Rocket Gang Reunited

Part 4

Musashi warily approached the cave, anxious about facing Mewtwo alone. As she arrived at the entrance she found her little Charmander curled up in front of the cave. It lifted its head to her and its eyes and tail lit up.

"Charmander!" it yelled, jumping into her arms, careful not to burn her. She smiled warmly and hugged the small Pokemon. "I’m sorry I forgot you!"

"Char," it replied, forgiving her.

She patted it on the head. "Are you ready to go back in?"

Charmander looked at the mouth of the cave. It slowly turned back to its master and nodded.

"At least someone’s not abandoning me," Musashi sighed, setting Charmander down to lead the way.

Deep in the cave the same small eyes stared at them though the darkness. It did not come forward, but merely narrowed its eyes at them.

Mewtwo’s eyes began to glow, and Musashi felt herself being drawn in again. Suddenly something slammed into her side, knocking her away from Mewtwo’s stare. Musashi winced as she hit the floor. She looked up and saw Kojiro sitting beside her.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Kojiro grinned and broke the silence. "Let’s get started, shall we?"

Musashi nodded and leapt to her feet. Mewtwo screamed and pounced at the duo. Musashi quickly pulled her pouch off her side and flung all the monster balls at Mewtwo. Kojiro followed her lead and threw his monster ball in too. Each of the balls flew open and Mewtwo was surrounded by various Pokemon.

"Pokemon! Attack!" the Rocket Gang shouted in unison. All of the Pokemon immediately attacked with everything they had, but soon it became apparent that even such a large group might not be a match for the powerful Mewtwo.

While Musashi yelled commends as fast as she could come up with them, Kojiro gazed at the cavern around them, trying to come up with a plan. His eyes came across a less steep section of the wall. He ran to it and started to climb.

Musashi all of a sudden noticed Kojiro gone looked around. She saw him climbing up the wall and her eyes widened. "Kojiro! What are you doing?"

Kojiro stopped just above the brawl. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange monster ball. Instead of red, half of it was blue. Two small white buttons replaced the usual silver one, and a bright red "M" glowed against the blue. He held it up for Musashi to see. "A master ball!"

All the Pokemon stopped abruptly and stared at Kojiro. Mewtwo’s eyes got big as he saw the glowing "M", knowing well what it meant.

"Pokemon! Clear out!" Kojiro shouted as he got ready to throw the ball.

Mewtwo broke through the crowd and rushed at Musashi, its eyes shining blue. A faint blue aura surrounded Musashi. She screamed and fell to her knees, holding her head in pain. Mewtwo looked up at Kojiro with a look on its face resembling a smirk, the cobalt aura still encircling Musashi. A strange clear voice came into his head: "If you throw that...I will kill her."

Kojiro stood frozen in place, the ball still readied in his hand. As his mind raced, the voice continued. "I am not going to be one of the several thousand of our kind exploited by you humans. You use us in battle, then you lock us in spheres until you need us again. I will not be one of your...toys." Mewtwo turned its attention back to Musashi again. She whimpered; her body tensed as the pain of the pressure inside her head increased. "Now drop the ball."

Kojiro’s fingers began to uncurl from the ball when an ivory blur flew past him and tackled Mewtwo.

"The boss wants you he’s going to have you!" Nyase roared, biting Mewtwo in the arm. Kojiro flung the ball at them, hoping his aim was good enough to hit Mewtwo instead of Nyase. His aim was perfect. The master ball hit Mewtwo squarely in the back and popped open. Mewtwo fought against it in vain, and was finally drawn inside in a red flash as the ball closed. The ball shook and rolled for a few moments then stopped, and the glow faded.

Musashi sat up and shook her head, light-headed from the sudden release of strain. She stared at Kojiro in disbelief. "You mean you actually caught a Pokemon? Where on earth did you get a master ball??"

Kojiro looked smug, trying to imitate Musashi’s normal look. "Wouldn’t you like to know." He saw Musashi raise her fist and immediately threw his hands over his head, shielding himself while cowering. "It was payment from one of my customers!"

She rolled her eyes, resting her hands on her hips. "It figures you’d get it the easy way."

"You’re one to talk! I had to save both of your butts!" Nyase growled. Musashi just glared at him, not wanting to deal with the Persian face to face. Nyase picked up the master ball in his mouth and strolled out of the cave proudly, as though he had been the one to catch the Pokemon.

Back at headquarters, Musashi flipped on the screen. Giovanni’s image appeared in front of the gang. He glared down at them. "Did you catch that Mewtwo?"

Kojiro held up the master ball and a surprised look crossed the boss’s face. "I don’t believe it! You’ve done something right for once!" A small section of the control panel slid out of the wall, showing an indent the size of a monster ball. Kojiro placed the ball in the space and it disappeared. In its place was a small pile of money. "Here is your pay."

The gang’s faces fell. "You mean this is all we get? For ALL of us?"

"What did you expect? Now, get out."

Musashi’s eyes snapped back up the screen, her face filled with shock. "What do you mean, get out? We completed our mission! I thought we were being rehired!"

"You did complete your mission. You’ve served your purpose. What do I need you incompetent fools for?"

Kojiro ran up the control panel, a look of anger on his face. "I gave up my Pokemon salon for this!!"

"And I left my clan!" Nyase piped in.

Giovanni sighed. "If you’re not out in one minute I’ll have my men shoot you." The team hurriedly grabbed the money and ran out. The screen faded to black.

Outside, Musashi sulked as she split the small amount of money into three equal piles. "Who does he think he is? He pulls us away from our lives after four years to catch ONE Pokemon then he throws us out again!"

"Why do we put up with him?" Kojiro yelled in frustration.

Musashi suddenly looked up, thinking about his remark. "Guys...why DO we put up with him?"

"’Cause he’s the boss, stupid," yawned Nyase, who was curling up for a nap.

The look of anger on Musashi’s face was replaced by her usual smirk. "But what if he wasn’t the boss?"

Kojiro glanced at her curiously. "What are you getting at, Musashi-san?"

Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I say we take over."

The end (for now...)

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