Avalanche Office, 1000
Mina had already tiptoed her way through the entrance of the building and had made her way upstairs. After everything that had happened the previous day she needed time to herself. Even though Alexis had come to the unit a few years after her and requested a transfer out of the Indigo squad they were on good terms. She’d helped Mina come to terms with her time in the Invaders and like everyone else had always been there when they needed her.
Her sneaking paused when she came upon Alexis’s office; she tried to hold back the hurt she was feeling but couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes. Just as she was about to leave she heard the soft clicking of keys and threw the door open. “Alex?”
Jean looked up from the computer and shook her head sadly. Ever since Marco had shown her the message she’d been in there going over the files. “Just me, going over a few things.”
Mina cycled through a torrent of emotions before settling on a medium of anger and embarrassment. “What are you doing in her office?”
“Like I said, going over some things. Apparently Alexis wanted me to help out as much as I could if something were to ever happen to her... there’s a lot to do. How are you doing?” As Jean spoke to her she began pulling up the Kunoichi’s file.
“Um… fine… I guess, really tired.” Mina lied to them both; she was exhausted but far from fine. Going back to her old school was stressful enough and losing a friend was tearing her apart on the inside. “I’m going to go to get some rest… later.” She waved weakly before starting to exit.
As smirk formed on Jean’s face when she got a better look at Mina. “Pretty smart, you’re still not wearing your watch so Marco doesn’t know you’re back yet. He’s pretty mad at you right now.” Mina froze and looked back to the Kyubi. “Anything you want me to tell him before he finds you?”
Mina entered the room all the way, closing the door behind her and taking a seat in the chair in front of the desk. Looking around she remember all of the time she’d spent in that room getting things off her chest; her time with the Invaders, problems with Marco, even days that were going well. ‘If Alex trusts her then I can too.’ She reached into her pocket and set the badge she had gotten from Janine on the table. “I needed some time to think, then went back to the gym and had it out with my old tamer one last time.”
Jean glared at the badge then back at Mina. “I’m going to reserve judgment; please just explain it to me. Why would you leave to finish your fight with them after we lost Alex?”
Hurt filled Mina’s voice and she gripped the armrest of the chair. “I… I did it for the others… You wouldn’t understand.”
“Then make me understand; explain it to me till I get it, why?”
“So we don’t have to go back there!” She yelled at Jean. “If I didn’t get that badge then we would have to go back to Douchsiabag… I can’t remember anything about that city anymore; the shops, the sights, the monuments. The only things I remember about that city are the gym that I was expelled from and that a member of our family died there. I have ties to that city and I never want to go there again…”
Jean understood where Mina was coming from. Much like the island where they lost Leona Douchsiabag City was a black mark none of them ever wanted to return to. “Ok, now I understand.” She closed her eyes for a moment to feel out Marco’s location then looked back at Mina. “He’s currently in the Ops Con room and will be heading to interrogation soon. Get some rest and I’ll intercept him before he finds you.”
“What about the others?”
“They’ll be happy that you’re ok. I suggested that everyone take some time to themselves for right now.”
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to talk to him later.”
~~~~~
Kelly continued to lean against the door to the interrogation room and wait. Marco being there was generally a formality for the Duelist, she’d always had Alexis as her partner for interrogating suspects. Jean was willing to help but there weren’t going to be too many actual questions for this particular suspect.
She turned sharply when she heard the approaching footsteps and straightened up. “Sir, Eric, Vana; he hasn’t said a word since his capture. There were an additional dozen pokégirls on him, all breeds have been logged and the balls were placed in the anti-escape case.”
Marco pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. He’d been up the whole night then talked with Jean about her new role as the team’s therapist. “Good, I hope we didn’t keep him waiting too long.”
“Are you sure you don’t need a rest son, he’s not going anywhere.” Vana urged.
Marco didn’t bother to answer; flinging the door opened he got his first look at Campbell. After what they had been told about him and his abilities Avalanche wasn’t taking any chances. His arms and legs had been bound to the chair with heavy duty cable and his head restrained as well as black bagged.
The lights were excessively bright and when Kelly removed the bag Campbell shut his eyes tightly. “Ugh, what the hell? Where am I, what am I doing here?”
Eric stood off to the side behind his wife and took a calming breath. Both Marco and Kelly were against them being in the room but Vana impressed upon them their desire to confront the man who attacked their girls. Eventually they won the pair over as long as they agreed to not touch Campbell. But the longer Eric was in the room the harder it was for him to hold to that promise.
Eventually Campbell’s eyes adjusted to the light and he was stuck looking between the four people across from him. “This is a good one. How about you let me out of here so I can get back to my girls?”
Marco gave a puzzled look to Kelly while Eric and Vana had confused looks to share all their own. “Um… Kel?”
“On it.” She said quickly; pulling out her tablet she brought up the data on Tri Fotia they had acquired from the research facility that had been taken down the previous week. David had been kind enough to keep detailed notes on each of the Breakers; everything from their basic measurements before leaving to their preference in color and hair styles. Right now though she was looking through his intelligence scores and in the process came across his blood curse and checked it against the registry. “There… oh, Oblivious Denial, I doubt he has any idea how much trouble he’s in.”
Campbell tried to shrug but his hands were still restrained. “What trouble; I don’t remember doing anything wrong. I was minding my own business when I was attacked. I remember good lookin over there strangling me, then someone tossed a bag over my head and brought me here.”
“Uh huh.” Marco nodded before opening a file. “Well; you are formally being charged with being a member of a criminal team, possession of a Love Ball, three accounts of aggravated assault, two accounts of attempted murder, the attempted kidnapping technically falls under the aggravated assault, use of said Love Ball which also earns you the death sentence, trespassing, destruction of private property, and being over limit for the number of pokégirls you had on your person.”
“And that job was going pretty damn good until I got teleported all of a sudden. Luckily June was alive enough to get me back to the city. Got my orders, kill any men we came across then love ball any women and capture any pokégirls. Andzral said it would be a walk in the park; lost over a dozen pokégirls, sure I have plenty more but it’s the principal of the thing.” Campbell shrugged.
“You little shit!” Vana yelled as she started to move from behind her husband only to be held back. “You turned my daughter into a pokégirl, put the other one in the hospital, and almost killed my husband. You should be happy he’s holding me back, otherwise I’d come across this table and knock your teeth down your throat.”
There was a sharp knock at the door but before they could reply it was shoved open. A pair of pokégirls entered the room, dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses. Without acknowledging Marco they quickly move around the tables on both sides and grabbed Campbell. Entering the room shortly after was Lorain Baswell, Butcher, and Caswell. Marco bit his tongue just long enough to salute then glared at Lorain and Caswell.
The director of the SII nodded to the two pokégirls and they immediately started untying Campbell. “Colonel, good work on the capture of Chuck Campbell. The SII will be taking him into custody for the time being.”
“Like hell, we aren’t done with him yet.” Marco fired back. “We’ve barely gotten started.”
“Then we’re in luck.” Lorain stated sadly. “Considering the less than stellar mental state after the return of David Frapp SII decided to retrieve Mr. Campbell early.”
Vana stepped before the lawyer and clenched her fist. “You should be happy he’s even alive at all, give his crimes and what he did to my family we could have legally executed him on the spot, something I would have taken care of myself by the way.”
General Butcher cleared his throat to get their attention. “Colonel, Mr. and Mrs. Readman; I understand and mirror your views on the matter but this has been taken out of my hands.”
Caswell raised a hand to try and calm them down. “It’s true; our intelligence reports say that he has knowledge on a multitude of incidents involving pokégirl theft and Team Rocket across the leagues. Our special Criminal Team Taskforce has been kept in to loop and made privy to all actions you’ve taken against Team Rocket and we feel that Campbell here has intimate knowledge that could lead us to their leader.”
Marco moved in the way of the two SII pokégirls. “Are you talking about Mr. G? Because that bastard is on my hit list too and he won’t be around for interrogation when I get my hands on him.”
“Actually no, our sources tell us that what you’ve been dealing with is just a division of Team Rocket, much like you and General Butcher being in a division of the Indigo Military. There’s someone else at the top of the mountain and we want him.”
“And if you come in contact with Mr. G. Colonel, then you are to take him in alive.” Butcher added as if to force the point.
Relenting, Marco moved to the side to let the girls pass then turned his attention back to Caswell. “Any and all information you get from this bastard I want sent to me. My family came under attack and Alexis was killed just yesterday. I’m taking all this very seriously and if we’re providing information to you then I expect some professional courtesy in return.”
“Anything significant we find out we’ll send your way.”
“That’s not what I said, I don’t care what you consider to be important; I want all the information you get to be sent to us.”
Caswell was about to speak and Butcher was preparing to interrupt but they had to set that aside when Vana grabbed Campbell by the shirt. The two pokégirls move to stop her but a psych shield formed around them. Her eyes didn’t flash as much as pulse violently. “This is far from over, from this point on you will be plagued by nothing but misery and so help me god, if I ever get my hands on you again you are a dead man.” The Lady Luck growled out before shoving him back against the table and walking out the room. Just as she was about to leave she turned to look at Caswell and Lorain, her eyes flashing for just a moment. “It’s bad luck to mess with my family.”
The pokégirls were about to go after her but Eric stood in their way. “It’s been a stressful time for us; losing a family friend then having our chance for justice ripped away for the sake of intelligence.”
Both girls looked towards Caswell who craned his neck back towards Campbell; they nodded once then picked him back up and waited. “We understand that Mr. Readman and appreciate the fact that at least you’re patient and understanding about this. Colonel, we’ll get that information to you.”
Both groups made it to the outside of the building without further incident. Caswell and Lorain would be taking PUMAs back to the regular facility to officially log out of the area while Butcher chose the say behind with Marco and the others. As Caswell tried to climb into the vehicle his hand slipped and he ended up bumping his head against the roll cage. Marco and Eric cut their eyes to look at Vana who had turned her attention elsewhere.
Butcher wasn’t fooled though, having taken the time to look up exactly what breed of pokégirl Marco’s mother was. He waited until the other left before addressing her directly. “How much bad luck did you just give them?”
Vana continued to act as if she had better things to think about. “I have no idea what you mean Mr. Butcher.” She didn’t think he’d feel any better knowing that she actually did force every manner of bad luck on the Breaker. Lorain and Caswell would be in for a day or two of little things going wrong but Campbell was sentenced to a lifetime of misfortune.
“I’ll take your word for it. Colonel, I’m sorry things turned out this way. If it were up to me you’d be free to do whatever you wanted with Campbell but SII really wants him.”
Marco was visibly trying to calm himself down. If the powers that be had plans for Campbell then he really couldn’t do anything to stop them. All the same he was tired and starting to think that Jean had the right idea about taking a break. “I understand sir; were you able to do that thing for Alexis I asked about?”
“Of course, she will receive a two rank promotion and her name will be given a spot of honor for our fallen soldiers; right next to Leona’s. It will be in the pokégirl’s section but given how hard it is to receive this particular honor the section is rather bare, those two names are sure to stand out.”
“Thank you sir, I’m sure they wouldn’t have it any other way.”
A loud popping sound echoed from down the road and they watched as one of the PUMA slid to a halt. Butcher was quick to summon Hiyori and when he pointed off in the distance she quickly teleported away. A few minutes went by before she returned with a puzzled look on her face. “They had a blowout… I’ve never heard of a PUMA tire blowing out for no apparent reason.”
They all turned to Vana but she had vacated her spot next to Eric, leaving her husband shaking his head in disbelief. “Oh there’s a reason alright.”
_____
Base of Alphonso Haures
It was a day of a lot of first on the Team Rocket front. Haures had never seen Andzral pout the way she had been doing. Apparently she found it to be a rather humbling experience, suffering the indignity of having her arm cut off by a pokégirl she should have beaten in her sleep. Slightly more aggravating was the fact that Angelica was actually laughing at her. The Breaker had never shown much emotion even before her run in with Evan but watching her laugh was bordering on eerie. Never the less Haures was smart enough to not interfere when the two women hashed things out over the monitors.
“One more time, please explain it to me one more time.” Angelica nearly cried as she tried to contain herself.
“Shut up Angie!”
“Oh no, not this time. Not only did you not get a chance to implement your master plan, which would have failed miserably by the way, you were nearly killed by a Cherub of all things. And the cherry on top; you couldn’t warn Campbell in time not to be captured by Avalanche!” Wiping a tear from her eye she reached over and grabbed her drink then tilted the monitor slightly. “He is sure as dead by now.”
Andzral growled and glared into her monitor with vicious intent. “You think this shit’s funny?”
“Yep, I sure do. I mean sure, congratulations on killing the Cherub, that makes what… two girls you’ve personally screwed Mr. G. out of and three total missing from Avalanche. That’s what; roughly one eighth of the original number without counting Readman’s personal harem?”
“You’re awfully cheerful about what happened considering your delicate position with Mr. G. as well. You still haven’t been punished for disobeying his orders.” Andzral smirked back.
“Oh? Well Evan is dead and Campbell is either in jail or joining him in hell. You’re going to be busy trying to find a suitable Digtit to dig you out of the hole you put yourself in. So what; what’s he going to do, find that guy who can stop me? What was his name, Michael McDoesn’t-Exist?” There was a small flash in the corner of the screen followed by a connecting signal. “And here he comes now.”
Mr. G. entered the conference call and though his face was still shrouded they could tell he wasn’t thrilled about how things had gone the previous day. “What the hell happened Andzral? You we’re left in charge and all you managed to do was kill another one of Readman’s girls, lose two more Breakers, and lose Campbell! How in the hell did they get Campbell anyway?!”
Andzral scratched her head idly; his bitching at her was the last thing she really wanted to deal with at the moment. “Chuck used one of his girls to infiltrate Avalanche back during Sadie Pokén’s Day and she was to feed us information on Avalanche from the inside. What we didn’t know is that Readman had killed this girl after I had his family attacked. We’re still not exactly sure on how he found her out. Apparently the Cherub I fought and killed had been using the girl’s phone to send us false information and had lured Campbell into a trap. I did indeed fight and kill this Cherub; but it was out of my hands, she was far more dangerous than anything we could have imagined. By the time I was able to get a call to Campbell it was too late. I was able to hear him being captured on the other end of the line.”
“Two girls Andzral; that’s two girls for Avalanche I’ve lost out on because of your actions!”
“One and a half really; I mean the Sexslash isn’t dead… she just has a new way of thinking.”
“Don’t you get smart with me!”
“And don’t you bitch at me!” She yelled back angrily. “You get to keep your ass in the shadows while we do the grunt work? And for what, a group a pokégirls way stronger than you can handle?”
Angelica snickered again and whispered off screen. “Funny, I remember saying something along those lines before.”
“You think you can just talk to me any kind of way and their not be repercussions?”
“As Angelica keyed me into earlier, playing with a stacked deck has its advantages. You need us a lot more than we need your shit right now. You want us to handle this and we’re going to handle it but you can either stop ya bitching or join us on the battlefield.”
Mr. G. was about to speak but there was a sudden burst in their transmission. The smile was wiped off Angelica’s face and both Mr. G. and Andzral stopped their shouting match when the red and gold rotating [R] formed on the screen. It was rare to see it but they all recognized the emblem of their boss and the head of Team Rocket. “While I detest the idea that it came from a pokégirl I’m apt to agree with Andzral. Gerard, your actions and vendetta are no longer just costing you money. Other divisions are getting drug into the pit with you and I just can’t stand idly by any longer.”
Mr. G. swallowed hard and looked to his assistant. “I wasn’t aware of any other divisions besides Acquisitions being used by me.”
“You’re a fucking idiot! Where in the hell do you think your personnel came from? Team Rocket is a vast organization, I thought you understood that, well apparently you don’t and I don’t have time to spoon feed you. Here’s the long and the short of it, you are personally going out on your next ‘mission’ against Avalanche and one way or another I want this over.”
“But… but Da”
“Don’t you fucking say it! One more word and I swear I’ll have you killed myself. If you have to you can pull girls from the High Level Storage Vault. Either way; get it done or let it go.”
Angelica took this rare moment to speak up. Now that she had their boss’s attention it was a prime time to get some information out into the open. “Boss, Sir; I personally vote that we should give up on Readman.”
Andzral rolled her eyes and Gerard snapped. “What have I told you about that line of thinking Angelica?”
“Shut the hell up Gerard.” Their Boss spoke gruffly. “I agree with her, but if nothing else I want to hear her reasoning. Angelica, if you please.”
“Thank you sir. Beforehand, before we attacked his family, before we level-fived one of his girls and killed another one, hell, even before Evan got his hands on Arianna; we could have dealt with Readman. But our constant attacks have changed the nature of the beast we’ve been hunting. It’s a classic case of escalation of force.”
Though the Boss couldn’t be seen he was nodding his head in agreement. “I understand what you’re saying angelica but please explain it for them.”
“Yes sir. Back when it was just Haures taking care of things he went on the attack and managed to kill Readman’s CalamityJane. In response to this, Readman took out one of our safe houses and front businesses all in one evening.”
Andzral sat forward in frustration. “Yeah, and I almost killed that bastard that night.”
“Almost but didn’t; knocked him into a coma though. In that amount of time Haures manages to get his hands on Arianna. Then Readman comes out of said coma months later and apparently was quite pissed about it, I believe that was when Haures got sent to prison. You see where I’m going with this. We attack one of his people and he takes a massive chunk out of our ass for it.”
Haures sighed and nodded in agreement. “Once he understood what was happening his defenses went up. We weren’t prepared for what would happen if he ever decided to take the fight to us and it keeps costing us dearly.”
“So, I’m not the only one who’s been thinking things have gotten excessive, good to know. This meeting is over, Gerard get the girls you need from that vault like I said. Angelica, I need to talk to you privately.” The Breaker and only remaining member of Tri Fotia swallowed hard. She’d never spoken to their boss firsthand and if she was being honest with herself she never had the desire to do so either. As the other windows closed out and she was left watching the rotating [R] she could feel her heart begin to race. “Angelica, I have some questions for you.”
_____
Avalanche Office, Rifle Range, 2040
With Alexis laid to rest earlier that day the unit had returned home to wind down. Everyone had been taking the loss of Alexis rather hard but the one who seemed to be having the most difficult time was Henrietta. She didn’t lash out or cry; she just wasn’t herself. Her mannerisms and body language was off from the norm. Jean had made several attempts to get her to open up but was pointedly shutdown every time. Now the Blaze Rider sat alone at the range; quietly sipping at her drink and watching the sun set behind the hills.
The fire that flickered around her collar hadn’t gone up since she arrived on the scene to watch her subordinate die. Every now and then she could still see the light fading from Alexis’s eyes but she couldn’t feel any emotion from what she remembered. They had put their friend to rest and Henrietta buried the delicate details about her past with the only other person who knew them.
She cracked a smile as the sun gave way to its final flash of light. A stiff breeze blew past and she could hear footsteps approaching. “It’s a fine night; clear skies, hundreds of stars, a perfect evening really.”
Ashley nodded and took a seat in the grass next to her. “This seems to be the place where you and Marco always retreat to when you need to think.”
“We both enjoy the view. Is there something you need?”
“No… I just wanted to spend some time with you. It takes me back to when I first joined; after you finished kicking my ass for the day you would drag me out here to talk about how I could get better. Chesra was always good for teaching me how the handle my weapons but you had down and dirty fighting down to a science. Did… did you train Alex in how to fight too?”
“She and I would spar together but her fighting style was vastly different than anything I used.” Henrietta sighed to herself. “Next to Ari, me, and oddly enough Renae, Alex was one of the scariest people to fight. But you’ve sparred with her before, not telling you anything you didn’t already know.”
Once again Ashley nodded; she was desperately trying to find a way to get her mentor to open up. “Marco, well, everyone’s worried about you. I was just wondering if…”
“No, gonna stop you right there. I already know, please don’t bother.”
“But they’re worried…”
“I know.”
“And you don’t care?”
“Sure don’t.”
“That’s rather selfish don’t you think.”
“Little bit, still don’t care.”
“I call bullshit.”
“And ever since we gave you that T2 you can spell it as well.” Henrietta fired back, showing just a hint of her coming around. “Look I know what you’re trying to do, but not right now. We all have to go through things our own way, mine is just different than the others.”
The Peekabu nodded and stood up. “Marco said as much… you’ll never want to talk but… you know the rest.”
“I know, save a drink for me.”
Ashley didn’t respond just jogged her way back to the office. The majority of the unit was in the bar area, toasting to Alexis and forgetting their troubles. Along with them the rest of the Readmans had shown up earlier to pay their respects. If not for the Cherubs quick actions the day they were attacked they may have lost Erica. Of course both teens had attended the funeral and despite their age sat drinking along with everyone else. Their parents we’re keeping a watchful eye on what and how much they were consuming but they also figured that some lessons were better learned around friends and family.
Both Marco and Kelly had suddenly received calls and disappeared off to the outside of the building. Moments later Delilah arrived; from the look of things she was bringing good news but she was also well aware of her current standing with them. It didn’t take long for Mina and the others to back track the orders that insisted that Campbell be brought in back to SII, but really SLOI, and specifically Phillip and Delilah. Every organization had their reasons for how they conducted business but at that particular moment Avalanche wouldn’t care much for what SLOI’s were.
Delilah removed her hat and bowed to them both. “Colonel, Major; my condolences on your loss… and my apologies for getting Campbell removed from your custody.”
“Oh, it was you guys that had him taken away? I guess that does explain a few things.” Marco spoke as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Please don’t play dumb Colonel, we both know better.”
Kelly crossed her arms. “Fair enough, how is Campbell doing by the way?”
“He’s alive, though for how much longer we can’t be sure.” The Dark Queen thought before picking up the looks they were giving her and shaking her head. “No, not by our doing. It almost feels as though he has some kind of hex on him. He almost broke his neck while leaning on a table when his chair broke, the X-Ray scanner malfunctioned and he was forced into a very thorough search, he even choked on a bowl of rice for god’s sake.”
‘That’s my mom for ya.’ Marco thought in the back of his mind. “Well as amusing as this is, on to the matter at hand. Why are you here?”
“I’ll assume by your tone that you’re less than thrilled with my being here, as the Major said, fair enough. I’ll be brief then. The axis of power that’s been haunting you has taken a shift, Mr. G., who’s actual name is Gerard, has been instructed to personally come after you. His benefactor is fed up with all of it and Gerard has to personally come after you the next time there’s an attempt on your life.”
Marco’s eyes didn’t so much light up as smolder. “I can only hope we meet face to face, I’ll carve his heart out with my knife. “
“No Colonel,” Delilah spoke harshly causing both Marco and Kelly to raise an eyebrow. “It is of paramount importance that we capture Gerard. He’s not the actual leader of Team Rocket but he’s high enough that he’ll surely have seen their boss.”
Kelly was about to speak when Marco started stepping towards the Dark Queen. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to see that he’d had enough and as he approached her she began to back away. “Oh no Miss. Delilah, I don’t think you quite understand. You see, I am way past giving anything resembling a flying fuck about what you, or SLOI, the IGS, the SII, General Butcher, or even the god damned President of the fucking league think concerning this. You know what I think is of paramount importance, the people closest to me. I’ve been shot, stabbed, tortured, and knocked into a coma, and you know what, I’m fucking fine with that. But my ladies… their home’s been broken into, they’ve been beaten, tortured, raped, level-fived, forced to look after my comatose useless ass, and forced to bury two of their friends in less than a year.” Delilah could feel the heat beginning to radiate from a furious Marco and when she glanced to the side she could see members of Avalanche and the harem making their way outside, drawn by the heated temper of their Colonel. “And let’s not forget about my actual family; attacked in their home as well, my sister love balled, my other sister almost bled to death in her living room, both nearly kidnapped, and my father clawed up by the bastard you had removed from my custody. So you have the nerve to come here, on the day of our family member’s funeral no less, and tell me that when I finally get my hands on the spineless son of a bitch that has brought all this upon me and mine, that I can’t actually turn him into a spineless son of a bitch by ripping it out. You know what? Fuck you, go to hell, and when you get there go fuck yourself again!”
The Dark Queen was more than a little startled by the outburst from Readman. In the back of her mind she knew that approaching them on such a day was inappropriate at the very least and could understand his anger at what she was asking. Marco had finally stopped his advancing at the urging of Carrie and the others and Henrietta had teleported in from the range.
The Blaze Rider didn’t seem to be interested in why he’d been yelling at Delilah, she just wanted it to stop. “This isn’t the day to be acting like this Marco… not today.” She explained as she touched him on the shoulder and walked by to go inside. “Excuse me.”
Delilah put her hat back atop her head and bowed. “I’m sorry for intruding on today, I meant no disrespect and my only intention was to warn you of the impending danger that’s heading your way… I’ll see myself out.”
Just as she was about to teleport away she heard him heave a deep sigh. “I’m not going out of my way to keep him alive if he and I come face to face… I’m tired, tired of it all.”
“I understand Colonel; this must have been a very trying ordeal for all of you but you especially. Do know that if you ever require assistance, when the time comes you can count on SLOI.”
“I’m sure I can, as a matter of fact I’m certain the Shadow League would love to be around, if for no other reason than to whisk Gerard away moments before I shove my gun up his ass and blow his brains out.”
“Understood Colonel, again I apologize for intruding.” Delilah bowed once more then teleported away.
Marco continued to stand there and fume as the others looked on. Delilah wasn’t the only one startled by his actions. While they would never say it aloud they were beginning to worry more and more about him. The constant strain of being under attack and them being in danger was starting to show itself more. They weren’t worried for themselves; his wrath had a singular focus on the people constantly trying to hurt them. But he was changing.
There was a new worry that he was starting to turn into the same monsters he’d been fighting. Marco was smart enough to keep his actions on the legal side of the law but the line he walked was starting to get hazy. His nature was turning more brutal and vindictive, opting for revenge over understanding. There was none who could blame him but they worried none the less.
~~~~~
Indigo Plateau, Residential District
Delilah stepped into her apartment and removed her coat and hat, setting them on the rack next to the door. She started towards the armchair, kicking off her shoes along the way, then plopped down and let out a breath. The more she thought about things the more she came to realize what a mistake she’d just made. Still she felt she’d gotten off lucky, the wild look in his eyes and the way he approached her; he seemed to be a stone’s throw from attacking her. The agent in her said that she should report his instability but her humanity decided against it. The way she saw it he’d been through enough already and sending a review team to an ally wouldn’t be helping their cause.
From her chair she glanced at the monitor she used during meetings with Angelica or Phillip. Realistically she should be calling the Breaker for more information but that could wait. In the back of her mind Delilah began to wonder just how much Readman knew about what she was doing. It was obvious she was getting her information from somewhere and slightly more obvious from whom.
She’d spent years in Team Rocket; sneaking, conniving, manipulating, and making deals to get where she was a year ago. Then one little suggestion was all it took to set them on the path to destruction. Talking up the strength of military pokégirls made them prime targets for Team Rocket and really, who better to go after than Avalanche. The irony of turning the Pro Pokégirl Rights unit into a weapon of Team Rocket was all the bait Haures needed to start his campaign against Readman, stealing one of the best the military had to offer was just the icing on the cake. What they hadn’t counted on was the kind of resistance they were going to be up against and when push came to shove Team Rocket was coming up short.
Things were actually turning out better than Delilah had initially predicted. Discovering that Team Rocket had ties to the government was considered by many to be a career maker and made her years of undercover service worth the wait. Then learning that the target she’d turned the organization on was not only giving them trouble but dismantling them raised the stakes. Having them decide that Readman and Avalanche were of such trouble that they needed to call on the infamous criminals of Tri Fotia was the Holy Grail though. Her mission had been extended but now she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, the only problem was the dark clouds rolling in.
With a groan she sat forward and buried her face in her hands. The soft paddle of footsteps got Delilah’s attention and she glanced towards the kitchen to see Clair walking out with a tray holding two cups. “What are you doing here?”
Clair made her way to her partner and handed her a cup before taking a seat on the couch. “Phillp sent me to check on you, how’d things go with Avalanche?”
“I don’t often tell you you were right, but you were. Going there today was one of the worst decisions I’d ever made.”
“I did say that going to them on such a day wasn’t a good idea. Initially I thought it would have been better if I’d of gone, then I remembered one of his girls mentioning his dislike of celestial pokégirls.”
“Given how torn up he was over the Cherub’s death I’m not so sure how much he hates your kind. Not that I don’t understand; if something were to happen to you I think I’d shed a tear or two.”
The Megami-sama smiled politely. “I’ll be sure to remember that the next time you need a taming. Anyway, the Colonel wasn’t appreciative of your giving him a heads up?”
Delilah squeezed her eyes shut in aggravation and threw her head back. “Oh I’m sure he would have been; right up until I told him that he was to bring Gerard in alive. Then he quite soundly told me off.”
Clair noticed how shaken up the Dark Queen was and leaned forward. “That’s off from the information we have on him.”
“You have no idea, I believe the highlight of his statement was, ‘fuck you, go to hell, and when you get there go fuck yourself again’, I’ll assume he didn’t mean me specifically but more the intelligence community and string pullers as a whole.” Delilah sighed before taking a sip of the tea Clair had prepared.
Clair set her cup on the table. “That’s a bit harsh, I’ll be sure to report it to Phillip.”
“Don’t bother. Colonel Readman’s been through so much; attacks, loss, betrayal. All of that pain being forced on one person, I’m actually surprised he’s managed to hold it together for as long as he has.”
The eyes of the Megami-sama softened when she thought about all he had to endure. “I suppose you’re right. But do you think he will continue to follow orders and bring Gerard in alive.”
Delilah sat back and placed her hand around her chin as she thought. Her golden eyes pulsed then dimmed rhythmically for a minute or so until she finished considering all the possibilities. “I hope he will… but we need to be prepared to neutralize him if need be. This isn’t the kind of opportunity we can just let slip away.”
“What do you mean by neutralize?” Clair asked with ever narrowing eyes.
“I’m certain that the first thing to come to mind was exactly what I meant by neutralize.”
_____
Avalanche Office, Following Week
The unit was finally starting to get back to normal, though things would never really be normal for them again. Their training schedules resumed but with a different intensity and focus. Precision was still their claim to fame but now on top of that was an almost savage brutality that went along with it. Marco had been working Jean and Ilene overtime in helping the others train. Using wide area illusions; he and Kelly had come up with dozens of scenarios to push each member of the unit and harem past their normal abilities and clear to their breaking point. Not that they were exempt either. Hostage scenarios, heavily lopsided battles, tactical withdrawals; if there was a chance of it happening then they were trained on it.
Everyone had received the training fairly well for the most part. But Henrietta was proving to be the exception. While she did participate she wasn’t fully invested. Marco knew that losing Alexis had something to do with it but she’d been acting strange even before then, ever since her fight with Ying. There had been only one time since then she even resembled going all out and if it weren’t for the fact that she was fighting illusions she would have killed several of the unit. Even then she hadn’t gone into battle mode since before her fight with the G-Splice. He wouldn’t pry though, when she finally was ready to talk he’d be there to listen to her.
Isabella had been busy recalibrating her drones when Henrietta walked in. The Blaze Rider had been overly polite to everyone since losing Alexis but the look on her face meant she was there for something serious. Putting her soldering iron to the side the Mecha Musume turned to face her. “Ma’am, something I can help you with?”
“Yes, do you still have all the data from that research facility, specifically the technical specs you lifted off of Dizzy’s computers?”
“That I do, just give me one moment to pull them up.” While the files started loading Isabella gave Henrietta a grateful look. “Thank you for killing her, I doubt I would have been able to get away with that like you did.”
“You’re welcome? She’d pissed me off and at that particular point I just wasn’t havin it.”
“I’m not quite sure you understand. I mean you know the Colonel much better than I do so I could be wrong about this but I’m certain that if we actually captured her he would have wanted to keep her around. I mean even though I could have voted against it and that be the end of that, if he wanted to keep her it would be hard to refuse him.”
“I understand that, realistically if he’d been doing the voting thing before he captured me then I wouldn’t be here. Arianna and Zianna would have voted me out long ago.”
“I never really thought about it that way. It may be selfish of me but I didn’t want her around here poking fun of, or worse, telling everyone how she could improve my designs… I put a lot of hard work and care into our equipment.” Isabella said with a shaky voice. “I guess I was just afraid that he’d replace me with her.”
“You know he wouldn’t do that. He’s always going on about how he could never replace any of us… kind of makes me wonder why he’s letting Jean replace Alex.” Henrietta asked through a grumble.
The information was finally coming up on the compute and she thankfully turned her back to Henrietta as she spoke. “I know you mean well but I miss the old Henrietta. She would have called me an idiot for even suggesting that he’d replace me with that fruitcake. As for Jean; it wasn’t her choice and the Colonel clearly explained that she wasn’t replacing Alexis. Alex wanted Jean to replace her if something happened and Jean’s going to try and honor her wishes… but at best she’s just trying to be helpful. Here, these are the files you asked for, was there something specific you needed.”
“May I?” Henrietta asked before placing her fingers on the keyboard. She knew how touchy Isabella got about her stuff and didn’t want to set the girl off, lest she be forced to knock some sense into her. When Isabella moved out of the way she typed a few characters into the search program and instantly pulled up what she was looking for. “If you really want to put a dent in a dead girl’s coffin do you think you could improve on that?”
The Mecha Musume opened the schematics for the program then switched them over to a larger screen so she could see the whole thing at once. “I guess that’s the price you pay for being a multitasker. The design is good but she got so wrapped up in the field generation that she overlooked a few key ways of making it better. It will take me a little time but yeah, I can build and improve upon this.”
“Good… one thing though, I only want you building one of these and only for me. No one else is to know about this, understood?”
“But… but what if the Colonel asks what I’m working on? I can’t just lie to him.”
Henrietta knew that Isabella was just trying to get the better of her. “Sure, has he ever really come in here asking exactly what you were working on and expected a clear answer? He’s a tactician not a technician after all.”
“You do have a point there; I’ll start on it immediately, when would you like it done?”
She thought for a few moments then shrugged. “Preferably before our next outing so as soon as possible. If anyone else asks you about it then direct them to me, that includes Mina too.”
“Yes ma’am.”
~~~~~
Down in the Operation Control room Marco was busy trying to decide his next move. Even though the Indigo League Championships had started the gyms were going to be opened. He wouldn’t be making himself a target this time. He’d had enough of putting the others in danger for a while and wasn’t willing to do it on Cinnibuns Island. Naturally the unit insisted on being in position anyway but he refused. In the end they compromised on being at the gym to watch the battle then everyone leaving together.
Jean sat next to him and continued to look over Alexis’s files, eight of her tails moved around aimlessly while the ninth found its way onto her love’s lap. He was busy coming up with the battle order and idly stroked her fur. With a sigh she glanced at him. “Who are the best candidates for battle this time?”
“It’s actually pretty hard to say, we don’t have any Ground, Rock, or Water types to take advantage of elements. If Henrietta feels up to battling I’ll send her in. You’re also a pretty fair choice for this fight. Chesra’s a good choice too if Henrietta decides she’s not up to it. Carrie’s a pretty mixed bag, none of the abilities she’s listed from the sword has anything to do with water. If Bernadette evolves then she’d stand a pretty good chance… well no worse than any of the others.”
Opposed to typing Jean began to jab at the keys to the laptop with her fingers before sliding it away from her in frustration. “This fucking thing… you didn’t mention Ashley in any of that.”
“She’ll be fighting; next to Rietta she has the highest pure damage output of anyone else in the harem.” Reaching forward he picked up the laptop and slid it closer to him to take a look at what she was working on. “Speaking of Henrietta, you still can’t access her file?”
“No, I’ve been trying to get in for days but the access code for hers is different than the others. The only thing I know is that the last time it was updated was after she became Charred. These are Alex’s personal files so you don’t have the codes to them… I just wonder what kind of secret they were hiding.” Jean continued to stare at the laptop before glancing back to Marco. “I understand that you give us a lot of freedom to make our own choices but why are you giving Rietta so much leeway in whether she fights or not?”
“Because she’s dangerous right now. She’s always been dangerous really but at this very moment… she’s like a… like a bottle of pure nitroglycerin. You can be around it safely but if you don’t handle it properly it will blow up in your face.” He nodded as he slid the laptop back to her and continued stroking her tail. “I’ve talked to her and she’s slowly coming around, so if she wants to fight I’ll let her and if not she can sit it out. If we really need her to fight she’ll do that too.”
“I guess, but I remember Chesra telling you not to let our emotions override your tactical assessments. It’s good advice, better advice… don’t let your own emotions override your tactical assessments either.”
Marco couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he sat back in his chair. “Therapist, a harem of beautiful therapist... how in the hell did I get a harem of beautiful therapist? Either way I’ll give some advice to you too hun, don’t push too hard with Rietta. She handles things her own way, it may not be pretty but it works for her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
_____
That Evening, Operational Control Room
It was the first time since Marco’s coma that the senior members and leaders of Avalanche had had a meeting, but once again it was only the pokégirls taking part. Since Henrietta had her memory back she was in attendance and Jean was there as a representative of the harem. In reality they could have brought everyone in on the meeting but it was deemed necessary to only involve those who had been around the longest and couldn’t be pressured into talking. Marco had suspected over the years that they had been having meetings in secret but could never really tell what about or why.
It wasn’t often that they needed to have meetings concerning him but when it happened it was because there was an issue that needed to be addressed. Kelly glanced at the empty chair Alexis use to occupy and looked downward. “He’s getting worse, every day it just seems like he’s getting a bit worse. You all were there, he doesn’t even want us in positions for the next gym battle.”
Renae had her usual cup of tea and took a sip. “He’s been pushing us extra hard in our training and emphasizing killing our opposition. It’s not something I’m against given what’s happened with Alex.”
“Agreed,” Chesra nodded. “I think we can all agree that enough is enough. We’ve spent too much time and lost far too much fucking around with them. If I spot Andzral I’m taking her head off.”
Fire instantly erupted from Henrietta’s collar and for the first time since Ying she appeared to be genuinely mad. “No Ches, she’s mine. She took my subordinate and I’ll have my revenge.”
“You’re not the only one who has an axe to grind against Andzral. She held Arianna hostage for months, nearly killed Carrie and Marco, and had Nikki level-fived, we all want a piece of her.”
“That may be Chesra but I’m looking at Ari, I had breakfast with Marco and Carrie, Nikki will never have her old personality back but she’s still alive. For Alex… all that’s left is an empty chair.” Henrietta sucked in a tense breath and let the fires die down. “Look, I don’t have a whole lot of time left and I’m going to handle this first.”
All eyes focused on the Blaze Rider but Selena was the first to speak. “What do you mean by you don’t have a whole lot of time left? Is there something wrong ma’am?”
“It’s nothing to worry about.”
Mina shook her head. “The connection you have with the Colonel isn’t trivial, what happened in the research facility proves that much. So yeah, pretty sure there’s something to worry about.”
“Ok then, I’ll be blunt, it’s none of your damn business. This meeting isn’t about me it’s about him.”
Jean’s eyes cut to Henrietta but Kelly shook her head before addressing them again. “As curious as I am Rietta’s right, and we’re getting off topic. He said that we won’t be in position around the city and we won’t be. Isabella’s still going to be running her drones and when we leave it’s going to be immediately after the match. Any objections?”
“No Ma’am.” They all said in unison.
“We’ve yet to have any attacks happen inside the gym, going to assume that they know better than to attack us there… but assumptions lead to mistakes. We’ll set up defensive positions around the gym and insert ourselves into the crowds, eyes on anyone you believe to be a threat. Go over everything with your teams and we’ll go over it again together on the day of. Dismissed.”
The girls had left the room to go their separate ways but Jean cornered Henrietta out in the hallway. “What are you hiding from us?”
“I thought when I was clear with Mina everyone else would have gotten it too. It’s none of your business.”
“Oh I think it is now. It was your subordinate that asked me to do this and in respect for her I will. She made one last update to your file then locked it under a different password from everyone else. Now I want to know what she was hiding for you.” Henrietta kept herself in check and started to walk away. “Fine, but eventually I’ll crack the code, and if I can’t I’ll have Isabella look into it for me. If you weren’t a dark type I would have just pulled it from your mind and moved on.”
Henrietta turned sharply and hit Jean with a right, knocking her against the wall before bracing her forearm against the Kyubi’s throat. “Last warning, you will let this go and you’ll let it go now. If not for your delta bond I’d snap your neck right here. It doesn’t concern you and it doesn’t concern Marco, drop it.”
Jean grabbed Henrietta by the arm and teleported them into the pit then used the opened space to back away. “We’ve never really had it out have we? So if you want to do this then we can do it.”
“I’m not in the mood to fight right now, I want you to understand that. If we do this then it’s to the death…” Fire swirled around Henrietta and a gun formed in her hand. “Marco’s going to be upset in the morning.”
Jean flipped a knife from her back and moved into her stance. The tales of the Kyubi burst to life and the two girls began to circle each other. Fire leapt forward from Henrietta and the two girls charged. Just as they were about to clash a wall of ice appeared between then. Renae stood atop the center pillar looking down on both of them.
“Jean; Henrietta, I thought you said that we’ve had enough death for a while. Please turn in for the night.”
Henrietta stuffed her white braided ponytail down the back of her shirt and tightened her grip on the gun. “You giving me orders Renae?”
“No ma’am, just making a suggestion. But it should take you both a while to kill each other, just long enough for me to go and wake up the Colonel. And I’m certain he wouldn’t approve of two of his harem members trying to gut each other in the middle of the night. So please, whatever your disagreement is, let it rest for now.”
Jean slid her knife back into its sheath and Henrietta dismissed her gun. The fires that swirled around the Blaze Rider died out as she glared back at the Kyubi. “Fine, I’m going to bed. But I’ll say it one more time Jean, let it go. You want to help and I understand that but I don’t need it.” Jean looked as though she was about to speak but Henrietta cut her off. “You’re in a unique position and you should respect it more. When you first joined the harem no one questioned you; your past, personal issues, and problems are your own until you chose to let someone in. Alexis understood that and we went to her when we needed to. She respected our privacy and knew not to share or speak of what she learned about us personally. Marco knew this too, that’s why he never looked into the files when he had the chance. Have more respect for the privileged information you’ve been handed, because if not for the respect we have for her and Marco’s urging there would be a lot of request that you delete those files.”
Jean stood dumbstruck. In her eagerness to do Alexis proud and help the others she didn’t realize she may have been stepping on their toes as well. “I’m sorry; I didn’t understand what I was doing and I apologies for being so intrusive to you… I’ll apologies to the others at breakfast tomorrow as well.” Her eyes began to well up with tears and she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. “I just want to make her proud you know? She had this much trust in me and I’m blowing it already.”
“Most of the others have their problems out in the opened, like Renae they’ve come to terms with things that have happened to them and confront them again when they need to. You’re already on the right path and Alex made the right choice in you.” Henrietta looked up towards the stars then back to Jean. “You’ll never fully understand my past because that’s none of your business, but I’ll share my secret one day.”
_____
|
Alpha- Kelly- Duelist |
|
Delta |
Echo |
Indigo |
|
Beta- Chesra- Archangel |
Beta- Henrietta- Charred Ghostrider |
Beta- Mina- Kunoichi |
|
Arianna- War Hound |
Field Beta- Selena- Caphoochie |
Zianna- Wolf Queen |
|
Kim- Bombshell |
Rebecca- Smokey |
Renae- Ice Princess |
|
Nikki- SexSlash |
Lily- Belle Awesome |
Isabella- Mecha Musume |
|
Emaline- Fire Maiden |
Alexis- Cherub- KIA |
Tam- Catgirl |
|
Ilene- Imp |
|
Leona- Lamia- KIA |
|
|
|
|
Harem
Chesra- Co-Alpha
Henrietta- Co-Alpha
Carrie- Mistress (M)
Ashley- Peekabu
Jean- Kyubi
Bernadette- Piratit
Handler
Christina Reynolds
Ariel- LawFoxx