Chapter Fourteen
Brilliant
His body ached, and his mind was exhausted.
But he couldn't have been happier.
He'd been working 24/7 the past week, exercising, eating, learning, reading, lots to ensure he was ready to go on his trip to Pewter.
A small smile played on his lips as he watched Zo, he had taken to calling Zorua that shortly after seeing her again, lay so contently in Dominos lap.
He swore that the little slate fox loved her.
He had given Zo permission to roam the facility on her own will, and more so than not, she was spent alongside Domino when she was not with him.
From what he knew, she took turns sleeping in either of their rooms. One night it would be his, the next it would be Domino's.
And as far as he knew, Domino was happy with the arrangement.
So that was good for him as well.
Returning to his task at hand, he looked at the constructed building in front of him and looked to his grappling hook.
He, Domino and Zo were in the simulators, a large underground box room that could be modified into any sort of training fields.
And before him, Domino had issued what she called a one to one scale of the Pewter Gym, just without the terrain around it.
Aesthetically it looked like a warehouse with a rock front wall, there were really no security defenses, or area's for him to enter the building…
Domino had said to get creative, and then had handed him the grappling hook.
But there was nowhere for him to… Well except for the sign that read Pewter, but if he did that he'd be seen by each of the Gym Leaders at the part-
He blinked as an idea struck him.
"This is not possible to be broken into without being seen," He said aloud looking back to Domino.
Her eyebrow rose and her hand continued running through Zo's fur, "Is that so?"
He nodded and looked back at the makeshift Gym, "But it is easy to infiltrate, that much is for certain."
She sighed, "Oh please enlighten me with whatever mastermind scheme you have concocted," She said sarcastically, before making a rolling gesture with her free hand, "Show me,"
He grinned at her and she sighed once more, but was inwardly glad.
It seemed that with the drug out of his system, and the entire need or the craves that came with addiction gone. He had begun to show her that far more immature side of himself, whether he knew it or not.
She liked that side of him a lot.
"Yes ma'am!" He gave her a two finger salute before going to stand in front of the two doors at the front of the Gym.
Clearing his throat he called out, "I-…" His eyebrows furrowed momentarily before he looked back to Domino, "Do I have an, an what's it called… Allies?"
She blinked, "No, but if you… If you feel it is necessary, it is not uncommon for us to go under false identities,"
He nodded before looking at the doors in front of him, "Give me a name,"
Where was he going with this? "I… I don't know? Shayne?" It had been her father's name.
"Perfect!" He exclaimed, "I Shayne of Viridian City challenge the Gym Leader of this Gym to a Pokemon battle!"
With the grin present on his face, he looked back to Domino, "What do you think?" His head cocked sideways, she was blinking rapidly, "Domino?"
The idiot was brilliant.
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At first, her entire take on the assignment was for him to get in, and out without being seen or caught in the act.
But at the moment with the amount of progress they were making in his studies. He would have only been able to do that under the cover of the night.
But since the party was mid-day and the Gym Leaders would be leaving their Pokeballs at night in their individual hotel rooms, which left that out the question.
For Ash anyways.
But when he had proposed that he ask to battle the Gym Leader, it forced her to reanalyze the situation.
Ash was a good thief; he was not up to her standards, but good none the less.
He'd surpass her in due time.
But surprisingly enough, he was an average battler.
An average battler who could pass for a Trainer who was just beginning their Journey…
So she had overhauled his lessons for the final week before he was due to make the heist. His tasks were his usual workouts, battling and working on techniques for a few hours straight, followed by disabling alarms and picking locks.
If they managed to cover all of those within the next few days.
He would be ready.
And she believed he'd be able to do it without a hitch.
This is only a small robbery after all.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the cha-chink of the lock coming undone. She stopped the stopwatch and nodded approvingly, "Nine seconds that's good," She said simply, before sliding him an electronic number lock across the table, "How fast do you think you can break this?"
Ash picked up the rectangular block with the buttons and screen on it and made a humming sound, "I…" He let out air through his nose, "You can't pick these can you? Not without triggering the anti-break-in lock,"
She nodded, "Good you remembered," reaching into her top. She pulled out a black translucent card with a gray bar code running down the side, "Should you come across one of these locks in the Gym, you should contact me and I'll hack the firmware with this from your evac okay?"
He nodded as she handed him the card which he promptly slid into his pocket, "Is there anything else?"
She pursed her lips and looked down to her clipboard, there really wasn't. They had covered everything for the day, and all that remained was to go to sleep, but they still had two or so hours.
"You're off the clock," She said offering him a small smile, "I'll clean up here, and you can feel free to do whatever you'd like,"
He nodded, "Alright, but... Could I ask you something?"
"Of course,"
She saw an emotion flicker in his eyes which stared at the table until looking into her own, "Do you think that I'll be able to pull this off?"
"The mission?" He nodded again and she could now see that what she had seen in his eyes was nervousness. Understandable, seeing as how this was his first real assignment since joining them a a month and a half ago.
"I do," She said simply, starting to return the variety of locks on the table into a cardboard box, "Your smart, quick-witted, intuitive," A pause, "You are going to do fine Ash, you are going to rescue those Pokemon without problem, and then you will be back here in no time."
Ash watched as she stood up from the table, cardboard box held against her chest. She went around the table, and when she came about next to him she said, "Do you think your going to be able to do this?"
He did, but what if he didn't? He would be a failure, a flunk, kicked out of Team Rocket without even a how-do-ya-do?
"I do," He replied with an unconvinced face.
After a short silence, and when he heard her reply, his doubt vanished and his frown was replaced with a smile, "Good, because so do I. You're good Ash, believe in yourself like I believe in you, and you will get through this easily alright?"
He stared at his hands, embarrassed to look up and meet the violet eyes of his teacher, "I will, thank you Domino,"
"There's no reason to thank me Ash, you are the one who has been giving it all you've got each day. You should be proud of yourself," And then she started towards the door, "Goodnight, I'll see you bright and early,"
When he heard her footsteps grow dim, he glanced over his shoulder quickly and watched her round a corner and out of sight. He grinned then, standing up from his seat and starting for the door.
He would do this.
Not just for himself.
But also for her.
Fucking, fuck-fucks. I don't like the ending but dammit I needed to get something out so I can give you all an updates on why my updating has been garbage as of late.
Firstly, I have 3 projects for school all due on the exact same day. So I`ve been going Gordy-Go-Hard on those.
Secondly, I`m writing about 6 or 7 different things at the moment. Some Fanfiction, and some Original Work. So my mind is all over the place.
Thirdly, and the one ya`ll will actually care about. I have been revising, editing, doing my damned best to get the next chapters out for AOP+AGP. I mean, I have written 2-3 chapters that take place after the next update for AOP. And I just can`t get the next chap of AGP to my liking.
It doesn't fit in properly to the flow of the story, so I`m saying it now, don`t expect an update anytime soon.
What I`ve got so far is trash.
End of Rant, please drop in a review! What did you like, hate, love, loathe? Anything!
Drop in a review and let me know! I do take all feedback to heart, and use it to improve my writing for the future!
Thanks again and I'll see you all next time!