AN- Not related to this chapter buuut- I've been recruited by a couple of friends to work on a show, which we're taking to a couple of small theatres this summer! Relevant because rehearsals will start in the next month or two, which will likely slow down chapter output a tad, but I'll keep y'all posted and will still have free time to write :D
Enjoy! 3
Songs that inspired this chapter:
- Lovers, by Kiltro
- Naive, by The Kooks
- Write It on Your Heart, by Bad Bad Hats
- All I Ever Asked, by Rachel Chinouriri
- Powerless, by Lilt
- Darkerside (Sunset Neon Remix), by Anderson Rocio
- Anyway, by VHS Collection
- The Manic, by Amarante
"Come on cadets!" Viper's voice boomed across the field. "I wanna see some pep in that step!"
It had rained the night before, which meant Ravi not only had to contend with the fire in their limbs and lungs, but also the sludge that had become of the dirt track. They'd managed not to fall- at the expense of being one of the slowest- and even so there was mud splattered all the way up their shins.
Long-distance running was Ravi's least favourite activity of all time, and as far as they were concerned, a totally pointless one. Physical fitness was one thing, but at what point in the future was anyone realistically gonna need to run 15 miles in the mud? That was what dirtbikes and pokémon were for.
Still, they didn't like to lose. Some of the speedier trainees had already finished, collapsed on the grass, watching the ones who still had laps left. Ravi currently found themselves in third place out of the slowpokes, and resolved to at least take second, if not first. Every effort counted when Viper was watching.
Popping the cork on their final reserve of energy, they picked up the pace, boots shlucking through the wet earth. They had their sights set on the cadet in front of them, who was obviously struggling to keep his pace; Ravi passed him on the outside lane, refusing to give in to the instinct to slow down, chanting Viper's favourite slogan over in their head: "Pain is temporary, pain is temporary…"
Beckerson was running ahead, her ponytail bobbing as she rounded the corner to the final stretch. Ravi upped their pace another notch, legs aching something fierce.
The finish line was dead ahead.
They could take Beckerson any other day, but right now it was gonna be close.
Panting unabashedly, Ravi staggered over the line just behind her, then doubled over, wheezing.
Oh well. At least they hadn't thrown up.
They went with Beckerson to sit down with the others, while Viper stepped away to answer his beeping phone. His voice was still loud enough to hear, and though everyone was acting innocent, there wasn't a single one of them not eavesdropping.
"Yes. Yes… Now? Okay. I'll get them ready." Viper snapped the phone shut: "Right!" he shouted as the last Rocket running crossed the finish line. "Off your sorry asses and line up! And I mean a line- not a wave, not a squiggle- I see even one foot out of place and it's ten more laps for everyone!"
Ravi would've groaned if they weren't still breathless. They'd only just sat down and now they had to haul themselves back up again.
A flurry of squelching boots as the cadets rushed to get into formation, shoulder-to-shoulder. Usually a line-up like this meant they were about to go on a march, but Ravi struggled to imagine that even Viper would be that cruel. Even the fittest of the group were absolutely exhausted.
After a minute of shuffling from foot to foot, Ravi saw a figure in a dark blue suit walking over from across the grounds. A sneaky glance sideways showed them that Viper was watching whoever was approaching with a tense kind of anticipation.
"Oh my God," someone whispered. "Is that the boss?!"
Ravi was ready to dismiss the suggestion as a stupid one, but then they kept looking at the figure getting closer, and realised, actually, he did look a hell of a lot like the man who'd just replaced Giovanni. They'd only seen him on a screen before, when he was giving his introductory speech, so it was hard to tell, but the closer he got, the more convinced they became. He had the same build, the same air of authority, the same light brown hair wet with product. It wasn't just Ravi either; everyone started straightening their postures and picking dried bits of mud from their uniforms as they realised who the man was.
"Good afternoon, sir," Viper greeted Carter with a short bow.
Ravi had never seen Viper bow to anyone. It was weird.
"Afternoon- Sergeant Viper, is it?" asked Carter, shaking his hand.
"Indeed it is, sir." Viper cleared his throat. "Allow me to introduce our security officers in training," he said, with an outstretched hand to the line of agents. "Forgive the state of their uniforms- they've just completed the first endurance test of the term."
Carter smiled, taking a sip from the Starbok's coffee cup he'd brought with him. "What fun," he remarked dryly. Then he began sauntering down the line, looking at each agent in turn. "I see Sergeant Viper is running a tight ship," he said. "Good. You all need to get accustomed to this kind of stress if you're to make it as officers. And if you think a run in the mud is hard work then you'd better prepare yourselves, because this job is not an easy one."
Ravi was towards the end of the line; the closer Carter came, the less they dared to sneak sideways glances at him.
"I often ask people this," Carter went on, "and they nearly never get it right- what do you think is the biggest threat to Team Rocket?" He stood still opposite the middle point of the line. "That's not a rhetorical question- you have permission to answer me, go on! What's the biggest threat?"
A moment of silence.
"Copycat gangs, sir!" someone brave called back.
"Not quite," Carter responded, "though they're certainly a nuisance- but what's the real root of every threat we face?"
"The police?" someone else answered.
Carter burst out laughing; "Not by a long stretch! But good try, nonetheless… Come on, who's got the answer? Or shall I just tell you?"
"Disloyalty," Ravi said. "Sir," they hastened to add.
Finally Carter looked at them, and Ravi suddenly felt very uncomfortable. What if he saw weakness, not strength?
Carter smiled wide. "Excellent, cadet! Give her a point for that, will you Viper?"
Viper clucked his tongue. "I'll make a note of it."
The sweet taste of praise more than outweighed Ravi's usual annoyance at being assumed a woman. They could hardly blame him for not knowing. And anyway- he had called their answer excellent! In their head they were fist-pumping all over the place, but they didn't dare to actually break position, pursing their lips to hide their grin.
Carter nodded. "Disloyalty. Agents who betray this organisation- we face no greater enemy. That's why you must be prepared to do whatever it takes, no matter how cruel it may seem, no matter the appeals to your humanity- you must rise above all of that if you are to properly serve Team Rocket. It takes an advanced kind of mentality to-"
A thump.
Ravi instinctively turned their head towards the sound- as did most of the others- and saw that Beckerson had collapsed unconscious in her spot. Even Ravi, who had no fondness for the woman, cringed in sympathy. Talk about bad timing.
Expressionless, Carter paced over to Beckerson, swilling his coffee around in the cup. "Wakey wakey, cadet!" he mocked, and lifted the cup up over her face.
Viper took a step forwards- "Sir-"
"Oh shush, it's lukewarm," Carter cut him off, and turned the cup over, dumping the rest of the coffee straight over Beckerson's head.
She startled awake with a splutter; Carter laughed like a delighted child as he dropped the empty cup.
Barely having wiped her eyes, Beckerson froze, mortified, as she realised who it was standing over her.
"You're lucky that wasn't boiling," Carter sneered down.
Ravi stared straight ahead, not smiling any more.
Mondo felt like his lungs had stopped working. He kept trying to breathe, but it was like turning the key in a struggling engine.
He wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling. Panic, predominantly, running cold through his blood. Then there was the relief of Ravi being alive, and beneath that an outrage he didn't feel entitled to. But all of it shook through him.
As well as the sling, Ravi sported a neck brace, their face blotched with bruises. They motioned to the empty chair with their gun. "Sit," they said, their voice dull. They saw Mondo hesitate, the way he was looking at them like he was about to die. "I'm not gonna shoot you. Unless you plan on making a scene." They frowned. "You won't, will you?"
Mondo shook his head quickly.
"Well, that's something." Ravi nodded at the chair again. "If you wouldn't mind, Mondo. I'm renting this place by the hour." They were still holding onto the gun but at least kept it pointed towards the floor, their arm hanging limp over the armrest.
Just starting to get the hang of his breath again, Mondo forced his wobbly legs to move, and sat down. "You-" he started, cut short by the gasps that wouldn't stop leaving him. "H-How-"
"Bunch of bribes," Ravi answered. They smiled without a single ounce of sweetness. "Your friend Chip Ling was very helpful. Cheaper than I thought he'd be."
Mondo finally managed to look them steadily in the eyes. His own were tearing over. "I thought you were dead," he tremoured, teeth chattering as he sucked back a sob. Outrage had come out on top after all.
"So did I." Ravi sighed slowly, and Mondo saw the first trace of real emotion on their face. "I never wanted to hurt you like this. But you made me." They glowered at him. "And I wanna hear you tell me why, 'cause from where I'm sitting, you betrayed me for a traitor- a traitor who ditched you years ago!" They scoffed. "I knew you used to work for him and his team, but I never thought I had to worry about you crossing me like that. Never."
Guilt toppled outrage. "I- I didn't mean to-"
"Oh what, you knocked us all out and stole my truck by accident, was it?"
"It's not like I was planning to!" Mondo blurted. "Just, when you said James was going to be killed, and… I just couldn't bear it!"
Ravi was unmoved. "But you could bear leaving me for dead so you could save him?"
"N-No, I-"
"Him over me, when it came down to it." A little shake of their head. Bitter disappointment tensing their face. "I thought I could trust you- huge fucking mistake. You know, you're way more slippery than you let on."
"It isn't like that!" protested Mondo. "I was so scared you were dead- that I'd killed you-" His words caught in his breath as he wiped his still-shimmering eyes. "I've been losing my mind over it!" he wept.
"Don't wanna hear it." Ravi looked past Mondo, through him. "Tell me where James is."
Mondo shook his head, sniffling. "No."
"Right," Ravi chuckled darkly, raising their eyebrows. "Let me spell this out, then." They licked their lips. "You really need to cooperate right now. Or else all I've got to bring back to HQ is you, Mondo." Their expression shifted to one of genuine concern. "I really don't want that to happen. Doubt you'd love it either."
Mondo just stared at the wall.
"Fine, so you won't give him up- what about the others- James talk about them? Jessica? The Meowth? Cassidy?" They saw Mondo flinch ever so slightly. "Cassidy," they repeated, sure they'd hit the nail on the head.
Mondo said nothing.
"We've both read that file of hers. She's killed loads of people, you know that. A real bonafide piece of shit. And you don't owe her anything."
He wouldn't break, absolutely not. Nails digging harder and harder into his palms. Trying his best not to listen.
"She's the one who killed Carter- she's the one that Team Rocket wants most of all. If you give me something solid on her, then maybe I won't have to go chasing after your friends."
He wouldn't break, wouldn't, wouldn't-
Ravi watched him awhile, seeing the wheels turn behind his eyes, the fight against himself. They admired it, in a strange way. His bravery like a precarious tower of cards they almost didn't want to blow down.
But they would.
"Unless you really don't know anything about her," they sighed. They didn't have to fake any emotions here. It was real, anguished worry on their face, their hand clammy around the handle of the gun. "In that case I'd have to take you back to HQ. And… And they'd torture you, Mondo, until you gave them James." Their gaze implored him. "So don't lie to me, 'cause as much as I fuckin' hate you right now… I still don't want you to be the one who ends up paying." Angry and sad all at once, they held their eyes open, so the runaway tears collecting couldn't fall. "It's not fair," they mumbled.
Mondo finally looked back at them. He hadn't stopped crying but his lip wobbled anew at that sentiment. The two of them agreed on something. It wasn't fair at all.
"James told you something about Cassidy," Ravi said, composing themself, "didn't he?"
Mondo shook his head desperately. "I can't," he mouthed. Already he could feel the strings of his resolve start to snap.
"He did," Ravi concluded. They looked slightly relieved. "Okay."
Mondo kept shaking his head. It was all he could do.
"Listen to me," Ravi said. "This whole setup, this was all out of my own pocket. I'm meant to be resting right now- Team Rocket don't know about any of this."
Mondo froze.
"They don't know you're here," Ravi elaborated. "Which means I could let you go. But… I can't leave empty-handed. You understand?" They let out a slow exhale. "Give me Cassidy. Then you and James can go running off into the sunset or whatever the fuck you wanna do. You're both small fry compared to her anyway."
"You're tricking me," Mondo whispered. "You'll just send someone to follow me-"
"I won't." Ravi's voice was firm. They'd never been a brilliant actor, so Mondo would have been impressed if they were faking the pain in their expression. "I think I've hurt you enough." They shrugged. "For my tastes, anyway. We can keep it going if you really want. 'Cause as much as I don't want to hurt you, I will, if I have to." A forced smirk twitched on their lips. "Reckon you know how that goes."
Mondo put his head in his hands, trembling all over. He kept trying to gather his strength but he was grasping at nothing.
"Don't do this, Mondo," Ravi pleaded. "You picked James over me, and now you're going to pick Cassidy over him?! The least you can do is be loyal to one of us!"
There broke the dam.
"Derby," Mondo muttered through his hands.
"Huh?"
"She- She went looking for someone called Derby," Mondo sniffled. Hating himself for the words out of his mouth, but not knowing what else to do. Ravi had a point; if he couldn't at least protect James and the others, then all of this had been pointless.
Ravi sat up straighter in the chair. "When?"
"Yesterday." He felt so small.
"You talked to her, then?" asked Ravi, curious.
"Yes."
"What else did she say? Did she tell you why she's after this guy?"
"She…" Mondo took a long inhale, emerging from behind his hands. "She thinks he's the one who had Giovanni killed."
Now Ravi was confused. "What's she bothering with that for?"
"She wants justice," Mondo said. "Same as you do."
Ravi laughed. "Justice? She killed the boss!"
"He killed innocent agents!" Mondo defended. "And- And it's not at all like The Council said, apparently Carter was a terrible leader, he- he did all these horrible things, and Cassidy never even wanted to destroy Team Rocket, she just wanted to stop him from-"
"Doesn't matter," Ravi interrupted. But what he'd said made them hesitate, just for a second. "Even if she wasn't lying to you- which she was, obviously- she's proven she's a threat. If she could do it once she can do it again."
"She won't," Mondo insisted. "Please, Ravi…"
Ravi scoffed. "What? Let her go, add another failure to my name?"
"She doesn't deserve to die!"
"And what do you think will happen to me if I rock up to Matori with another handful of nothing?" Ravi snapped. "Do you even care about me at all?"
"Of course I do! I just don't want you to keep working for people who-"
"You weren't cut out for the job, fine- but I am. And I'm not going turncoat for some second hand rumour. 'specially not outta the mouth of a snake like you." They lifted the gun, pointing it at Mondo for the first time since he'd sat down. "Derby. You're sure that was the name?"
Fighting harder than ever to choke back his crying, Mondo gave a sharp nod. "Yeah," he whimpered. "He's somewhere in Kanto-
"Where?!"
"She didn't say, she didn't say anything except the name!" He caught his tattered breath. He didn't think Ravi would actually shoot, but with the gun aimed right at him it was hard not to wonder if this was where he died, his last moments under the buzz of the harsh fluorescent lights, the lemony tang of disinfectant in his nose.
Ravi lowered the gun slowly. "Derby," they repeated, muttering to themself. It sounded familiar. And besides, how many assassin bosses called Derby could there be? The recon squad would make short work of his address.
If Cassidy had gone yesterday…
There was still time to catch up.
Standing up, Ravi did their best to mask the pain that shot through their sprained ankle, and limped to the back of the room. They holstered their gun on their belt, then pressed a button under the desk.
The same clunk of the door's lock Mondo had heard when he'd entered sounded behind him.
"Go on," Ravi said, looking at the wall. "Get out."
Mondo sobbed. "I'm sorry." His voice was cracking all over the place: "I'm sorry- I'm sorry I betrayed you."
Ravi held their breath. "Get away from the others," they replied hoarsely. "And don't stay in Kanto." Then they heard the lock on the door click back into place, and slammed the button again. "Leave, Mondo."
Mondo stood up, struggling to dry his eyes.
One last look at Ravi before he turned for the door.
He watched his body move on its own, as if he were floating just above it. The hallway he found himself staggering through didn't feel real, the lights too bright, the colours too intense. Everything was spinning.
The receptionist saw him as he hurried past the front desk, hyperventilating.
"Oh dear," she cooed, reaching for a box of tissues on her desk. "Can I get you another drink, love?"
Too frightened to respond, Mondo kept rushing for the exit; the sun outside was even brighter as he burst through the front doors. There was a white noise behind his ears, like a rainstorm through a radio.
Heart thrashing, he ran.
Meowth's ears twitched as something landed outside the shack. Rushing over to the window, he batted the blinds out of the way to confirm what he'd hoped: "Mondo's back!"
"Oh thank heavens!" James exclaimed, a hand to his chest.
Jessie popped out of the bedroom, clumsily threading her feet into her flip-flops. "Is he okay?!"
"T'ink so," Meowth said.
"Hurry up James, get the door open!"
The three of them hurried outside together to meet Mondo as he dismounted Ditto (now transformed into a fearow). Mondo had obviously been crying, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Mondo," Jessie gasped, pulling him into a tight hug, kissing the crown of his head. "What happened? You didn't go on your own?!"
Mondo sobbed into her shoulder. "Ravi's alive," he blurted.
James blinked. "But you got away?"
"They l-let me go," Mondo stammered, "in exchange for-"
He couldn't say it.
Jessie kept rubbing his back. "In exchange for what?" she asked him softly, fearing the answer.
Mondo shrugged out of the hug. He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to look at any of them.
"You need to call Cassidy," he whispered.