Mewtwo's Lair

[Chibi Pika]

“Not sure if your worlds have a Giovanni or not, but I know that my… well, the Giovanni from my world has always been someone who pursued relentlessly any goal, as soon as he set into one. Whether or not this Giovanni is trustworthy, it won’t hurt to have a good peek at his agenda and the deal with these allies of his. Y’know, in case he or them try something not-so-funny in the future or whatever.”

Jade nodded distantly. "Sounds about right. Not that he couldn't be negotiated with if you happened to share the same goals, but... amazingly, that wasn't exactly a viable option for us back home."

But she trusted Mew, at least. And Nova always seemed to trust him more which put her at ease, at least a little. She chewed on a couple of the dried nuts and berries that Mew had set out, just to have something to busy herself with while they waited.

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Have any of you ever met a...helpful Giovanni?" he asked quietly.

"Sure," Leaf said coldly. "Long as the one he's helping is himself. All he does is take advantage of other people, hide all his abuse behind them while he smiles and gloats in public, then throw them in the trash or under the bus when he's done." She hadn't touched any of the offered snacks, instead just staring at or maybe past the point where Mew had disappeared. "I only met him once, at the gym, and he was insufferable enough there. But I've seen enough of his hideouts and the way Team Rocket treats pokémon and the way he treats his own admins that I wouldn't trust him as far as a metapod could throw him."

The only reason she hadn't been objecting loudly to trusting him with the rescued shadows was because Mew was still around. And even then... "Dunno what this 'higher authority' he says he's answering to is supposed to be. I'd say they'd have to be scary as hell for Giovanni to do what they tell him to, but even if they are, no way he isn't scheming either a way to weasel out of it or a way to use them. Maybe Mew's well-intentioned, maybe these mystery authorities are, but that's not the kind of thing he'd ever let stop him, far as I know."

 

[Cresselia92]

When Mew returned and brought the group some food, Silver gave him an appreciative nod and checked out the various options. Hmm… What could he pick?

"Have any of you ever met a...helpful Giovanni?" he asked quietly.

At that question, his aloof mask slipped slightly, a wave of hesitation flooding through his body.

Should he… come clean about his relationship with Giovanni? Silver knew he could trust Nova, but would the others understand? They seemed to have dealt with similar variants of Giovanni and had similar levels of spite, so what would they think about the son of such a piece of work?

He thought back to Grace’s words: If he couldn’t show that he trusted his teammates, then why should his teammates trust him? And if he showed he had nothing to hide, then that would make him more trustworthy… right?

“…Well, I dunno ‘bout helpful, but the Giovanni I know used to be close to that,” he answered after some deliberation, his gaze settling on a Payapa Berry — a fruit that aided relaxation. He promptly swiped it. “Someone with a respectable career as a geologist and a great expertise of Ground-type Pokémon. Heck, he was going to be promoted to Elite Four, too!

“…And yet, I dunno exactly why, but that same man who would’ve moved the Earth for his family decided to ruin everything and turned into some… pathetic sore loser and a cowardly excuse of a jerkass! Someone who didn’t think twice about abandoning his confused son!”

Payapa juice dripped to the floor, courtesy of his sharp claws digging into the berry. Thanks to the soothing scent, his indignation waned as quickly as it came, and he looked meekly at his Payapa.

“T-that said! I gave my word that I would’ve given a fair chance to this Mewtwo Giovanni, and that’s what I fully intend to do.”

 

[Tetra]

Koa stared at Silver for a long moment, a strange expression on his face once the understanding dawned upon him. Sympathy? He nodded in acknowledgement, but said nothing, looking away. Yet there was a distinct lack of judgement or any kind of disdain. Silver... Giovanni was more to him than just a terrible criminal. Father and son, in another world...

What determined it? Why was Giovanni seemingly cruel and harsh and... had abandoned his son. How could they know this one was different? He'd helped so far, but was it for his gain, or because in some way he truly cared?

"We'll have to be cautious but keep an open mind then," he murmured finally. "Find out what his deal is here." His gaze drifted back to Silver, but he decided not to say anything. Perhaps Silver didn't want to get into explanations here. It had to have been hard enough just to say out loud.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade found herself nodding along with Leaf as she spoke. Yeah, that just about summed it up, didn't it? She missed being able to feel that same anger and fire, back before he'd won and made it pointless to stand against him.

And then Silver chimed in, and... wait, what. Was he implying...? What?

Silver was... He had the same... Was he basically his world's Starr?? Or... maybe Lexx was a better comparison? Not that he really seemed all that similar to either of them, but... This was breaking Jade's brain a little. Did he have any siblings? What sort of history did he have with Team Rocket? Jade had about a million questions, but this wasn't really the place for any of them.

"We'll have to be cautious but keep an open mind then," he murmured finally. "Find out what his deal is here."

Jade nodded evenly. "Right, yeah... We don't have to trust him, just work together with him."

Just working together. Not trusting. She'd at least been able to say that much about Stalker, hadn't she?

 

[Namohysip]

And then, a door down the hall slid open... and out emerged Mewtwo Giovanni.

He had the same confident smirk as before. He stared at all of them with an analytical air about him. He was already sizing them up. And that... oppressively powerful atmosphere was there again, too. The sort of horrid feeling that made your knees wobble; the thought that so much as trying to strike him would lead to an immediate punishment. Perhaps even permanently.

But surely, he wouldn't do that.

"Welcome," Giovanni greeted. "I trust you're aware your former mayor is no longer here. The Rangers have him in custody. He was... unruly and not worth my time."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Sure sounds like the guy," Nova scoffed. The shadows probably made him crankier. "I'd have paid to see his reaction to learning he'd gotten stuffed in a ball. Oh well."

He sat down politely. "I suppose we should get to brass tax, then." Nova glanced at the others. They hadn't exactly decided on an order of operations. But Giovanni had, more or less, been a straight shooter since the start. He figured that the mewtwo would respect Nova cutting out idle fluff and going for the most significant question first.

"You mentioned 'authorities beyond this realm' back in the outskirts," he said, refusing to wilt from Giovanni's aura. "What can you tell us about them?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

Leaf was less surprised that Giovanni would be horrible to his own family and more that he'd have a family at all. Seemed like the kinda thing that'd just get in the way for a scumbag like that. Tossing his kid aside sounded pretty on par, at least.

It took a couple seconds for Silver's actual meaning to sink in, busy as she was thinking of how to explain her reservations. His dad was Giovanni? The boss of Team Rocket? Like, of the whole thing? Damn, and she thought she'd had it bad.

"That's... that's rough, man," was all she could say.

...all she had time to say, it turned out, before the deadbeat dad of the hour finally decided to show up and brought that obnoxious pressure headache with him. Well. If everyone else was so willing to "work with him" and "give him a chance", let them do it. Leaf just kept her mouth shut and her eyes open for any sign of Mew returning. She'd feel an awful lot better if someone actually halfway reasonable was in the room with them.

 

[Inkedust]

In the background, coming out through another door, the shadow drapion was investigating its surroundings and the sound of people talking. It didn't come close, instead clicking its mandibles at some kind of imaginary line in respect of the mewtwo's territory. It seemed that the overwhelming aura of power had left it completely (if begrudgingly) submissive in Giovanni's presence.

 

[Namohysip]

"You mentioned 'authorities beyond this realm' back in the outskirts," he said, refusing to wilt from Giovanni's aura. "What can you tell us about them?"

"Yes, the higher authority..." Giovanni spoke of them with a strange mixture of annoyance and fondness. "They believe to be the authorities in how worlds are run. And occasionally, when something seems wrong, they investigate... usually when a world starts summoning others from far-off lands. And I... am here on their behalf to take notes. And, while I'm here... I'm simply taking advantage of what alliances I can make."

Mew drifted into the room next with another helping of snacks.

"You... Wayfarers," Giovanni said. "You're the most prominent interlopers, but you seem to know so little about your leader. Just who are they?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver studied the others’ reactions while eating his Payapa: Koamaru’s quiet demeanor, Jade’s surprise (hm?), and Leaf’s contempt briefly melting away. He gave to all of them a tiny relieved smile, and nodded slowly at Leaf as if to say, ‘it’s okay, I’m used to that.’

Huh. Things went far better than he had expected. Perhaps there was some merit in showing more trust to others… except for the dangerous new presence in the room.

That sensation… gods, it felt so horridly familiar. Powerlessness. Dread chilling his spine instantly. An overconfident smirk filled with malice. He didn’t dare shiver in front of her, show her that she had him under her manipulative control. He couldn’t, he couldn’t yield—

Silver let out a sharp hiss, inwardly fighting back the oppressive aura with sheer, rebellious spite. He knew well the rules of the ‘power struggle game’, and there was no way he was gonna lose!

“…Greetings,” drawled Silver, his defiant glare focused entirely on the Mewtwo’s gaze, and smirked back. It seemed like smirking with confidence was a family trait, even across different worlds. “Tch! Sounds like some psychic cat here is very curious. Y’know what they say ‘bout cats and curiosity, right?”

So, Mewtwo Giovanni went straight by asking more about Betel. Not surprising. Well, they didn’t need to say everything, did they? Just a few little things to get the conversation going and see how much information they could squeeze.

“Hmph, I guess that’s fair. Intel for intel — that’s how business transactions work, no?” He waved his paw to dismiss the rhetorical question. “As for our leader… Let’s say that they’re closer to a sponsor of sorts who is still figuring out their own role and powers. They told us that someone in this world needed help for… something, and we literally answered the call. In exchange, they gave us these Pokémon bodies donned with interesting powers and abilities.”

Silver tilted his head and quirked a brow, wariness and intrigue radiating from his gaze and posture. “But those authorities… why did they send you, specifically?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"If I'm being honest, I don't know much about who summoned us because they don't know much about themselves." Nova shook his head. "I've theories, but they're just speculation.

"But this group that sent you... does it have a name?"

 

[Namohysip]

"...It does have a name," Giovanni said with a slightly sharper grin. "They're known as the Overseers... though I doubt it means much to you. They are not really... involved here. I'm only here on their behalf as a scout after we found... spiritual traffic into this world. Strange traffic." He shrugged as if to disarm them. "I'm just gathering intelligence and... helping where I can."

 

[Tetra]

Koa listened quietly as they spoke, wishing he could say something to comfort Silver, but not wanting to do anything in front of Giovanni. Overseers? Why did that... What was that? Too many factors, too many people.

He studied Giovanni, trying to get some kind of better read on him now that he knew his identity. After some consideration, he spoke. "Why do you want to help? Do you owe them?" Or was he trying to play his own game, con these so-called... Overseers.

 

[Ambyssin]

They're known as the Overseers... though I doubt it means much to you

Nova stared blankly. The lair's dim lighting might've made it tougher for his teammates to appreciate his fur standing on end. "ᴹᵒᵗʰᵉʳᶠᵘᶜᵏᵉʳ," he whispered.

"I know the Overseers. One's probably the reason I'm here." Not that Nova thought that part all that relevant. He was more than happy to keep the scope narrow. "But, hmm... spiritual traffic into this world?"

He glanced at the mewtwo and the others. "The board was already set up before our arrival, right? Because you would think Cipher maintaining multiple rifts between their Earth and Forlas would draw more attention than us. Our souls were summoned. They're fucking with spatial distortion."

 

[Namohysip]

Giovanni nodded at Nova. "You'd be right. While you were an interesting development, I'm here for bigger problems. But, if you happen to solve this one easily enough..." He shrugged. "Perhaps they will be happy with my contributions. I do owe them a favor or two." He glanced at Koa when he said that. "But I would not say I owe them much."

 

[Ambyssin]

That was an... interesting way of describing things. Nova tapped a claw against the floor. "Do you or the people above you think there's a deeper problem on Forlas than Cipher? Because that wouldn't be the first time I've heard that claim."

The thoughts that kept interrupting his sleep came to mind.

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed by the vagueness of Mewtwo Giovanni’s answers. Tch! No matter the world, it seems like being dodgy as heck is on-brand for every Giovanni that ever existed!

He shot a curious glance at Nova when the topic of those so-called Overseers was brought up. Did he know about them? By judging his reaction, they didn’t seem good news (and he knew that Nova’s world was a hellscape inhabited by terrifying beings, so that fact alone was pretty telling.)

Then, he resumed glaring at Mewtwo Giovanni, but with slightly less disdain than before. Just what kind of influence did those Overseers have to keep Giovanni in check? They sounded like a group of big shots, at the very least.

Still, their whole deal about them deciding how worlds were meant to be run made his blood boil and chill at the same time. It didn’t sound any less self-entitled and self-aggrandizing than the Covenant and their whole “humans must do things in a certain way” ideology.

“Hm, okay. So these Overseers are like, what, some kinda vigilantes or something?” he wondered, tilting his head to the other side. “Also, you mentioned looking for alliances. What for? To help deal with these ‘bigger problems’ or some other unrelated reason?”

 

[Tetra]

Fine then. Here and now. There'd be time to interrogate about whatever these overseers were another time. He cared more about this world anyway, than trying to contemplate the ramifications of other worlds right now.

Might as well be direct. "Why are you really helping this world? Since its not because you love these 'overseers' so much. What do you want, here? On Forlas?" Was he waiting to attack or claim power, or had this somehow been the one Giovanni to have a change of heart?

It seemed that the overwhelming aura of power had left it completely (if begrudgingly) submissive in Giovanni's presence.

All the while, Koa kept glancing at Drapion. He didn't want to try and do anything now while they were trying to get answers from Giovanni, but he couldn't entirely take his eyes off the poison-type either. The claw that Drapion had given him was still tucked safely away in his jacket. He wished he could thank him again but he'd have to try later.

 

[Namohysip]

"Do you or the people above you think there's a deeper problem on Forlas than Cipher? Because that wouldn't be the first time I've heard that claim."

“Hm, okay. So these Overseers are like, what, some kinda vigilantes or something?” he wondered, tilting his head to the other side. “Also, you mentioned looking for alliances. What for? To help deal with these ‘bigger problems’ or some other unrelated reason?”

"Hmhm." Giovanni nodded, thoughtful. "That's why I'm here, isn't it? To find out if this strange influx of spirits and happenings... has to do with something greater than a trivial Shadow plot. I'm very familiar with those. And yet, the signatures from outside suggest... something more."

“Also, you mentioned looking for alliances. What for? To help deal with these ‘bigger problems’ or some other unrelated reason?”

"Why are you really helping this world? Since its not because you love these 'overseers' so much. What do you want, here? On Forlas?"

"But, in the end, if you set aside the matter of... scouting," Giovanni went on, his gaze shifting to Silver and Koa. "I'm only here... to make use of the power of friendship." That same, cruel smile crossed his face.