Lt. Surge rubbed the back of his head and winced. His head was throbbing painfully, but he didn't know if it was just from hitting his head on the coral, or if Blaine's words to him had anything to do with it too. Lt. Surge knew that he wasn't exactly the most easy going person in the world, and he was hard to get along with. He enjoyed pushing people's buttons, and when they reacted, he reacted in turn.

Lt. Surge got annoyed with people often, especially people who acted like they were better than him, but he didn't usually let somebody else's words get under his skin so easily. One doesn't become a Lieutenant in the military if they get their feelings hurt because somebody doesn't like them. Lt. Surge was used to ignoring and ridiculing harsh criticism, but there was just something about Blaine that made it hard to do so.

Blaine didn't agree with Lt. Surge's training style or advice, and he wasn't the first. Lt. Surge wasn't going to go out of his way to get Blaine's approval. He just didn't care enough to even put in the effort. But as much as Lt. Surge didn't care about what Blaine thought, his words about how he was a bad influence on Ash, and was somehow training his pokémon 'wrong', really bothered him. Lt. Surge wasn't about to admit it to anybody else, but the scientist's words made his blood boil.

Lt. Surge didn't know why he was getting so worked up. It was frustrating, and this frustration made him feel even more worked up. Lt. Surge was frequently told by Sabrina that he had a lot of aggressive energy, but this was the first time that he could actually feel it himself. He had the powerful urge to just hit something, but he resisted it. He could use that aggression to help accomplish their mission. But first, they had to come up with a game plan.

Lt. Surge walked along the shore and grabbed the tent bags that his Magneton had dropped off. He slung all of the bags over his shoulder and headed further up the beach where they could set up camp. He had planned on setting things up in the forest, but he had seen Blaine storm off in that direction, and he wasn't all that eager to chance running into him. They would be fine on the unsturdy beach, at least for a few days.

"You look ready to kill those tents." Koga commented casually. Lt. Surge turned to see his ninja friend sitting on a nearby rock. He somehow hadn't noticed him before. Koga got to his feet and approached Lt. Surge. The ex-soldier was so surprised to see Koga moving around like normal that when the ninja grabbed for one of the tent bags, he wasn't able to move to stop him.

Lt. Surge raised an eyebrow at Koga as he accidentally upset his ribs and flinched in reaction. Koga didn't seem eager to let go of the bag, so Lt. Surge humored him. "Well, I'm definitely ready to kill something."

"Or someone," Koga looked at him knowingly. "I saw your little disagreement with Blaine."

"That wasn't a disagreement," Lt. Surge growled irritably. "The self righteous jerk just lectured me about how much better he is than me." Blaine didn't actually do that, but it sure felt like he had, and Lt. Surge needed to rant.

Koga smirked. "If you're looking for a way to get back at him, we still have a job to do."

Lt. Surge chuckled. "Hey, I've already started. I just learned that Blaine keeps most of those notebooks on the ship, and has his Ninetales guard them. And if someone tries this hard to keep something secret, then it's gotta be something worth learning about."

"Not necessarily," Koga reminded him. "But in this case, I think that you may be right."

"Course I'm right," Lt. Surge knelt down at the sand and felt the texture of it. When he was sure that it was fairly solid, he dropped the tent bags on the ground. This spot was as good as any. "But forget about the stuff on the ship. You're the master of secrets here. If you've got things to hide from those around you, what would you do with the most important secret?"

Koga frowned throughtfully and looked towards the forest that Blaine had walked off into. "I would keep it by my side at all times."

"That notebook of his," Lt. Surge smirked darkly. "He's always writing in that thing. If we're going to learn anything, it'll be from there, we've just got to find a way to get our hands on it."

"Leave that to me," Koga gently set down the tent he had picked up. "Finding secrets is a big part of being a ninja,"

Lt. Surge eyed Koga dubiously. "Do you really think you're up to sneaking around?"

Koga glared coldly at Lt. Surge. "I'm more than capable of swiping a simple book. I'm not inept, Surge."

"I never said you were," Lt. Surge stood up and put his hand on Koga's chest. He pushed slightly on it. Just that little bit of pressure made Koga flinch and draw in on himself slightly. "What I'm saying is your ribs are broken, and you shouldn't push yourself. You're hurt, so just let yourself be hurt. Let me or Sabrina grab the notebook."

Koga scowled and in one swift movement he moved his hand forward and struck Lt. Surge sharply in the jaw with his palm. Lt. Surge grunted in pain as his head was knocked back. He staggered back and tripped over the tent back. He would have hit the ground, as well as his head again, but something stopped him mid-fall.

"Enough," Sabrina said fiercely. Lt. Surge breathed a sigh of relief as the Abra in her arms used its psychic powers to gently set him down on the ground. "What are you two doing? This isn't the time for us to begin fighting with each other."

Koga huffed and turned sharply. For a proud ninja, he was far too good at storming off dramatically like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Lt. Surge scowled and rubbed at his jaw, which was really starting to hurt.

"Stubborn idiot," Lt. Surge grumbled. Somehow, Koga's hit to his jaw was making his head hurt even more. He felt like his brain had been rattled up, and it made him feel slightly nauseous. He didn't plan on getting to his feet anytime soon.

Sabrina sighed and knelt next to him. "Matis, you are the single most stubborn and idiotic man I've ever met. You're really not one to talk." She pulled his hand away from his jaw, just so she could have a feel at it herself. "You must stop hovering over Koga,"

"Hey, I'm not hovering," Lt. Surge objected. "And if I am, you were doing the same thing an hour ago."

"Yes, because Koga couldn't breath this morning," Sabrina looked him in the eyes. "He has pain reliever, he's not hurting anymore, let him at least attempt to regain some of the pride he feels he's lost."

Lt. Surge rolled his eyes and winced when it made his head throb even more. "I really don't understand what he thinks is so dishonorable about getting hurt by a freaking Nidoking."

"Well, I don't understand why your pride got bruised because a man you don't like is behaving like he doesn't like you." Sabrina said in a completely even tone, but when Lt. Surge looked at her she had a small teasing smile on her face.

Lt. Surge snorted and shoved Sabrina slightly. Her sense of humor didn't show through very often, so it was always hard for Lt. Surge to stay mad at her whenever she did. "You think you're so smart, don't you?"

"I do," Sabrina got to her feet. She brushed off her pants and held a hand out to him. "I'm going to take a walk along the shore. You're free to join me, if you want." Lt. Surge knew that Sabrina had more than a little stroll in mind. This was her excuse to find a quiet place to scheme in peace. Lt. Surge usually loved brainstorming with Sabrina, but he wasn't really in the mood for it at the moment. And his head was protesting against the very thought of standing up and moving around.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to hang around here for a bit." Lt. Surge adjusted the tent bags and leaned back against them. "Have fun, though. And make Giovanni proud."

Sabrina smirked. "I always do," She held her Abra close to her chest as she turned and walked away.

Lt. Surge sighed and closed his eyes. He was sore all over, and just ready for a break. He didn't want to deal with his judgemental traveling companion, and he really didn't want to deal with his friend's frustratingly annoying stubbornness and pride. He just wanted to take a nap.

"Lt. Surge!" He groaned and opened his eyes to see Ash's Charizard landing on the ground. Ash jumped off his pokémon's back and excitedly ran to Lt. Surge. "Did you see how great Charizard did? He was so awesome up there."

"Lt. Surge grinned. "I told you you'd love it, didn't I?"

Ash nodded and smiled broadly at his Charizard, who looked just as happy. "Yeah, you did." Ash turned back to Lt. Surge and looked in slight confusion at the tent backs. "What are those?"

"Stuff for camp," Lt. Surge said. "We've gotta sleep somewhere, don't we?"

"Oh, yeah," Ash laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "I forgot about that." Lt. Surge didn't blame him. It had been a pretty eventful day.

"How 'bout you help me set things up?" Lt. Surge turned to one of the bags and opened it. Ash bent down and grabbed the tent inside the bag. He tried to pull the whole thing out in one pull, but he ended up tripping over his own feet and crashing into the sand as he did so. Well, at least he got the tent out.

"I've got it!" Ash scrambled to get himself out from under the tent, but he ended up getting himself tangled up even more. Lt. Surge chuckled and got to his feet so he could help the kid out.

"Stop squirming, kid," Lt. Surge said. Ash stilled for a moment so Lt. Surge could free him. Once he was untangled, Ash laughed sheepishly.

"Thanks," Ash looked at the tent in Lt. Surge's arms. "Uh, is that a tent?"

"You bet it is." Lt. Surge tossed it on the ground. "What, you never been camping before?" Ash shook his head. Lt. Surge smirked. "Kid, get ready to be frustrated."

Ash blinked in confusion, but he didn't go running off. He was way too willing to be helpful, even if it involved doing something that he probably wouldn't like. Lt. Surge honestly felt sorry for the naive kid, but not sorry enough to not accept Ash's help to set up the tents.

Lt. Surge was extremely experienced with setting up tents, especially these tents, as they were his. However, he didn't have a lot of experience teaching a kid how to do it. Lt. Surge may be a leader, but he had never been a very good teacher. He could easily set these tents up by himself, but he thought it might be fun to teach Ash as he went.

It definitely wasn't fun. Every time Lt. Surge gave Ash a simple task to do, the kid struggled with it for a few minutes before Lt. Surge had to step in and help before Ash broke the poles. And then Lt. Surge would struggle with this same task to undo whatever mess Ash had somehow been able to screw up. It was frustrating, tedious, and took an impossible amount of time to set up just one tent.

"That...that was ridiculous," Lt. Surge said as they finally pound in the last tent peg. But at least they had finished...with the first of three tents. "This is going to take forever."

"It might be easier if you chose more stable ground." Blaine said as he stepped out of the forest and approached them. Lt. Surge scowled. Did the scientist have a life goal to force himself into any interaction between Lt. Surge and Ash, just so he could tell him what he was doing wrong, which, apparently, was everything.

"If you're so smart, why don't you do it yourself?" Lt. Surge challenged. Blaine raised an eyebrow at him.

"Very well, I will," Blaine put down his back and his notebook, and suddenly Lt. Surge's irritation disappeared. If Blaine was going to leave his notebook out in the open just so he could prove a point, then Lt. Surge was all for the scientist criticizing his every movement. Blaine's sense of superiority might just give Lt. Surge the chance that he needed to find out what he was up to.

Blaine, to his credit, didn't just take down Lt. Surge's previously set up tent, he just got to work on a new one. Lt. Surge crossed his arms and took a step back, partly to get out of Blaine's way, but mostly to bring himself closer to the abandoned notebook. He knew that it would be a mistake to make his move now. If he left Blaine alone for a bit, he would let his guard down, and Lt. Surge would have an easier time getting the book.

Five minutes later Lt. Surge was beginning to think that Blaine was significantly distracted. He was just about to move when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Lt. Surge turned slightly and glanced towards the movement. The second he saw Koga he quickly turned his attention back to Blaine. If he looked at Koga, it would just draw attention to him. Lt. Surge thought that Koga was being hasty and wasn't ready for this kind of subterfuge when their target was just a few feet away, but that didn't mean he was going to give away his position.

Lt. Surge kept his eyes on Blaine, but his ears were focused only on Koga. The ninja's steps were practically silent, but Lt. Surge had learned how to hear the practically silent. With every step that Koga took, Lt. Surge mirrored his moves. He did his best to keep himself positioned between Blaine and Koga. He also slowly backed up closer to where Koga was, just in case his friend needed backup.

Lt. Surge could hear when Koga had reached the notebook. The steps stopped, but he could hear Koga's breathing, and it sounded somewhat strained. Lt. Surge that Koga was pushing himself. Slow walking wasn't exactly strenuous, but Lt. Surge knew Koga. He didn't have to see his friend to know that he was far too tense. Koga's muscles were locking together, and when he bent down to pick up the notebook, it was causing too much stress to his chest. He needed to relax, or he would choke.

'Come on, ninja boy,' Lt. Surge thought silently as he tensed and got ready to move. A moment later, almost as though Koga had heard his unspoken words, Lt. Surge couldn't hear the sound of his breathing anymore, which made him even more tense. He knew Koga's pain hadn't gone away, he was just trying to hide it. Koga was holding his breath to keep himself from making any noise. This was a normal strategy of his, but these weren't normal circumstances, and Lt. Surge really doubted Koga's capabilities. Sooner rather than later he would crack, and it wouldn't be good for their work.

After a few tense moments the pain became too much and Koga let out a low grunt. The very instant that he did, Lt. Surge moved. He snatched the notebook from Koga's hands and flipped it open to a random page, and not a moment too soon. Blaine, at the sound of Koga's grunt, turned towards them to see what was going on, just like Lt. Surge had worried he would. At least this way he knew that he would be the one with his hand caught in the cookie jar, not Koga. And Lt. Surge knew that if he could play his cards right, he could cause Blaine to believe that his motivations were more mischievous than malicious.

"Well, what've we got here?" Lt. Surge said teasingly. He held the notebook up with one hand and used the other one to hold back Blaine, who had stormed up to him. "A nerd notebook?"

"That is not yours," Blaine said hotly as he glared at Lt. Surge. "I demand you give it back to me, right now."

"Come on, I'm not hurting anything," Lt. Surge said as he turned through the pages of the notebook. "I'll give it back, I just wanted to see what you were...up...to…" Lt. Surge trailed off when he noticed what was actually written in the notebook.

'Mewtwo'.

The cloned pokémon, the dangerous one that had escaped, Blaine's notebook was full of nothing but information about that monster, Mewtwo. It made sense that Blaine would write about him, as he was the lead scientist behind his creation, but what Lt. Surge didn't understand was the other things in this notebook.

'Mewtwo is nearby'. 'I can feel his anger'. 'It won't be long now'.

It sounded like Blaine was tracking Mewtwo. Lt. Surge didn't understand how he was doing it, or why, but that wasn't the part that really caught his attention.

'Ash is the key to calming Mewtwo'. 'This work may not be possible without him'. 'The boy is too trusting'.

"...What is this?" Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes at the book, and then turned his glare to Blaine, who looked equally unimpressed.

"That is none of your business," Blaine said harshly as he put a hand in his pocket, possibly to reach for his pokéballs. Lt. Surge was far too infuriated to be intimidated.

"Well, I'm making it my business." Lt. Surge turned the page of Blaine's notebook. He clenched tightly at a couple of the pages. "You're using a child to help you tame your killer clone, and you think you have the right to lecture me about being a bad influence on the kid?"

"Mewtwo is not a killer." Blaine snapped. "Now, I'm warning you-"

"Not a killer?" Lt. Surge tightened his grip on the pages, ripping them out slightly, which just irritated Blaine even more. "Tell that to all those people at the labs it destroyed on Cinnabar Island."

"Surge," Koga warned softly, but he was ignored.

"Do not talk about Mewtwo like you know him." Blaine reached for his notebook again, but Lt. Surge held it over his head. It was one of the advantages to being so much taller than everybody else in Kanto.

"I know enough about it," Lt. Surge said. "I know the freak clone of yours is the most powerful weapon in the world, and you're manipulating a child to get it."

"Th-that's not what's happening." Ash protested desperately. He ran to stand between Lt. Surge and Blaine to try to stop things from escalating. "Please, I volunteered. It was my idea to help Mewtwo."

"That doesn't make what Blaine's doing any less manipulative." Lt. Surge said coldly. Blaine was doing the exact same thing as Giovanni had done. Ash had been interested in finding a legendary pokémon he thought he had seen, and Giovanni had taken advantage of that. He had used Ash's desire to serve his own personal needs. Now, Ash, for whatever reason, wanted to help Mewtwo, and Blaine was more than willing to let him, just because the kid's help would be useful. How was this any different?

"Why do you care so much about finding your precious creation?" Lt. Surge asked Blaine, though he didn't know why he even bothered. There would be very few excuses that Blaine could give that he would accept. Lt. Surge's boss may want to use Mewtwo as a weapon, but at least he was open about it. Blaine didn't get to act so high and mighty when he was no better.

"Mewtwo is far more than just a clone or a weapon," Blaine said slowly. "He's a living being," Blaine pulled a pokéball out of his pocket and let out his Magmar. "But I don't expect you to understand that."

"Let me guess why," Lt. Surge scowled. "Because I'm too stupid?" Blaine wouldn't be the first person to make the assumption.

"Because you're a soldier," Blaine gestured with his hand, and in an instant Magmar released its flamethrower attack. Lt. Surge didn't have time to move out of the way before the fire hit his arm, right near his elbow. Lt. Surge grunted in pain and dropped the book, just like Blaine intended. What Blaine hadn't intended, and didn't notice, was that Lt. Surge had kept his grip on those couple of pages. They were ripped right out of the notebook and were clenched in his hand.

Not that the pages were what Lt. Surge really cared about at the moment.

He bit his lip so hard that it nearly started to bleed as he drew his arms close to his chest. Lt. Surge didn't like to show weakness, but he couldn't help but draw slightly in on himself in pain. His arms burned.

"Wh-Blaine!" Ash turned and glared angrily at the scientist. "What was that for?"

I-I didn't mean to cause pain," Blaine said quietly, though there wasn't really much true remorse in his tone. Lt. Surge was actually relieved that Blaine didn't sound sorry, because what was the point of doing something if you were just going to regret it seconds later? Do good, do bad, Lt. Surge honestly didn't care, but whatever you did, stick to it. "However, I desperately needed my research back."

There are better ways of-of doing that." Lt. Surge said through clenched teeth, which just caused more pain to his jaw. He knew he should stop, but he was unable to. Despite the pain, he forced himself to stand up straight. The middle of his arms were in that uncomfortable middle phase between burning pain and numb nothingness. "What does me being a soldier have to do with-with...with not understanding something?"

Blaine sighed in irritation. "I don't mean that all soldiers are like you, but many that I've met are."

"Like what?" Lt. Surge growled.

Lt. Surge could tell that Blaine was glaring at him from behind the sunglasses. "As a soldier, you've gotten into the habit of mentally separating your 'enemies' from other people. You've been dehumanizing those you consider your enemies, and you don't think much better of those that you regularly associate with."

"Well, you just know everything there is to know about me, don't you?" Lt. Surge crossed his arms, partly to make himself seem more aggressive, and partly in an attempt to soothe his burns. "And why am I the monster here? You're humanizing something that you're trying to control."

"Guys, don't do this," Ash put a hand on Lt. Surge's own, while his other hand settled on Blaine's arm. "Please, don't fight."

"It's not a bad thing to have sympathy for another living creature," Blaine said in a low, quiet, voice. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

Lt. Surge tensed and felt his breath get caught in his chest. He clenched his fists and tried to get himself to calm down. It didn't work very well.

"Matis," Koga put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't listen to him,"

"...I gotta take a walk," Lt. Surge moved the hand that had the papers from Blaine's notebook on top of Koga's. He moved as though he was going to pull Koga's hand off his shoulder, but that was just for show. When Koga felt the papers on the back of his hand, he subtly moved his hand until his palm was facing Lt. Surge's. Without giving Ash and Blaine a reason to believe that they had something to hide, the information switched hands.

Once Koga had a grip on the papers, Lt. Surge walked past him and stormed into the forest. He didn't make it very far before he felt a tugging on the back of his shirt.

"Lt. Surge, wait, please." He stopped at the pleading tone in Ash's voice. "Where are you going?"

"...Leave me alone, kid," Lt. Surge said tiredly. "I need some space."

"I don't think he meant anything." Ash said desperately. Lt. Surge slowly turned and looked at the kid, who looked upset, but also extremely determined. Ash wasn't just going to let him walk away from this, not if he could do anything to stop it. "He's just protective."

"Doesn't matter," Lt. Surge slowly brought a hand to the feathery pendent around his neck.

"No, I guess it doesn't," Ash bit his lip and kicked his toes into the dirt. "You still got your feelings hurt."

Lt. Surge grimaced. He wanted to deny Ash's claim, but his chest was hurting just as much as his head, his jaw, and now his arms, and he couldn't even try to claim that it was for any other reason than Blaine's words getting under his skin. "I'm fine, Ash."

"No, you're not." Ash protested firmly. He was such a stubborn kid.

"Yes, I am," Lt. Surge insisted. "And if I'm not, then I will be in a few hours."

"Do you really have to be alone?" Ash pleaded. "Why can't you just stay at camp? I'll make sure Blaine doesn't try to talk to you anymore."

Lt. Surge chuckled lightly and tilted Ash's hat down to cover his eyes. "Thanks for the offer kid, but I need some time to myself." He needed to be able to recharge without having to worry about being interrupted.

"...Fine," Ash pouted. "But if you're not back by tomorrow, I'm coming after you."

"I'm counting on it." Lt. Surge smirked slightly. He put his hands on Ash's shoulders and gave him a light push back towards the beach. "I'll try not to keep you waiting."

"You'd better not," Ash tried to glare at Lt. Surge, but his gaze quickly softened. "Good luck," Ash looked like he desperately wanted to stay, but he turned and walked away anyways. Ash was respecting Lt. Surge's decision, and he was grateful for that.

Lt. Surge watched Ash walk away. As soon as the kid was out of sight, Lt. Surge's smirk quickly slipped off his face. His proud stance faltered, as there was nobody around to keep up appearances for. Lt. Surge didn't like to show how unnerved he was, even if there was nobody else around to see it. He was just too exhausted to keep up the facade, especially since Blaine's words from before wouldn't stop playing on repeat through his head.

'You've been dehumanizing those you consider your enemies'

That all-mighty jerk had no right to say anything about him like he knew him. No right at all. Even if Blaine was right, he didn't understand anything.

Lt. Surge growled and punched a nearby tree. It stung, did nothing to make him feel better, and probably did more damage to his hand than to the tree. Lt. Surge shook out his hand and then drew it back into a fist so he could hit at the tree again, even harder than he did before. Lt. Surge shouted furiously and continued to punch at the tree with both fists, all while pretending that it was Blaine's face he was punching, not some wood.

And if he hurt his hands in the process, then so be it. Blaine wasn't the only one he was mad at.

Blaine didn't understand. So what if Lt. Surge dissociated any potential connection he might have to his enemies? He didn't have a choice. Blaine was right, Lt. Surge was a soldier, always had been, always would be. He lived his life like he was constantly at war, because that was what his job required. Lt. Surge knew he wasn't a good person, he never pretended to be. He humiliated, used, and hurt people and pokémon alike on a daily basis, and wasn't even phased by it.

Not because he didn't have sympathy for others, but because he didn't allow himself to feel it. His work in Team Rocket had involved stealing pokémon from innocent trainers, forcing them to evolve, harming them to make them stronger. That was his job, and it had been even worse back when he had been in the military. He had seen horrors, and he had caused more than his fair share of them.

After several minutes Lt. Surge struck the tree one more time, and kept his fist up against the now shredded wood. Lt. Surge closed his eyes tightly and breathed deeply as he leaned his head against the trunk.

This...this was why he had taught himself to not think too deeply about the personal feelings of those whose lives he affected. It was just too much for him. He couldn't handle it. Blaine's accusation that he dehumanized others, it wasn't inaccurate, and that was why it hurt so much. Lt. Surge was well aware of what he was doing, and he didn't need to be called out about it. But Blaine didn't understand that Lt. Surge did this for a reason, because it was the only way he could continue to function without breaking down all the time.

He didn't have a choice.


A/N: That ending...to be perfectly honest, I don't even know where it came from. For most of this chapter, I'm just writing about everybody fighting with each other, and then my brain decides that we need to dive in to Lt. Surge's psyche. It's kinda weird.

Also, I hope that my plan to make you feel sympathy for the characters who are actively lying to and manipulating their traveling companions is working, because I'm trying my darnedest.

Also, also, I thought you guys might appreciate the title that I might have given this chapter if I were titling the chapters of this story. It would be something along the lines of "Three Grown Men Act Like Violent Children Who Take Their Frustrations Out on Others". I mean, that's basically what the chapter's about anyways.