Disclaimer: at the end of chapter 7.
Forces of Darkness
Chapter 7: General's Story
"It was in the late eighties, I believe." General began. "I was stationed back in Viridian at the time, going on missions as the lieutenant of a small unit. Aside from me, the unit consisted of the young Giovanni (at a higher rank than me...) and the infamous crook of the eighties: Wild Bill, the commander of our unit."
"I've heard of that name before." Daisuke stated.
"The one that did all of those Pokemon Center bombings?" Butch asked.
"That's right." General replied. "Forty Pokemon Centers bombed in forty different cities of Japan. Never caught by the police once! Except..."
"Except what?" James asked.
"When the rumors spread that Noir was after Wild Bill, the Boss at that time was rather stunned. But, Bill, he was a different story...
"'I'll get that Noir with a barrage of bombs!' he said to me once. 'No one can stop Wild Bill! No one!'
"And on and on he went like that. It made me resent him because of his bull-headedness. I knew, sooner or later, he was going to get his..."
"And he did, didn't he?" Mondo asked.
General nodded. "We were in Vermilion City at the time. Bill was attempting another Pokemon Center bombing when Noir showed up.
"It was a hell of a fight! Bill threw every bomb he had in his arsenal but Noir was too quick for him. Me and Giovanni would've helped out, but we didn't want to get close to the sword that Noir carried or the explosions that Bill caused.
"Sooner or later, Bill ran of ammo and we ended up being forced to retreat out of Vermilion and to safer ground."
"What about Wild Bill?" Cassidy asked.
"He was fine! Scared out of his cocky attitude, but fine.
"Anyways, we headed back to the Viridian base and did some research on this Noir character."
"And you came up with nothing, right?" Daisuke asked.
"Actually, we came across a book that told about Noir and something about '...the first candidate for Noir must overcome their last trial to eclipse the rising sun.'"
"And that means...?" James asked.
"That's easy!" Daisuke boasted. "Noir will come to Japan -- the Land of the Rising Sun -- and take up an assassination mission as the last trial."
"You're quite the sharp one." General commented. "But as we came up upon that discovery, Noir showed up yet again, but this time, offered a challenge to Wild Bill. She said that if Bill could fend off attacks for the next seven days and live to tell about it, she was going to give up the mission to kill him. He accepted and she left, even though the target was right in front of her.
"Bill had a plan to get Noir off his back. 'I'll travel the world for the whole week and makes sure she eats my dust the whole way!' he boasted. Me and Giovanni thought we were going to go on another harrowing adventure but Bill told us to stay behind, saying that it was too dangerous and all. He also said that he would call us on the seventh day to celebrate his victory...
"And so Bill set off that day, travelling the world as he said he would. Giovanni, my new commander, constantly checked reports coming in on where Bill was.
"By the end of the first day, Bill ended up somewhere in China. Second and third day, he was in Russia. The fourth, in the Alps. The fifth, in Germany. The sixth, in France...
"On the seventh day, Bill was on the border of Spain and France when Noir showed up one last time for an unforgettable battle. In the last hours before the deadline, Bill screwed up. A bomb detonated earlier than planned, catching both him and Noir in the blast. And in the end, neither of them won... They both lost...
"Me and Giovanni had no feelings to express over his death. We both thought the same thing: he was killed because of his cocky attitude.
"It was at that same time, the current boss of Team Rocket died. The cause was unknown, and to this day, no one still knows. It was said that Wild Bill was going to be the next Rocket boss, based on his rank. But since he was dead, Giovanni took over the job and is now the current boss."
"What an interesting story..." Daisuke commented.
"And to think that you're the one chosen to repeat Wild Bill's hellish journey." General noted. "I only pray that it doesn't end up the same way."
"I can't make any promises on that, sir."
"When Giovanni told me that Noir was coming after you, I didn't believe it. Not even when you came to Seoul."
"Pretty much the people that we've talked to didn't believe it, either." Cassidy noted.
"Oh, believe me, you're going to get a lot of that..."
As soon as General finished his sentence, a Rocket grunt entered the meeting room, saluted politely and said to General, "(Excuse me, sir. There seems to be a call for Daisuke Yamamoto.)"
"(We're busy here.)" General replied. "(Can't they give him a message?)"
"(I'd like to, sir, but she said that she needs to talk to him as soon as possible.)"
Daisuke leaned to Butch and asked in an whisper, "What's going on?"
The rest of the team leaned in to listen to the situation.
"The grunt said that you have a call and that it's from a girl." Butch replied.
"Ooh, Daisuke..." Cassidy snickered. "You lovebird!"
"Ha, ha!" Daisuke remarked. "Funny!" He glared over at his sister. "I don't think this is something to joke about!" He looked over to General and said, "General, if this is a call for me, see if they put the call through to here."
"And have everyone listen in on Juliet's call to you?" Jessie asked jokingly.
Daisuke glared at Jessie. "You too, huh?" he asked.
"We can put the call through." General replied.
"Great." Daisuke cheered. "And please make sure you track on where that call's coming from and send some troops out to that place."
"(Did you get all that?)" General asked the grunt.
"(Yes, sir.)" the grunt replied. "(And please tell your guests that I can also speak Japanese and that the girl didn't sound like she would be attracted to Daisuke one bit...)"
The grunt turned and left to turn the speakers in the meeting room on so that both Daisuke and the caller could hear and speak to one another.
"Hello." Daisuke said to the caller, eyes closed and a smirk on his face. "This is Daisuke. Who, may I ask, is this?"
"Hello, Daisuke..." the caller replied in her monotone voice.
Daisuke's eyes opened wide in shock and the smirk disappeared as he heard that cold voice once again.
The rest of his team gave off the same jaw-dropped expression as they too, heard the voice. General, on the other hand, sat in his chair, eyes closed, listening intently. So this is the voice of the new Noir... he thought.
To be continued...
Yay, suspense nearly reaches its peak once more! Keep reading...
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Noir. I do own Daisuke, General and Wild Bill though...