Karen didn't understand a lot of things.
When her parents had moved from their small home in Pewter City to some underground bunker in Vermilion City, she didn't understand why. Their life was so quaint, so peaceful, and so safe; there was absolutely no reason for them to move, at least no reasons that she knew of. When both of her parents were then killed in the infamous Silph CO. heist, she didn't understand why. Why them? There were so many members of Team Rocket, so many members who deserved to die a lot more than her mother and father. Why did it have to be them? And why did their disappearance make her feel so much more . . . lonely?
After the move to Vermilion, and their integration into Team Rocket, their tight-knit family had grown apart. They never talked to her, and she didn't talk to them. So why did the world, after their death, feel so dreary and dangerous? Why did she always feel so cold and empty, like something excruciatingly important was missing from her chest?
Karen just didn't understand.
And now her boss, Giovanni, was calling her to his office. It would be an understatement to say that she had no understanding as to why.
It was rare that the boss of Team Rocket ever called anyone to his office, especially a lowly grunt like herself. He spent most of his time away from the Headquarters anyway, doing and planning things that nobody really knew about. Nobody like her, at least; the Admins possibly knew, but they didn't waste their time explaining things to Grunts. Karen was expected to do what she was told and nothing else.
That was a really difficult thing to do, however, considering she questioned everything.
Karen walked down the dark hallways of Team Rocket's Underground HQ, brushing past other Grunts and nodding in respect to those above her. The base was a lot smaller than was generally comfortable, but she heard somewhere that they built it like this to stop nosey twerps from obliterating them from the inside. It had happened before, apparently. Never again.
It took approximately two minutes for her to make it to Giovanni's office. She knocked twice, clearing her throat so that her voice wouldn't sound so weak and pathetic. The man made her nervous, sure, but she didn't want him to think of her as a liability.
"Mr. Giovanni, sir?" A pause. "My name is Karen. You called me into your office a while ago?"
"Come in."
Karen took a breath. And then, mentally coaching herself not to screw up, she opened the door to her boss' office. Giovanni sat in the middle of the room, behind his mahogany desk, his hands folded and his brows furrowed in deep though. There were no lights on, just candles that flickered and popped at random times, making the shadows on the wall jump to and fro.
It might have just been her imagination, but she could have swore that the silhouette of a Gliscor momentarily flashed from behind him.
"Please close the door," Giovanni instructed, his voice deep and threatening. "I don't want to let out the heat."
She thought that the sweat building on her forehead was because of nerves, but maybe it was only the heat? She could pretend, at least, that she wasn't terrified. She could pretend, if only for a little, that she was a hardened member of Team Rocket.
She could pretend.
Closing the door, Karen offered the man a small smile. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, her airy voice shaking in nerves.
"Not at all," Giovanni said, snorting a bit. Just like that, all of the anxiety filling her veins spilled out, all in one giant sigh of relief. She wasn't in trouble. She was safe to live another day. Giovanni didn't give second-chances, after all; she used to have a friend who was also orphaned after Team Rocket's attack on Goldenrod City a few years ago, and she made the horrible mistake of leaking information of Team Rocket to the media.
Her body was found half-buried in sand. Forensic testing revealed that she was suffocated to death.
The fact that Giovanni was known to own a Hippowdon was deeply disturbing.
"Karen Ross, twenty-three-years-old. You've been a member of Team Rocket since you were only ten-years-old, which is a lot longer than most people make it. Sad, but true." The man behind the desk offered a smile that didn't look as evil as she pictured. "I apologize for the tragic passing of your parents, by the way. I didn't personally know them, but I'm sure that that was not a very pleasant thing to experience."
Karen swallowed hard, refusing to allow the familiar sting of loss to attack her heart. "Don't be," she mumbled — before realizing exactly who she was talking to, and raising her voice. "They were just doing their duty, after all. And it happened so long ago . . . I'm pretty much over it."
Karen could only pretend.
Giovanni chuckled, all signs of apology gone from his face. Karen was amazed at how easily a man like him could switch from apologetic to amused, all in a matter of seconds. He was the boss of Team Rocket for a reason, though; a master-negotiator, as well as a master-battler. A dangerous threat to anyone and anything.
"You're special, Karen," he murmured, his dark eyes boring into her own green orbs. "You've known so much loss, and yet here you are, completely devoted to the Team Rocket mission. But then again, it's all you've ever known, right? You can't get out of something that you were practically born into, after all."
Karen bit her tongue. I was not born into this. I had friends. I had a real family. I was happy, and I was loved. And it was all stolen from me.
"Of course, sir."
"I admire you. I really, honestly, truly admire you. To actually have survived for this long is an accomplishment of itself — no matter how deeply saddening that fact is — but you're not only surviving. You're living." Giovanni abruptly stood up, his chair making a loud scraping sound against the floor. Karen winced. And once again, the silhouette of a Gliscor made itself known, as Giovanni moved to stand in front of her. "You may not notice this, but I am always watching. Whether it be from the security cameras placed around the base, or from my own eyes . . . I am always watching, Karen, and I notice how you're the only person here who still has a shine in their eyes. You're the only person here with an intact soul."
Karen didn't know how to respond. Not only was her boss directly complimenting her, something that one could only dream of, but he was saying things that were . . . much too weird, and satisfying at the same time. She still had a shine in her eyes; she still had hope for a brighter future, hidden behind layers of curiosity and reluctant obliging. She wasn't like the mindless, evil-spirited people who joined Team Rocket for an escape, or because they were born with darkness. She was alive.
She smiled. "Thank you—"
"It's disgusting."
There was a beat of silence. Karen blinked, staring up at the taller man, his eyes widened in nothing short of madness. Cold, calculated madness. She felt a shiver of fear slide down her spine, making itself home in her body. As usual, Giovanni scared her. She was scared to death.
Suddenly, though, the man grinned. ". . . Which is why I'm promoting you. Starting today, Ms. Ross, you will be an official Admin of Team Rocket. Most members can't handle a job like that, because they're so uncaring of the other members that they devise giant holes in their plans. But you, Ms. Ross, actually care. You won't allow anyone in your team to die. You won't allow us to lose."
The twenty-three-year-old woman blinked again. A plethora of emotions rushed through her chest, matching the frantic pace of her mind. Giovanni was promoting her. She was becoming an Admin. But he was doing it because of her humanity. He was taking advantage of the only good trait she had left.
"And if your mission succeeds — which it will — then you will surely be free of those burdening chains you possess," Giovanni explained, turning away from the lady. She felt like she could breathe again, though not much. "Remember, Ms. Ross. Emotions ultimately harm more than they help. Life is cruel. Adapting is the only way to survive."
"What is my mission . . ?" she asked, swallowing down another set of paralyzing nerves. She didn't know how to react — to any of this. But this promotion didn't have to be so bad, right? She didn't have to make it seem like a life-sentence of pain and misery.
Lately, the most that Team Rocket has been doing is smuggling foreign Pokemon, along with miscellaneous weapons. The weapons were unnerving — but nobody was ever hurt during those missions. So what if they stole? It didn't make too much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.
She wouldn't have to do anything that she didn't like.
Giovanni turned back around, smirking. The candle-light hit his face perfectly, allowing a malevolent shadow to overcome his features.
"Your team will be bombing the Viridian City Beginner's Festival."
. . . As Karen left Giovanni's office, a feeling of complete dread washed over her. She just didn't understand. Why would he be interested in killing a bunch of innocents? What did that have to do with stealing Pokemon and taking control of the Kanto Region? The majority of the people there would just be kids, too. Doe-eyed, ignorant, grinning teenagers. What would Giovanni gain from killing them?
What about me? Why did I accept the mission? Why am I subjecting myself to this . . . this evil?
Karen didn't understand a lot of things. But above all, Karen didn't understand why she continued to serve such a maniacal syndicate.
But at the same time, she did; Karen Ross simply did not want to die.
Author's Notes: I should probably re-read this before updating, but I'm lazy and I'll probably end up hating this and messing something up, so I'll just upload and hope for the best. *laughs. coughs. chokes. dies.*
A-Anyway, the submission deadline is officially in 7 days. I'm updating today because I really wanted to write another chapter, and this might let new people discover the story (which means more submissions, yay!). I also want you guys to know that Team Rocket will definitely be a huge impact on this story, and considering that I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible (without being TOO dark, don't worry), they will be this gang of dangerous people doing dangerous and even terroristic things. Defeating them in a simple Pokémon battle just might not be enough. Just want to let you guys know...
(Then again, half of the submissions have something to do with Team Rocket being evil and murderous, so I'm sure you guys know what you're getting yourself into.)
ANYWAY, yeah. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully you didn't find TOO many errors. IF YOU ARE LIVING ON EARTH, YOU MUST LEAVE A REVIEW. All aliens are exempt from this rule - for now.
See you guys in 7 days with the list of accepted characters, as well as another example of a Realistic!PokemonUniverse. Bye!