bellsprouts. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was retarded. It's been happening all week with increasing hostility. Now, the prized 'student' of the class, Marik…" He looked up at the street lamps as they flickered on, bathing the two in its orange glow as they walked beneath it, "You remember Marik? Well, he challenged me again… Got trampled. I grow weary of his presence. If he weren't the best in the class, he'd be in-"
"Now, now, Kaden, Marik has good intentions, I'm sure of it." Kaden cast a frustrated glare towards his college, "My guess is that he wants to prove himself, not only to you, but to the bosses. He may want to follow in your footsteps by proving he can go toe-to-toe with you. That's all. And honestly, I can't blame him. You do make a great model as far as reaching one's prime in combat." Tara nudged his shoulder with her elbow.
Kaden growled slightly. "He's going to end up dead if he tries too hard. He's not like me, trained from birth, to fight, to wound and kill; tactics, angles, calculations… what it takes to be a weapon, a killing machine." His scowl intensified.
"And that's a good thing? Being a weapon of the bosses, a tool to be used to imperialize yourself upon others? Now, I'm not complaining about the bosses, really, but life isn't all about combat. You should know that." Tara cast a concerned glance towards her friend. As they walked into the sunlight, she admired the orange-yellow glow waging war with her friend's green skin.
They continued in peace, reaching a flat stretch of road at the bottom of the hill. Kaden seemed at relative peace now, she noted, looking around them, towards the majestic oak trees lining the road, and the sound of nature beyond the sandy-bricked walls to their left. Birds chirped, and the nightly bugs buzzed through the air, picked off by the waking zubats. Kaden and Tara stopped, placing themselves near a bench. Two trainers sat upon it with their Pokémon; a flareon, sceptile, pidgeotto, and a pachirisu surrounding them loyally. Both trainers talked among themselves while casting the two arrivals odd glances.
Kaden watched as one of the trainers, a boy by the looks of it, stood up with a Pokéball in his hand, only to be stopped by the other human, female by her voice. Tara was watching too, and cast them a warning glare, while Kaden did the same towards the trainer Pokémon. Pokéball in hand, the teenage boy was forced down, back to his place on the bench.
"So, how was your day, Tara?" Kaden looked across the city, as it spanned below, from the bottom of the cliff, shadows spread over its essence from the setting sun. She sighed, as she slumped her large form against one of the towering oaks.
"You know how it is with my classes, teaching the dropouts from your class and a few others, how to act properly to the humans' laws, and how to work, clean, and care, for their masters… the usual. It's the lost sense of achievement in their tasks that gets to me. Some of them have heard wondrous things about humanity, about their grand cities, and find themselves lost in the world of metal, noise, and chaos. I mean, they have tried to aspire to higher things, and only to discover that fate, and humanity, are cruel."
Pressure upon her stomach alerted her of Kaden's adjustments to his own position, as he lay his head back, against the side of her stomach. Eyes closed, he grunted his acknowledgment. Tara smiled, thinking to herself, how easily she could see past Kaden's charades of a hard, cold exterior, and into his soft, caring core. On the outside, he was the world's deadliest creation, built for combat; the defensive color of green, hiding him from prying eyes, the light but strong body of his carapace, his skin, his armor, and the ever-precise and sharp blades of his arms. He was the perfect weapon of nature. He was a…
"- Scyther!" Tara looked up, seeing a small group of kids, some of them trainers, pointing towards the pair of rare Pokémon. They muttered to themselves, eager and fascinated. Kaden had an eye open, watching their movements, untrusting. And, sure enough, one of the children pulled out a Pokéball. With his steel-blue cap on backwards, he pointed to the scyther as he talked excitedly to the others. Both Kaden and Tara heard the words "catch" and "battle", and knew what was about to happen.
Kaden watched, staring down his young opponent, wings twitching as he set himself into his battle-stance. He had plenty of experience in decapitating, and this kid would be no problem for him; his sharp, finely tuned blades, pulsing with the vigor of battle. The child flung the red and white ball forwards, releasing his own Pokémon in a flash of shining light.
As the other children pulled back, retreating to the fence at the edge of the cliff, the two bench-side trainers' attention had been caught. As a well-groomed Ratticate appeared, Kaden waited, studying his opponent to the fine details of its fur. The young trainer barked an order, and the massive rodent lunged forwards, its fangs pulsing with energy.
Kaden expertly dodged, letting the Ratticate skip by him, narrowly reaching his face. Again, it lunged, and again, Kaden dodged by a hair. Shifting out of the way, Kaden continued to watch the trainer, listening to the words of encouragement, of orders, barked to the rodent.
Suddenly, a honk blurted into the heads of everyone around, as a car approached the battle scene, heading down the last bend of the hill as it approached the flat strip along the cliff. Kaden pulled himself out of the way, as the rat did the same. The car passed innocently, moving along, as if middle-of-the street battles were common in the city, which they were with increasing frequency in the last year.
Now, the two foes stood on opposite sides of the single-lane road, staring each other down. Neither moved, until finally, Kaden decided it was his turn. "Enough study, rat!" He growled, as he lunged with blinding speed. If the boy had thought that the scyther had been fast in dodging the many Hyper Fangs, a true sample of his speed revealed itself, as he swatted the rat away with the back of his blades.
As the giant rodent tumbled along the edge of the road, the inexperienced child shouted, pulling out a second Pokéball and flinging it at the scyther landing on the other side of the road. Barely had the ball of enslavement gotten within range, before it was swatted away by the war-trained scyther. Now, the ball plummeted down the cliff in two halves, with the children gasping in awe of the scyther's incredible speed and precision.
With a sound between a hiss and a growl, the scyther turned away, leaving the battle behind him. The children, now gathering around the battered rat, watched as the scyther and Kangaskhan headed down the street.
"You know, you could have refused." Tara spoke, informing him of a possible decision that had already occurred to him. He remained silent, knowing full well that his friend knew his nature all too well. With no response, Tara let it be, and continued their walk down the road and into the city in silence.
Entering the visual border between the city and the tamed wilds surrounding it, Tara and Kaden headed down the sidewalk. People around them looked in their direction, but mostly ignored them. Traffic was loud, and the lights from various signs made it harder for Kaden to see, as the final rays of the sun disappeared behind the distant mountains to the west. The night was coming alive, and summer was excellent for tourists and visiting trainers. As Kaden walked, ever-cautious, ever-alert, suspicious of the people around him, Tara remained calm, happy, smiling to those passing them. They navigated their way through the city, passing shop after shop. Trainer salons, food markets, and newspaper stands were massed in the city, lining the streets, as well as the occasional fancy restaurant.
Eventually, they made it to a large, yellow-brown building, embroidered with wooden designs, and a garden up front. The scattered-stone pathway led up to the door, the bit of gravel spread between the flat stones. Tara walked up first, and carefully turned the knob, as not to break it. As Tara walked in, Kaden followed, welcoming the cooler air of the Dojo's main facility.
The front desk was empty; no doubt closing time had passed hours ago. Tara stomped her way down the hall as she headed towards the back. Closing the door, Kaden followed. Through the dark they walked, Kaden guiding his thick-hided friend through the shrouded halls and rooms. He was a hunter, a stalker, a killer, and could see perfectly in the shadows. Tara, however, could not, and was effectively blind in the corridors. Two taps of metal-like bone signaled to Tara that they had reached their destination. Tara reached forward, and pushed the heavy 'No Access' door wide open, and moved through. Before them stood a large staircase, heading downwards into the unending darkness. With the door closing behind them, the lights of the ramp were lit, and the noise of the city faded away. Down, down into the deep depths of the tunnel, the line of dotted lights blurred into the faraway shadows. Kaden and Tara began their descent of the ramp, and soon were walking down the tunnel.
It was wide. Wide enough for four metro trains to comfortably fit side by side, with boarding platforms between them, and tall enough for them to barely enter. Layered in bricks, the corridor traveled underground, beneath the city. Beyond the decorative bricks, rust-brown from their lack of paint, stood several feet of cement, protecting the public from the secret tunnels of a dangerous force beneath them. A quiet hum began, and the crashing sound of large machinery starting up could be heard, echoing through the tunnels like the crack of a whip.
The floor began to move, forcing the pair to shift their poses, accommodating for the increased pace, before continuing their walk. As the floor sped up, the first of several 'stations' appeared. From here, they would turn right, to board another moving runway, and then left, finally taking their exit halfway down the tunnel.
There he lay, a scyther, upon a roof. The warm summer air, humid as ever in the summer nights of Celadon, the gambling city of Kanto, breathed upon his vibrant green skin. His blades lay at his sides, the light of the city dimly reflecting upon their surfaces; his wings encased in their protective shells on his back, his eyes captivated by the stars above, shining desperately through the haze of the city. They seemed to beg for mercy, crying, "don't let us fade…! Don't let us disappear!" as if they would burn out of existence if the city's haze increased.
The face of the moon reflected in his eyes, as he let his mind wander, away from the actions of Team Rocket, away from his students, and away from the world of trainers and competition. But try as he might, it was one of the few battles he could never win. Just as Tara could always drag answers from him, he could not keep his thoughts from anchoring themselves to recent events, events of the past, or of his colleagues and comrades.
Silph Co. Goldenrod Branch
3:40 am
Two years ago
The alarm had been raised. A security guard had activated it a split second before being pulverized; the Tyranitar, with the guard's face on his fist. The rest of the team, composed of a Kadabra, Primeape, Machoke, and a Typhlosion, hurried the Tyranitar along, while the Kadabra carefully kept a set of data chips safe in his grip. The lockdown had gone into effect, and there was no doubt that police and other forms of security were forming outside. A window was needed to allow the Kadabra to teleport them out, but the lockdown had closed all of them, sealing them off behind a thick sheet of metal, something the Tyranitar had attempted to break on a few occasions.
Kaden watched from the tree he was assigned to observe from, as the police vehicles swarmed into the area, adding further forces to the already massive police blockade outside the exits. Arcanine and Growlithe stood scanning the building's windows and doors, ready to attack at any signs of the criminals. Kaden estimated thirty, forty, maybe fifty police personnel covering the exits, with three helicopters dropping S.W.A.T teams on the roof. If his team didn't do something soon, they would surely be captured. The flashing of red and blue lights everywhere illuminated the nearby roads of Goldenrod, and traffic had been diverted to other roads. For some reason, the majority of the police department for the entire city had gathered outside of the Silph expansion in Johto. Something was off, and Kaden could tell. Someone had to have exaggerated the reports, resulting with more security than was expected. A rogue agent? A scared citizen or guard? It was hard to tell. But one thing was sure; Kaden needed to save his team.
A streak of green and silver, of hatred and death, shot from the branch it lay on. The flashing made it hard for anyone to see right, and provided the perfect cover while the young scyther, new to the team, closed the gap between him and his prey. A shriek of nothing close to human, and the green blur exploded upon the blockade, blades slashing, slicing, carving. Cries of terror and pain sounded as police all over turned to see what the commotion was. The sound of a car being punctured, and carved open, gutted, as the ferocious scyther leapt from the hood, and onto another, the gunshots from the police, the howls from the canines; they all blended together in an orchestra of death. Car after car, police and hounds; they all fell before him like leaves in Autumn. And then…
'Shwing!' A clean cut. Another gutted police car. Police from other exits were on their way. A scyther, his own blade trapped in the side of one of the vans, was confronted by a bold officer… the click of a new clip… and the sound of the blade ripping free of its steel trap. Another officer fallen.
More minutes of sirens, gunfire, flames, and cries of horror and pain… a massive warrior, layered in the blood of his enemies, of his prey, crouched upon a totaled van, surveying the battlefield, his battlefield, for survivors. Seeing none, he pulled back, back into the trees, and his shelter from the world's eyes.
Within, the team had reached the base level, and could hear the sirens and radio-chatter of the police outside; the main exit. All the halls had been locked down, leaving the main lobby most vulnerable. With no visual sight, they could not teleport their way out, and had no way to judge the strength of the police forces outside.
Saying their final goodbyes… the Tyranitar blew open the door. Quickly, they charged out, unleashing a flurry of ranged attacks. But there was no resistance. No guns, no yelling, no flames… nothing. And what lay before them, was destruction. Bodies of the dead or injured, those lucky enough to have not been noticed by their attacker, vehicles and debris everywhere. Cars and vans, ripped open like soda cans, doors on the sidewalk, or barely on their hinges, or themselves gutted, torn and twisted from some demonic tool. Fire, the smell of burning rubber, and that of gasoline filled the air, as plumes of smoke rose above them, blanketing the sky and the moon.
Making their way through the warzone, the team looked upon the dying faces of Arcanine, of growlithes, and officers, yet no bodies of their attackers. And, as silent and sudden as the very ghosts the dead, stood a figure. A shadowy form, still as stone, shrouded by the burning clouds of smoke and chemicals was before them. Finally, the city wind changed direction, and cleared their view of the grey and black haze.
A scyther, ferocious in every way, stared them down, a blood-thirsty look within his eyes. A gaze of a monster, a weapon of death, bored through them, chilling their blood in that October night. Blood caked nearly every part of the once-green figure, dripping from blades of death. It was the reaper… nature's reaper of the dead. A reaper who instilled fear in many and all who saw his monstrous gaze, his wasteland of death. The reaper demanded respect in battle, in his unholy form, and respect he would have.
The door creaked open, breaking Kaden's remembrance of times long past. "Kaden? You up here?" Sarah, a female Typlosion, emerged through the doorway, poking her blue and yellow head out into the warm night. Spotting the scyther, she brought her sturdy frame into full view, closing the door behind her, and joining the warrior in his star-gazing. "May I join you?"
Kaden glanced, but did not say anything. Side by side, they lay upon the cement roof of the Team Rocket headquarters, not speaking a word, as they waged a staring contest with the heavens themselves. A gentle gust of wind forced Kaden's hand, causing him to blink; another victory for the stars.
"So… what are you thinking about?" Sarah asked, shifting to look at him. He sighed quietly. He had come here for peace, and now had the company of the one Rocket Pokémon who took upon herself, the role of a psychiatrist for her own amusement.
"My past and my thoughts are none of your concern, Sarah. If you want stories of my past, it would be best to check the mission reports."
"Yes, well, they don't know how to tell a story properly." Sarah huffed, "So why don't you tell me what you are thinking about? Waiting won't get you anywhere, and we have all night to wait."
Kaden paused, looking at her, studying her expression, looking for a weakness. So long had his training consumed his life, that he formulated various ways of decapitation, from the passing trainer, to the ice-cream man, to the elderly lady crossing the street, and, much to his horror, his team mates. So well trained was he, the weapon, the reaper of souls that it crept into every situation in his life. His training was a parasite. It had woven its way into him, merging with him, and he had accepted it, welcomed it, but now, without the position of a field agent, he had no release; no way of using it but to analyze the fifty ways he knew to harm or kill someone with his blades.
But still, he pressed on, pushing it from his thoughts. "I'm just remembering the mission in Goldenrod, with the police department massacre. I can't seem to get it from my head tonight. Lately, it keeps creeping up on me during my moments of peace. Yet I do not know why."
Sarah frowned, "The night you personally wiped out the vast majority of the police force? The same month that the crime rate there tripled? The year that you demanded respect, as you forced your way to head of the pack… that night?" Kaden nodded.
"I don't know why, but I suspect that we missed something. Perhaps it's a vital detail missing from the reports. Perhaps it's a key piece of data that could have led to the complete success of the Saffron raid. …Perhaps it's my conscious catching up to me… But I doubt that. I am a weapon of Team Rocket. It's what I do. I am their blade. What good is a sword if it debates its purpose?" A blade scraped along the floor noisily communicating his frustration to the air.
A paw landed atop the bladed arm, stopping it in place. Kaden looked at it, and then back to its source. Sarah's ears hung back, and her eyes showed sorrow for the abused bug. The gentle wind poked at her fur, managing to add to the image.
Pity… it was something Kaden detested. He was a scyther! And no scyther should show weakness. To show weakness was to embolden others, turning the tide of battle against the warrior-race. As he got up, his blade was caught by Sarah. Forced back down to the ground, Kaden was enveloped in a furry hug from Sarah.
Pity… concern… friendship… this hug represented it all, and the scyther could do nothing to fight it. So, he lay there, limp in the strong embrace of the fiery Pokémon, unable to break free until she deemed it time. But… deep down, far into the shadowy recesses of his hollow core… he welcomed it.