End of a Reality

by Blue9Tiger and DarkMutatedBrock

*~*~*

Note: There are two "Suzy/Suzies" in Pokémon. One is Brock's little sister. The other is the Pokémon Breeder that gave Brock Vulpix. Now, to clear up any kind of confusion that might come from this common name, Brock's sister will be referred to as "Suzy" and Brock's FORMER love interest will be referred to as "Suzie". See the difference? Thank you.

*~*~*

The Professor's been acting kind of strange lately.... I mean, I sketch stuff, and I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but don't you think that someone as intelligent and kind as Professor Oak wouldn't normally lock himself in his office and tell me to attend to the Pokémon? I mean, maybe I could understand if he was doing taxes, but he isn't. He's just writing all these letters to all these different scientists..... I don't get it.

Anyway, on a lighter note, the migraine's been okay this morning. Those pills that Professor Oak gave me really did work!!! I just wonder how it started in the first place.... the Professor says there's nothing wrong with me.... Maybe I just draw too much, and I stress my eyes or something. Yeah, that's 'gotta be it.

Anyway, he's in his lab, working something or other.... I think I'll surprise him and tidy up the papers he's been organizing.... Yeah! That'd make him happy.

--Excerpt from blank-paper notebook, found in the guest bedroom of the home of Professor Samuel Oak. Writing in permanent marker on front reads: "Diary and Sketchbook of Tracey Sketchit". All entries end here. Archived by the Pallet Police Department.

*~*~*

Chapter 4: Outcast

*~*~*

Brock suddenly awoke. He didn't know how or why, when or where, but somehow he was grateful to feel the soft sun on his eyelids, the cool sidewalk at his back, the smell of humans drifting into his---

His eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, the blood-red orbs darting around. He seemed to be in an alley--with a narrow space above that sunlight filtered down through, and dark walls on both sides, darker even than his scales.

Scales..... He blinked down at his arm for a moment, flexing it slightly. He then continued to stare, at the way the muscles moved, the scales glimmered with their own light, the air rustling through them, which carried a scent that he seemed to know so well....

"Pewter..." He whispered as he looked upwards at the hazy sky. It surrounded and lay above Pewter. It was warm. It was welcoming.

But the inhabitants were not. They were aware of an dangerous presence, and didn't hesitate to show just how unwanted the "newcomer" was.

A woman pushing her baby's carriage down the street suddenly grabbed her baby, left the carriage, and fled as quickly as possible. A group of trainers, that were conversing casually about their Pokémon, screamed, carrying them off with them to escape the imminent danger. A Nurse Joy poked her head out of the Pokémon Center to discover the source of the commotion, and fainted then and there, only to be trampled by a herd of stampeding citizens eager to flee. Their disorderly note was discernible and punctuating: "MONSTER!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The "monster" closed his eyes at those sounds, those horrible sounds that sent waves of panic to his mind and weighed his heart down with heavy dread. He only hoped to God that none of his family had been part of the crowd......

He opened the eyes again, staring at the almost-empty streets.

Almost-empty.

"NURSE JOY!!!!" He cried, forgetting everything, it seemed, as he leapt towards her and put one of his loathesome hands underneath her head, and the other on her shoulder, shaking her slightly in an effort to wake her. "Are you okay?" His eyes, although monstrous on their own, were filled with worry and concern.

Ah... some things never changed..... Yet, it would have been better if some things HAD. The sound of that primitive, strange voice and those cold, dry scales under her head roused her, and her eyes snapped open, the gruesome sight of the mutated abomination keeping her eyelids suspended. She put a hand to her gaping mouth in complete shock, that turned into absolute horror.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Her scream was heard throughout Pewter City, and some of the braver residents took their Rock, Ground, and Fighting Pokémon and came out of hiding, coming to the aid of the resident nurse, ready to attack the demon-like creature with their bodyguards, seeing him as nothing but a threat to be stamped out.

They were just preparing to combat the hideous Pokémon when a shrill blast pierced the air twice, and quieted the rowdy mob, that had surrounded Brock. A lean figure garbed in blue advanced, holding her gun in one hand, and a pair of handcuffs in the other.

"What's going on here?!"

"That----FREAK was 'gonna harm Nurse Joy!!" shouted one of the more vocal trainers in the Pewter Gym. A dozen other similar complaints, characterized by the same harsh, brutal words, saturated the air, contaminated with prejudice and hatred that had come from poor judgement and lack of reasoning, before Jenny asked for quiet. She then turned to the horrifying abomination, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm hearing a lot of grievances against you, whatever-you-are. So I'm going say it once and ONLY once. Get out of here....go back to where you came from!..if you think you belong with us decent folk, you're dead wrong. If you come back, I'm going to arrest you."

"Nurse Joy.... the crowds.... I was trying to help her....."

Brock could only stare in horror at the rioting crowds, ready to attack him with all the force they could muster at a moment's notice. He found himself hanging his head in shame, raising his eyes slightly towards Jenny. Somehow..... this one didn't seem attractive at all.

"But.... but Officer Jenny....." He felt smaller than a mouse as he said this. "This.... IS..... where I came from...."

This Jenny was unlike the others: severe in personality, overly-dedicated in upholding the law, but ignoring compassion in the process. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief, glaring at the presently timid, but in her eyes, no less dangerous, creature.

"This is where YOU come from? I highly doubt that. You aren't NORMAL like the rest of us. But I'll take your word for it....." She seemed to have a change of heart, but it was merely a mockery. "...So if this IS where you're from, then go and see your FAMILY and see if THEY think so, too."

"My..... my family? NO!!!!!" Brock suddenly backed away, falling onto the ground. No, no!!! What would they say---DO if they saw me like this.... Timmy... Suzy... Cindy....

"What's the matter? You SCARED that they won't recognize you?"

This Officer Jenny was the farthest away from "nice" that any Kanto law-enforcer could be. She stood over the creature on the ground, placing her hand on her gun in an intimidating fashion.

"Go see them...then get out!"

"I don't need to see them!!! I'm Brock!!! Doesn't anyone remember?!? BROCK---BROCK BRAVESTONE!!!!" He yelled, struggling to his feet. "I know I look...... bad....... but..... I can explain.... somehow....."

There was silence for amoment, and then the mob laughed in one cruel, pitiless guffaw, its dying note echoing in the poor creature's tortured mind. And the voices, that came in quick succession, hit mercilessly, harder than any physical pain Brock had endured thus far.

"Brock? Ya expect us to believe THAT?"

"Go back to the freak show!!"

"Get out!"

"Beat it!"

"Move it!"

"Scram!!!"

"But..... I am......" The world seemed to whirl around him in a thundering storm of ridicule and caustic taunts. The tears fell once more--the unending well of tears, as people--who he had once considered to be familiar--friends, even--were suddenly alienated, transforming into hideous judges of humanity in front of his eyes....The eyes that he still hadn't seen, but that he knew something was wrong with.... horribly wrong.......

"Stop it...." He whispered, closing the lids to those orbs. "Please, stop it..... Just stop it....."

There was one Bug Catcher in the mob that had lost many times to Brock while challenging him, and he stepped forward, folding his arms."I knew Brock! And he was no wimp! If you're Brock, you wouldn't be CRYIN' if ya got called names!"

"You don't know...." The supposed imposter shook his head, attempting to wipe the tears away, but only succeeding in scratching the side of his face with his claws as he did so. "You don't know--agh!-- what I've..... been through....."

The mob began to second the obnoxious boy. At first the din was a dull murmur, but it soon expanded into wild, unrestrained yelling.

"Been through?! Looks like you've been through a vat of acid, freak!"

"You're nothin' BUT a freak!"

"Freak!"

"FREAK!"

"FREAK!!!!"

One of the people in the judgemental crowd picked up a stone. He chucked it with deadly accuracy at the monster's head. The others followed his lead and began hurling stones, the emotionally defeneseless creature shrinking away from the projectiles, still crying, still sobbing. The merciless rock-throwing would have continued had it not been for a timely interruption.

"STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A loud feminine voice was heard above the raucous din of the mob, and a spiky-haired girl walked up to the monster, that was physically untouched by the stones, but his heart wounded gravely. She looked up at him innocently.

"I'M NOT A------" He stopped in mid-yell as the last rock bounced off his thigh, staring down at the small girl in a mix of horror and disbelief. His eyes widened, and his muscles tensed.

He let out a whisper.

".......Suzy.....?"

He then staggered backwards, stumbling to the rock-covered ground, and when he hit the hard, gravelly road, all he could do was put his hands over his ears as he shook, as he sobbed, as he steeled himself for the most agonizing moment of his pain-filled life.

Oh, God... she sees me.... she's going to hate me.... everyone will know.... I AM a freak.... freak FREAK FREAK FREAK----

"Brock?" Suzy broke into his thoughts as she said his name in her maturing voice: some time had passed since they had seen each other.

No answer. Just tears.

However, she didn't have to hear his answer to know that the monster was the brother whom she had depended on for so many things in her early youth. She was the only one there, in that merciless crowd, that was magnanimous---no, a more fitting term would be unconditional love. No matter what he was, how he appeared to be, how completely, horrifyingly, hideous he was, the creature was her brother: family, blood, and kin.

Her squinted eyes were shaking in profound joy, and she kneeled down to hug the demon-like creature, her gentle, innocent smile brightening up her slightly tanned face.

"I missed you."

Brock's blood-red, teary eyes suddenly widened in shock at Suzy's naïvete, as he felt her small arms wrap around his neck in the joy that a girl feels when reuniting with a long-lost brother.

A smile touched his face, and he raised his claws to her hair, rubbing it gently with his knuckles, almost jokingly.

"I missed you too."

Sadly, the moment amongst the clouds of heaven only lasted for a brief while, as it was shattered when Officer Jenny stalked up to the little girl.

"You're HUGGING him? What kind of stupid little kid are you?!"

"Uh..um.....he's my brother, Officer Jenny!" the girl explained with quaking eyes, tears forming as she hugged the creature tighter, who looked up at the Jenny in shock.

"Aw.....how cute...NOT! You show a freak pity, you don't get any pity!"

With that, the cruel policewoman grabbed Suzy by the collar, pulled her away from her brother, held her above the ground, and literally KICKED her out of Pewter City, the poor girl screaming as she disappeared over the horizon.

The sadistic Jenny, who wasn't even WORTHY of the badge, was feeling quite pleased with herself, until suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder--colder than ice and harder than steel as it gripped her.

"You kicked my sister."

"Yeah? So what're you going to do about it, freak? Rip my head off and stick it on an Onix's horn?"

"....You kicked my sister."

"Your sister? A freak's sister! She's just as abnormal and out-of-place as you!"

Before Jenny knew it, she was being whirled around and slammed upon the brick wall of a nearby building with astounding force, as a loud roar punctuated the air and held still as a fist was positioned in front of his face.

"I SWEAR, I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND--"

The mob was gradually closing in in anger at what happened to Jenny, who was unconscious on the ground, bleeding profusely from the flesh that had impacted with the bricks. They had their Pokémon at the ready, and some were about to use their bare fists, so over taken with rage and hatred, that hardly had any grounds. But these were unkind humans, some of the least forgiving and quick to jump to their own fallible conclusions. Their disorganized circle advanced, a large mess of shadows being cast down on the misunderstood Pokémon, but before the blood could fly, a burly man wearing a winter hat came upon the foray, fought his way through, grabbed the creature's arm, and escaped before anyone realized what had taken place. The tanned human did not look at the creature, but kept jogging foward until they reached a small, one-story house, and took him inside, locking the door. He then took off his hat, staring at the monster silently.

"You were pretty lucky I was there to save your bacon."

Brock's eyes narrowed, and he gave out a dangerous growl. "Who are---"

He stared, his jaw dropping, which margled his next word.

"FLINT!!!!!"

It might have been disconcerting to know that he had never referred to the man as being "Dad" during the last five or so years of his life. "My father", maybe, but never "Dad".

"But---how-----why----?!??!" His eyes continued to widen.

"All they want to see is some blood. I didn't want to stand around and see it happen."
That was slightly hypocritical of him, as he was not the type of man who particularly cared a great deal...about anyone.

The jaw regained its normal posture, as the eyes narrowed in a mix of relief and disappointment. "So.... you were just being a good samaritan, then? You didn't recognize me?"

"No, I recognized you."

He sat down on the floor, sewing together a pair of pants, watching the thread and his embittered son at the same time. "Who wouldn't, the way you were yelling like that. Why'd you come back, anyway? I thought you were out to be a breeder."

All he could do was stare, the jaw dropping once more, revealing the fangs and a newly-discovered forked tongue.

"I guess something happened." Flint treated this very indifferently, as if he knew more about it than his son did. He didn't really seem surprised at the inhuman features, and continued to sew. As he raised his head to speak, he pricked his finger on the needle. A faint drop of blood leaked out, that was the normal crimson.

"Where're you going now?"

"Oh, well, we're just going to keep traveling on Route 1, you know, just stopped here after Viridian forest...." Brock sighed out in mock-indifference, until he paused and suddenly whirled upon his estranged father, yelling like a banshee. "'HAPPENED??!?' 'SOMETHING'?!?!? DAMMIT, MAN, DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ANYTHING?!?!?"

"Does it look like I do?" answered the burly man, finishing the pair of pants. He put his thread and needle down, and stood up. "Brock, go home."

There was no doubt as to what he could have meant. As far as Brock was concerned, PEWTER was home. But Flint was saying it was elsewhere. Not there, in Pewter. Far away. He was somehow saying what the mob was saying, and though the message was subtle, it was ringing loud and clear.

Brock stared at his father once more, but now that he was face-to-face with the man who had abandoned his family, he found enough hatred to curl his lip.

"Home? Last time I checked, THIS was my home." He paused, and added on a bitter note, "Dad."

"Not anymore. You want some place to call home, find a circus or a freak show or maybe a dumpster in an alley." He turned around, walking slowly to the kitchen sink, and then faced the creature that was his son again, as if he had forgotten to say one more thing. "You go on back to a LAB. I'm sure they'll welcome you there."

The tone of that indifference rang as clearly as a bell, and then there was silence.

"......So, you'd sacrifice your own SON for the sake of keeping the city QUIET?!?!?" Brock shrieked in disbelief. "Like the way you ABANDONED your... your FAMILY!??! And MOM!??!? And the KIDS?!?!? And... and ME?!??"

"Yeah," he answered with sickening indifference, and seeing that the creature wasn't leaving, he strode over to the old door and opened it, pointing outside. There was no need for words at that point.

Brock's eyes narrowed, and he ignored Flint, shoving past the man and walking towards what had once been his bedroom.

"You can't order me to leave my own house."

He then opened the door to the room, slammed it, and flopped down into the bed.

"Maybe I can't. But you can't stay. The kids..they'll be coming home. What would they SAY? They wouldn't want you around any more than I do."
He stood in front of the door to Brock's room, his low tone coming across muffled, yet clear as an unpolluted river.

"Suzy.... she.... she knew it was me...." His tone was less confident now, as he rolled over, some of the spikes on his shoulders tearing through the sheets, causing him to fall upon the floor. "Uuungh...."

"Just Suzy. Suzy's got a few screws loose in her head from going to school. The others're right in their mind." He heard the thud, and didn't even bother to ask Brock if he was hurt or not. So little love was shown to the poor mutant.

"School?" Everything else froze, as he stared up at the ceiling. "You mean... NO ONE ELSE has been enrolled in SCHOOL?"

He flew to his feet, opening the door once more and yelling into Flint's face, baring his teeth. "What kind of FATHER ARE YOU?!?"

"Just a normal one. Raises kids to be adults, and that's it. No use putting them through school if there's no money. But the bigger ones...they want to earn money. They're out working. In the coal mines. By 6 they're home. They're comin' in soon. "

He stared back silently, firm and immovable under that terrifying countenance. "But Suzy...she wanted to go LEARN something. Wonder if she'll learn anything coming back home."

It was then that Brock realized something, and he said quietly.

"Why.... do you hate me so much?"

"'Cause you're not normal like everyone else. You and Suzy...you're just not normal," he answered as bluntly as possible, staring calmly into the other's inhuman face.

"I see........ Brock suddenly moved backwards, leaning against the wall. "Well, you're going to have to live with it, because I'm not moving---"

"Who dat, Daddy?" A small, infantile voice came from down the hall.

"There's one of 'em, now," Flint said to Brock as he walked across this part of the floor that had not been walked on for a long time towards Cindy, picking her up. "Your brother's back. You got anything to say to him?"

"B-b-b-bwother? " She stared with huge, scared eyes, and clutched at Flint's shirt as tears began to form in them. "Daddy! Stop scawin' me!! Daaadddeee!!!!" She sobbed, choking on tiny little tears as she buried her head in Flint's chest.

Brock felt as if he had been shot, to shocked to do anything but stare at the gun which had fired. He didn't even hear the words that came next.

"Bwock..... Bwock's nicer dan you! And he's nots big and scawy!!!!!"

"See, Brock? Cindy doesn't know you. Nothing good comes from living in a house with people who don't know you."

Brock stared at his little sister.... Who felt more like a daughter, really, and reached out with one of his hands towards her face, desperate for some kind of recognition. He tried to tell her that it was indeed him, that he was her brother that had taken care of her, raised her, almost, who had hugged her and comforted her so much......

But all that managed to come out was this:

"Grrrraaarrrghhh..........!"

And all that Cindy saw were claws of a monstrous hand, grabbing for her tiny little body, trying to steal her life away.....

"STOPPIT!!! DADDY!!!!" She cried, turning her head away as she shut her eyes. "STOPPIT!!!! GETTIT AWAYYYY!!! THE MONSTER'S GUNNA EAT ME, DADDY!!!!! WAAAHHHHH!!!!"

"The monster's not gonna eat you. He's gonna GET OUT right NOW if he knows what's good for him."

Flint picked up Cindy again, glaring with his squinty eyes at the disfigured Pokémon, his glare as stony as his simple name. He now no longer was looking at his son with indifference, but cold, rocky anger, and he made no move to rethink his feelings.

Brock was lost. Lost in his own home, which he had fought and toiled so much to take care of..... He gave Cindy one last look, one last, pained stare, and then turned around, leaning against the wall and slamming a fist upon it as the horrid chokes were heard once more.... But this time, no intelligent speech accompanied them.

Only growls.

He then turned away, not giving a second look backwards as he staggered out the doorway and into the street, past the shops and buildings he knew so well, feeling the gravel he had grown up with underneath his feet, with the cool wind that suddenly felt cold and unwelcoming, and rocks that bounced off his back, thrown by people he had once known.....

He only stopped once, on the outskirts of Pewter, his hands clenched at his sides as his chest heaved.

He didn't turn around as he roared.

*~*~*

The stiff, unpleasant man known as Giovanni Demoni was seated at his desk, with his Persian on a chair adjacent to his him. The classy cat was napping soundly, intermittently growling, as if it was having a nightmare. Its owner looked down at it, concern in his eyes. This was perhaps one of the few things he showed concern FOR.

"Is something the matter, Persian?"

"Mreeeeeeowwwwwwww......" it snarled as it rolled about in its troubled sleep.
Giovanni stroked it on the head before returning to a massive amount of paperwork, writing feverishly on one contract or bill after another. This irritated him, and hoped that this would be the last disturbance in his day. When he was down to the last stack, he returned his pen to the holder, and thoughts floated through his crammed mind about Gemini. He smiled to himself. It would not be long before it would come crawling back, so full of self-hatred, profuse shame, and perhaps utter submission. His smile turned into a grin, and then soft laughter as he went back to writing.

However, he had little time to ponder the consequences of Gemini's unleashing when inexplicably and uneasingly, a voice was heard from the other side of his desk.

"I have another proposal."

Drops of perspiration slunk down his head as he tried to keep himself from shuddering, but his efforts were in vain, and his large hands were shaking.

"What?" he asked, again using only one word as an inquiry. Persian's nightmare seemed to reach its peak, and it toppled off of the chair, landing on its paws on the floor, but its master failed to notice.

Pleased at the reaction she was getting, Professor Ivy gave a slight smile, slinking into the chair across from him and resting her elbows upon his desk. "Hah-haa... again, if you don't wish to go through with it......"

"What?" he repeated, failing to realize that he was using the exact same word as he had done earlier. What he was aware of was that his blood felt ice cold in his veins, at the very sight of that..woman.

Little does he know that he hasn't got a choice.... Ivy's grin only widened, and she leaned her face closer towards him. "Another Pokémon of mass destruction. After many years of searching.... I have finally found it. In fact....." She chuckled, putting a hand to her mouth as she leaned backwards. "It's been right under my nose all along."

There was nothing he had suspected. He only nodded, recieving the information, but not bothering to analyze the whole meaning behind the Professor's words.

"Where is it?"

Persian, who had woken up from its fall, hissed vehemently at Ivy, knowing something was wrong... something was VERY wrong. It was simply too naïve to know what it was.

"Where? Well....." She leaned backwards even further, putting her hands behind her head. "It all depends on how much my finances will increase.........."

The Team Rocket leader frowned at that, and firmly put his foot down. Why was she asking for more? Was the Pokémon worth more than Gemini?

"I am already paying you a hefty amount. What is the potential of this Pokémon?"

Persian continued to snarl, its whiskers raising as its breathing quickened, wanting to pounce.

"Hm," she chuckled, her eyes straying down to the cat. She doubted if it knew how to catch a fly. "For one thing, it believes itself to be entirely independent, while it truly needs the hand of an owner to reach its full potential--and relies on strengths other than its own to gain its food, water....... You could call it a 'parasite', if you preferred.... It's considered by many to be nocturnal, and--" Her eyes moved away from Persian and wandered around the interior of the office. "--it prefers dark spaces to the sunlight at any given time. It is a killer; ruthless and bold, with no regrets."

"That could be useful......no regrets....no conscience...no resistance in its heart to keep it from destruction, unlike Gemini. But......." He frowned, noticing a downside that could be detrimental to the whole undertaking. "You said it believes itself to be wild. It has a mind of its own? What good will that do? I already have Gemini, which has a mind of its own, and it will take some doing to eliminate that. Why should I agree to take on another independent thinker?"

Persian advanced slightly, its ivory-hued tail stiff as it raised, as well as the other tufts of its fur, not liking that look on Ivy's face. And why was she looking around the dark, ill-lighted room? What was she looking at? Or for?

"Really, Giovanni, you must realize that all Pokémon have minds of their own before they are..... tamed," Ivy answered, her eyes narrowing further as they finally rested on the man himself. "And trust my word--it has been created entirely by humans to resist any kind of rebellion. In fact..... it is programmed thus far by my own hands to respond to my every command. I believe....." She flashed her teeth. "It is becoming wary of me."

Why did this situation seem completely wrong? It was as if Ivy was holding all of the Aces and Giovanni was stuck with the insignificant Twos. Yet, why would he be so fearful? The scientist was merely a scientist. Most scientists worked for the benefit of mankind, not AGAINST them. And he was a MAN, wasn't he? Yes. Of course. He ALWAYS HAD BEEN a man, and at the PRESENT TIME, he was a man, and he would ALWAYS be a man.

"In that case, I accept your proposition, and will pay what I need to pay," he said in a rather reluctant monotone.

"Good," she flashed her teeth once more, and pulled a small paper from her upper labcoat pocket, laying it on the desk face down. "Here's the estimated cost......"

Giovanni blanched at the amount of money that the scientist was asking for, but this, he assumed, would be taxing work. Perhaps the Pokémon was another pitful once-human that had been subjected to tests, and it would take ample effort to obtain the man, woman, or child that had been cursed with such a fate. The thought of having yet another mutant Pokémon at his disposal quieted his mind, eased his reluctance, and he showed significantly less fear towards Ivy, as he agreed to the proposal.

"Fine. I will pay it in full."

"Very well then. You have made a wise--no... an instinctive choice, I see." Ivy stood upwards. "I currently have it in my possession.... In fact, like the other, only a select few injections are needed to bring it to its senses...... and complete submission. If you would care so much as to.... watch, meet me at my lab, say..... Oh, tonight? Eleven o'clock?"

She gave that smile again, that evil, twisted smile....

Persian did not like that smile one bit, but had no concept of what was happening, and it could only wonder. Its master nodded, growing confident again. Gemini had so far proven a success, and knowing this caused his fears to subside, since this destructive Pokémon that Ivy had promised him would most definitely be the same.

"Eleven sharp? I will be there."

"Don't worry. I know you will."

Before Giovanni had a chance to respond to the strange comment, a loud, muffled roar was heard behind the office doors, along with the loud WHOMP of something--or someONE being thrown against them

Giovanni grinned in malicious delight, and the broad man walked with unwavering gait to the doors, and opened them, gazing upon the creature outside of the doors. It had finally returned: it was persistent: a weaker creature would have given up futile efforts sooner. The creature itself was full of some kind of rage... some kind of intense agony, as could be told by the unconscious Roman guards that laid behind him.

"HUUUUUUURRRRROOOOAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!!!!!!"

It roared, the sound of the wail of a lost soul, slowly being consumed by the ferocity of a tiger. For the moment, the instincts had taken their hold on Brock's mind once more, it seemed.

"And I see..... it has lost something on its journey." Ivy stayed put, instead watching in supreme glee from her vanatage point.

The agony was no surprise to the boss of Team Rocket: he had expected it. Facing the creature from a few steps away, and one LUNGE away, he laughed, looking into the creature's enraged blood-red eyes.

"So, you have returned. Is there any reason you are so upset?"

He did not need an answer to this question, but it somehow gave him satisfaction to hear it from the monster's own mouth.

However, this was its only reply:

"GrrrrrAAAAARRRRGGHHH," it raised a hand, pointing a finger at Giovanni and looking the OTHER monster straight in the eyes. "GAAAAAAAARGGH!!!!!!!!"

"As I have expected," Ivy commented calmly. "It has lost its language. A forked tongue can only stand up to so much abuse......."

Giovanni frowned. "Yes, I see," he answered the scientist, looking at the demon-like mutant in its tormented face, and he grit his teeth in frustration. "How am I supposed to communicate with it if it cannot talk?!"

"Well, I suppose I could fix that, now....." Ivy sighed, looking towards Giovanni. "If you insist, of course."

Her tone was more pleasing to him, now. It seemed as if she had discarded some of her Aces.

"Yes, that would be a benefit. Yes...do it," he ordered, turning to Ivy, his eyes filling with anticipation.

Ivy gave a slight smile, whipping out a syringe and advancing towards the monster. The creature suddenly lost all of its hostility, as it began to shrink back into a corner, trying to get away from its tormentor, it's---

"Remember, Giovanni. You insisted." Ivy suddenly whirled around, away from Brock, and slammed the syringe through Giovanni's sleeve and into_his_arm.

She then pressed down the tab and jerked the needle out, moving backwards. "A benefit. Done."

*~*~*

Didn't see THAT comin', didja?!? Don't worry, he isn't gonna get it THAT bad.... or will he? If ya wanna find out, read more!! MORE, I SAY!!!! MORE!!!! And for good measure, fill up your spare time by writing a REVIEW!!! Am I repetitive?!? YES!!! If you haven't reviewed thus far, DO SO NOW!!!! In fact, leave MULTIPLE REVIEWS!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

And by the way.... badgers are cool.

TO BE CONTINUED........