Hello hello! I know I said I could squeeze out another chapter soon, but I was busy over the weekend at a horse show (I fell off in case y'all were wondering, but don't worry, I got reserve champion twice afterwords, so it went pretty well :D). It also took a minute to write cuz I originally didn't have this scene planned, but I figured it'd be good. It'll be a bit short, but I wasn't lying about having another one ready, so chapter five will be out probably tomorrow, or at the latest the next day.

(MINOR SPOILERS FOR THIS CHAPTER) Also, just in case you might be wondering why this chapter will sound so similar to the last one, keep in mind that the story is called PARALLEL rivals :)

Anyways, I think that's all I have to say now! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN POKEMON!

Chapter 4:

Stone Corporation

"So you mean to tell me," the man behind the desk asked in a low voice. "That a team from Shirona Corporation came to the same location I sent you too, and during a fight that insued, one of the targets' grunts was awakened and alerted to your presence, allowing him to inform his boss and let Maxie escape with his arsenal of deadly weapons?"

"Yes sir," Ash mumbled, staring at the ground.

The team of five was standing in a huge office-like room before a huge wooden desk piled high with papers and the like. And sitting in a tall chair behind the desk, rubbing his temples in annoyance, was Steven Stone, head of the Stone Corporation.

Steven was, in simple terms, a handsome danger. With his sleek steel-blue hair and eyes to match, fair skin and slender figure, he could make anyone swoon just by flashing an award-winning smile. And although he always wore a suit, he pulled off the repetitive formal attire by simply making it look almost too perfect on himself. He often decorated a few fingers with silver rings, although at the moment they were sitting on the desk as he ran his hands fiercely through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles.

Of course, none of them would dare to tell him. They were in enough hot water as it was, they didn't need the added anger of him thinking they were telling him he looked less than presentable.

"That slippery bitch," Steven suddenly hissed, making them all exchange confused glances. "I can't believe it…"

The team risked a glance at the head of the organization and saw that he was gripping his jaw with one hand while the other curled into a deadly fist on his desk.

"He's not chewing us out for failing?" Drew whispered, confused.

"Don't remind him," Misty grunted. "Just let him hate that Cynthia lady for now."

Cynthia Shirona, head of the Shirona Corporation, what their greatest rival. While Steven ran an organization of organized robbers, she led people that would end the lives of their given target. To them, it was far more efficient to get rid of the threat rather than let the enemy live on. But to those as Stone Corporation, they viewed their opponents as heartless killers who were too scared to be humane and had to make up their own morale to justify their methods.

"I need to show her…" Steven muttered to himself while the team shifted uncomfortably before him, wondering if they'd been forgotten. "How though…"

"Sir," Ash suddenly piped up, making everyone snap their heads up and turn to face him. "Permission to speak?"

Steven nodded. "Granted."

"I know this is against our morale, but perhaps we should overlook it for these Shirona bastards and kill one of their team members," Ash suggested. "It's a good show of power, and it'll prove that we're willing to go far against them."

Steven's temple twitched slightly, though the team couldn't tell if it was because Ash was telling him what to do or if it was something more. Fortunately, the moment didn't last long, because Steven was quick to put a devious smirk on his face and nod at his subordinate.

"That's not a bad idea," he conceded. "We could even make demands in exchange for leaving more of their members alone."

"Those rodent-hearted bastards won't want to risk their precious agents," Misty agreed, narrowing her eyes. "They love getting blood on their hands until it comes to one of their own."

"Exactly," Steven said. "So, how will you all be going about this?"

The team glanced at each other in surprise, before Dawn piped up.

"Um, sir, pardon the interruption, but did you just say you, as in us?" she asked.

"You're damn right I did," Steven told him bluntly. "You all got us into the mess, and you'd better be ready to get us out."

"Um, with all due respect sir," Gladion said. "I wouldn't call it a mess just yet. So far-"

"Don't say so far when it's been a measly few hours," Steven snapped back. "Knowing Shirona corp, I'm not ready to take any chances, so we'd better strike first. And if you'd all like to keep your rank, you'll share my sentiment."

"So a promotion is out of the question if we pull this off?" Drew asked.

"You can count on it, though zero praise isn't final," Steven replied curtly. "If you manage to get this done within the allotted time, which will be a week, I'll put a lesser punishment for tonight into consideration. But for now, dismissed."

Ash nodded for his team, and together the five of them scurried out of the door and into a spacious waiting room-like area. Once they reached safety, they all let out a breath of relief and let themselves relax, their postures sinking down practically by a whole foot.

"Glad we can count on that Cynthia bitch to distract our boss and get us out of a talking to," Drew muttered.

"For real," Dawn agreed with a shudder.

"Just be grateful that we didn't get our asses beat this time," Gladion grunted. "I'm sure if we don't pull this off, we won't be as lucky."

The two nodded in unison, and the team continued their conversation as they made their way to the elevator on the far side of the room.

Stone Corporation was constructed to look like a normal office building from the outside. The first five inside floors out of the twenty total were designed to look like an office compound for regular clients, however from the sixth and up, it was a labyrinth of offices, labs, and training rooms. In fact, though they didn't know since they'd never been, the building was practically an exact replica of Shirona Corporation.

Just like the Shirona office, floors sixth through eight were for office workers, ninth through thirteenth were laboratories, and fourteenth through nineteenth were training grounds for agents. Everything was made within the walls of the compound, with nothing being less than perfection for use, while every room out of many for each floor was spacious enough to house a small family. And sitting at the top and twentieth floor, just like Shirona Corp, was the private floor of the head of the operation, in this case Steven Stone.

Steven's floor was designed like Cynthia's, separated into four quarters that each individually served as a waiting room, office, meeting space, and training area. And just like Cynthia, Steven hadn't risen to his rank for being a descendant of the founder Xavier Stone alone. Even his pure and undeniable skill wasn't all that aided him into getting to where he was. Steven was at the top because of his unwavering dedication, and despite his elegant look, he would never hesitate to get his hands dirty, especially if it was for the sake of his company.

"Alright, so we're gonna kill one of their guys," Misty announced. "Who'll it be?"

The five young adults were in their private team room, where they filed mission reports and came up with plans for handling targets. Right now, Ash was sitting by the computer, typing away, while Drew, Gladion, and Dawn and her pet Piplup all sat around on the furniture, looking a little bored and listless.

"I'd personally love to go for the Jade lady, but lord knows that that's gonna be more trouble than it's worth," Gladion sighed, flexing his shoulder.

"It'd be a great show of power, but you're right," Drew agreed. "If she's out of the question though, I'd like to offer Serena. The world could do with one less crazy bitch in it."

"A simple name would have been enough, but sure," Misty muttered. "Any objection?"

"None from me," Dawn said with a shrug. She hugged her knees up to her chest and she poked at the small Pokemon in front of her, giggling as it let out a happy chirp.

"Ash?" Gladion asked, turning to glance at their leader.

"Hm?" Ash mumbled, never taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

"You good with us choosing Serena?" Dawn called.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Ash mumbled, barely even paying attention. He suddenly hit a key a bit more aggressively than the others, and the rest of his team flinched, exchanging worried glances.

"You alright dude?" Misty asked cautiously.

"I'm fine," Ash said, his tone a bit sharper than before.

"You nervous about us having to do this?" Drew asked. "You were the one who suggested it, but hey, I get it. We're stepping out of our comfort zone, and-"

"I'M NOT NERVOUS!" Ash suddenly snarled, tearing his gaze away from the computer to rake it over his teammates.

The rest of them flinched back, but Gladion met his eyes steadily, refusing to back down.

"Then what's going on?" he asked calmly. "You're getting snappy."

Ash held the icy contact for another moment, before sighing and dropping his eye. "I just don't want you guys getting hurt," he murmured. "I mean, you saw them. Last time they knocked out three of us, and we barely managed to take out one. I don't want you guys injured because of something I suggested."

He dropped his head down with the confession, and the team stared at him in surprise as the room was enveloped in silence.

"Oh come on!" Dawn suddenly exclaimed, making Ash glance up. "That last time was a fluke if you ask me. We didn't realize how strong they'd be, so we weren't taking it 100% seriously."

"Dawn's right," Drew agreed. "I could've been faster, but I was being more laid back since I wasn't expecting too much."

"Being honest, I could've given it a bit more too," Misty admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of her neck.

"And you were up against their leader," Gladion told him. "It's no wonder you two were evenly matched, or even that she beat you. But this time we'll be ready, and we can sweep them off their feet and onto their cocky asses."

Ash blinked, staring at his team in surprise, before finally letting a grin crack.

"You guys are right," he laughed, shaking his head. "I don't know why I was so worried. I have faith in all of you and your abilities, I shouldn't be doubting them now."

"Attaboy," Gladion said, smirking at him. "So what's the plan, mister leader?"

"We'll comb through a list of targets and start scoping them out at night," Ash decided. "Hopefully they'll have a list similar to ours, and the cover of darkness is always necessary for people like us, so as long as the targets align we should run into them eventually. We'll start tomorrow, and we'll all go, since the whole killing thing isn't really something we're all too familiar with."

"Sounds like a plan," Dawn announced, smiling as she snatched up her Piplup and gave it a squeeze.

"Yup," Ash said, nodding and letting his smile fade into a smirk. "Tomorrow night, we'll head out and kill one of Shirona's guys. And with any luck, we'll get more out of this than just a few more toys."