[Game] Lord Windos' PokeRole Adventure: Celadon City Vandel

[Spiritmon]

(I think I will just wait for now and see what happens. It would be anticlimactic to just appear.)

[Dragonstrike]

Reiner stops immediately when he hears that voice.  That wasn't Mitchell like he'd been expecting...

He turns slowly...oh my...time to play it cool...

"Valarie Malcolm.  Or should I call you Enigma or Night Terror instead? You certainly know an impressive amount about someone who nobody can actually pin anything on.  Though there are a few details you've neglected to mention or forgot."

[Lord Windos]

Reiner stops immediately when he hears that voice.  That wasn't Mitchell like he'd been expecting...

He turns slowly...oh my...time to play it cool...

"Valarie Malcolm.  Or should I call you Enigma or Night Terror instead? You certainly know an impressive amount about someone who nobody can actually pin anything on.  Though there are a few details you've neglected to mention or forgot."

The old man just chuckles at your wariness, taking a few steps forward out of the cover of the shadows. "Call me Valarie, Mr. Arendse. I've passed along my old title to my grand daughter, whom told me she meet you last night. I'm quite impressed you managed to escape her, as not many manage such a feat unless their destination is a jail cell or the afterlife. As for my knowledge, I just happen to know the odd thing or two, and how to find some information I don't know. Even then, I'm not omniscient, so forgive me if I missed some detail of you life," he said, before gesture with his free hand to the streets of Celadon.

"Tell me, how have you been enjoying the Flower Festival, Mr. Arendse? I always found its latest interation a little to fanciful for my own tastes, but I come from a different era with different standards, so I could just be a little out of touch with the times. Meet new friends here, or make a little profit on the side doing an odd job or another? Tis the season for all kind of opportunities, you know."

[Dragonstrike]

"Unfortunately for Mitchell, she's not tracking a mere grunt who doesn't know a trick or two about disappearing into thin air.  You tend to learn a few things when living a less than desirable life.

Well, maybe this whole thing didn't have to be ugly...Valarie at least seemed to be somewhat reasonable...

"I've been enjoying the festival myself.  Not the festivities for the most part, but there have been a few happy moments, Mew being one of them.  As you said, this festival is full of opportunities, and I'm nearly done with my assigned tasks.  I have no need to cause unnecessary trouble for the festival at this point. Might take a little time to actually enjoy a few of the events later."

[Lord Windos]

"Unfortunately for Mitchell, she's not tracking a mere grunt who doesn't know a trick or two about disappearing into thin air.  You tend to learn a few things when living a less than desirable life.

Well, maybe this whole thing didn't have to be ugly...Valarie at least seemed to be somewhat reasonable...

"I've been enjoying the festival myself.  Not the festivities for the most part, but there have been a few happy moments, Mew being one of them.  As you said, this festival is full of opportunities, and I'm nearly done with my assigned tasks.  I have no need to cause unnecessary trouble for the festival at this point. Might take a little time to actually enjoy a few of the events later."

Valarie nods his head, rubbing his black beard as he contemplated your words, before he shook his head, agreeing with you surprisingly. "I told her as much and take extra caution when facing you, but she didn't listen me, of course. Always a fire in her, ready to scorch all that she deems 'Evil' and unjust', and she just has let it loose at full throatle all the time. She is still young and energetic, of course, but I can tell you they didn't inherit that templarish attitude from me. Oh well, hopefully she'll learn how to restrain herself as the years pass by..."

"Well anyway, I'm glad your having a great time then. It be a waste to steal and barter for all those Pokémon and items if you didn't a sense of some fulfillment out of it, you know. Of course, half the reason you did so was to complete the jobs Giovanni gave you, and gain enough of his favor to get what you truly wanted, so I won't begrudge too much for your action. Just following orders from the boss, after all," he said, and air of remenisance in his tone of voice, stroking his beard as the memory came and went, before redirecting his kindly gaze at you. "Though what you ended up doing with Mew must have thrown more than a few wrenches in his long terms plans for her, but at the same time he got a unique Chosen One in his grasp, so he came out about even in the end."

"Hmm....humor me Mr. Arendse, but what do you just plan on doing with the title of Executive? Gain favor with your Boss? Aquire more resources, connections, and power? Revenge against those that wronged you? Carry on as you always had done so? I'm interested to hear what your answer is, as what a man does with power is just as important as what they do to get it. Don't you agree?"

[Spiritmon]

Not knowing by the two, someone was watching then in a dark valley. It was a man, a tall one. With a beard to be done a considerable time ago. He have a black hair and deep dark brown eyes. He use a dark jacket, and inside a shirt with same color, and a black hat. In his shoulder is there a strange Pokémon. He is kinda similar to a Ditto, kinda jelly, but white color and have more a cat form. He possess black ears and a tail that makes a curve imitating the symbol of the omega and two pair of eyes. One up and other down. The strange man took a cigarette and lit it and swallowed it shortly after releasing some smoke.

"Well mate, that is really a intense and delicate situation. Dont you agree parthner?"

The strange cat just say a meow and the man make a little pant in the head of the Pokemon.

"Heh, for now we will just wait. Lets see how good is that infamous guy. After all, he is one of the best boss grunts."

Then he just hide in the shadows. Waiting the opportunity to strike.

[Dragonstrike]

Reiner scowls.  "The theft isn't the fulfilling part.  Not even close.  You'd do well to keep that in mind when talking to me.  I don't work for Team Rocket because I particularly enjoy the job."

He laughs at the comment concerning Mew, though.  "If it had been anyone else from Team Rocket, they would have never seen Mew, let alone gotten a fair shot at beating her in battle.  That alone is notable enough, even if the mission didn't end as expected."

And then he frowns at that last question.  "The pursuit of power is an interesting topic, as I'm sure you're well aware.  All my life, I've strived to achieve strength.  Live up to at least that part of the family name.  I've been recognized by a few individuals as strong recently, but I'm not going to stop until I've shown the Blackthorn elders they were wrong to take action the way they did.  Funny story, but I was actually beginning to reconsider getting revenge against them.  Well, until I heard what they'd actually been putting me through.

"So I'm going to seek my revenge.  Change Blackthorn and get it away from rigid traditionalism.  Tradition has a place, sure, but in this day and age, sticking to it so stubbornly has consequences.  I'm going to make sure the elders get that message loud and clear when Team Rocket comes knocking on their door."

[Lord Windos]

Valarie quietly listened to your answer, you defiant decree against those that have wronged you and to break the old, rigid mold, before he just nodded once more, and let out a small sigh. "Well said, Mr. Arendse, well said. You seek strength and power, but not for its own shake or to control other, but for a crusade against the establishment that committed the most agregous crime of banishing you for young, ambitious, and foolish actions," he calmly said, looking directly into your eyes despite the distance between the two of you. You could feel an uneasy tension rise between you, slowly beginning to creep thorought the surroundings.

"Do not mistake my words for contempt, for I do sympathize with your plight, but it doesn't change the fact that what put you in the life style you reside is due to that same thing you seek now: Power. You wanted power, to prove your birth right as a Dragon Trainer and be recognized by all, but the Elders refused, deeming you unworthy or unprepared for the challenges of the role you sought. Angry, ambitious, and not a least bit egotistical, you stole away the means to evolve your Kingdra, and in the process endangered not only your life, but of multiple people in town, not the least of which are the other Dragon Trainers sent in to restrain it should it rage out of control. What the Elders did, while grossly negelate and extreme by all rights, was the best means they had to both Safeguard the town while isolating and removing a threat to public safety, while at the same time allowing for the possibility of forgiveness. Harsh forgiveness, perhaps, but forgiveness none of the less. Of course, such a style of punishment is rather ineffectual if the punishee does not know all the details there of or for said possibility of forgiveness, but then again you might have rebelled even harder to such draconic treatment."

A brief moment of silence, as the tall old giant tapped his cane twice into sidewalk, the noise resounding throughout the street. "To be short and blunt, you were the architect of your own condemnation, and all your criminal actions after the fact. You still retain a good moral compass and a certain amount of nobleness despite the years of crime you have bloodied your hands with, and quite obviously possess your own sense of justice, right, wrong, etc. , but you are still a criminal in the end. A vengeful, unrepentant criminal, as a matter of fact. One that has willfully and fully indulged in the dark side of society as a means to an end, rather than for survival or because you had no other recourse. Not as bad as pedophilles, serial murderers or rapists, but a dangerous, formidable threat in your own right. Enough that your Elders have called a Wild Hunt on you, angry and fearful of you coming to seek recompense for the judgement they passed upon you. Enough that you were willing to turn this festival upside down if it would gain the boss' favor and get you that coveted Executive position. Enough to do a lot of things, really." The shadow lengthed and darkened as the sun finally sunk completely beneath the horizon, leaving both of with only the light of the stars to brighten the night.

Valarie let out another sigh, before shaking his head, and you could feel his disappointment in you. "You remind me of myself, Mr. Arendse. A lot like who I was forty, fifty years ago, when the Yakuza still reigned and control the Tohjo, and I was one of its members. I doubt a young sprout like your or your boss Giovanni remembers such a group, for it was very much like your own, because if you did perhaps both of you would have rethought this criminal enterprise. It ruled for the better part of a hundred and fifty years, before corruption and eventually the League torn it appart from the root up. I was a member it its twilight years, when I was just a poor immigrant's boy trying to making a simple living to a cold, unreceptive nation. They took me in, trained me in the arts of thievery, assassination, property destruction and arson, and a number of other illegal activities. I eventually rose through the ranks much like yourself, until I was one of the right hand men of our own Boss, and for a time I enjoyed such a lifestyle. Until I saw how rotten and unstable it was at its core, when a lower peon went and raped my daughter," he paused for just a moment , his grip on his crane tightening audibly, and he calmly resumed his speech. "I already was seeing the sign of its decline into utter depravity, and this only cemment my decision to leave. I killed that man by snapping his neck, before I went to the authorities and the current League Concuil, better known as the Elite Four now in days, and told them everything about them in exchange for immunity for my crimes...and a chance to help bring them down myself. Suffice to say, after a long and drawn out bloody war with the Yakuza, in which hundreds upon human of good and bad people perished in, the organization was burned to the ground. Tohjo was free of their tyranny, and a golden era started, lasting for all these happy years...until your boss decided to tiredly repeat history."

The look in his eyes had changed, turning cold and deadily in its intensity. "That fool is willing to destroy the peace and prosperity that I sacrificed almost everything for, all for the same tired reasons: Power, Ambition, and a desire for Control. No different from Yakuza of old, except incorporated, regulated, and refined to a fine degree. So, with a heavy heart, I stepped out of retirement to resume my old job of disbanding yet another criminal organization. My daughter's daughter, a girl so talented when it came to the law, joined me on my quest, and ever since then we had spent the last few years tearing your organization down, piece by piece. Only a matter of time until we break off a part that causes the whole structure to just fall down ." Valare let out a sastified sigh as he said this, the very thought pleasing him, before he cleared his throat and spoke with you again.

"When I said I sympathized with your plight, I did mean that. We both are cut from the same cloth, good people who turned to crime for a better life , lashing out against the establishment that wrong us. The difference is, I knew when to quit that life, gave up those feelings of hate, and become a better man. You still remain as you are, another young fool seeking what has been denied to them. The Elders are crotchy, backwards old men, but they are that way because that was how they were raised to be, and its their tired, outdated reasoning is back by the belief that they are doing the right thing for both them and their people. Considering that the Dragon Clan has survived for centuries under those same tradition you scorn, I would say that perhaps their is a certain sense of....well, certainity of their ideals. After all, if those same beliefs, rules, and social codes and rules sustained their society for that long, who I am to judge them wanting. Who are you to judge them wanting? "

The tension was at an all time high, and you could feel it in your very bones as his cold, dead Look pinned you right where you were standing. A sudden change, any action could cause it to snap, unleashing a malestorm of chaos upon you and your Pokémon. Then it eased off as he closed his eyes, and just sighed for the upteth time, before he looked at you again with a question look instead of a deadly one. "I would normally just arrest or killed you by now, but I'm an old man, and I find so very much of my old self in you. Enough that I'm willing to give you a chance. A chance to do what I did so long ago. Abandon Team Rocket, forshake you quest for vengeance, and help me and my granddaughter take down Team Rocket. Divulge its secrets to us, the police, the Nation Guard, and the League, and you will be absolved of your all the crimes you commited, and protected from the Wild Hunt. You'll even be given a nice, high position in the National Guard, and perhaps can take over for your cousin Lance once he grows tired of his position, and you grow more ever stronger and experienced. Do this, and you won't have a problem in the world anymore."

"If you refuse, though....well, I guess I have do what I came here to do originally. Bring you in....or die trying. Choose, Reiner Arendse."

[Spiritmon]

"Permit me to interrupt your conversation." The man finally manage to say, still hiding in the shadowns, gazing both the persons."I just heard your little conversation. Takedown Team Rocket or continue? Unfortanelly mate the is something more important then power, or tradition. One thing who is important. Its inerity in all humans beings."

Then he stay out from the shadowns, then release a little smoke from his cigarrete.

"The will to survive. You join the Yakuza because you have that need to survive for you in this world. And you destroy your own groupe to survive and get your revenge. This world always change. Even traditions, ideals, order. Everything changes. To good or evil. Humans must adapt and use our ways to survive." Then I made eye contact with that man, Reiner. "The infamous Reiner. The famous guy who captured the Mew. You mate is quite famous. We could say you let the Rockets, rock to the bone." The man chuckle a little because of the little joke. "Sorry for that. Its a bad habbit old man. I not introduce myself yes? Sorry. Names Arial. Arial CopyCat." Then the strange looking pokemon jelly cat jump in his shoulder. "And this is my parthner, Gaspar."

[Lord Windos]

If Valarie was surprised by Arial's sudden intrusion, he didn't show it, as they craned their neck around to peer into the black shadows, trying to find the voice's source. "Ah, more company. An ally of Mr. Arendse, I assume? Hmm...well, you do raise a good point. Survival does trump the aquistion of power, or adhering to tradition, so if our mutual associate needed to live by joining Team Rocket, you would be correct. However, your statement loses a bit of potency when you consider that, after a certain point in time, he no longer needed his organization to survive, and therefore could have left to pursue more lawful ventures, or at the very least gone independent. Besides, while change is a vital part of surviving in this world, its is also an inherent part of everything. All things changes, regardless of whatever morality is applied to the specific aspect or thing changed. And just as a person can transform over time into a new one in conscious, so to can they change back. Such is the flexibility and dynamic nature of nature and humanity."

"Now, I would prefer you to stay out of this from now on, unless you want to be drag right into the middle of it. I'm focused on one individual right now, so consider this you lucky day. Leave, stay out, or face the consequence of your continued interference. This is the only warning you will get, so I hope you think it over well."