[attr="class","rubyw"]
The Head Honcho himself had called a meeting. Of course Ruby was going to attend; she'd be stupid not to.
[break][break]She emerged onto the bone-white plaza and looked up at the figures standing above them all. At the very top, of course, was
declan walsh in the flesh. Being as low on the totem pole as she was, she'd never met the man before, but she could immediately feel the power he exuded. His cape, billowing in the slow winds of the conjured sandstorm, was honestly extra as hell. So was the sandstorm itself; there were way less complicated ways to hold clandestine meetings. But more importantly, they were reminders of the immense power that Rocket held. Ruby had made the right choice by joining them.
[break][break]On one of the lower steps was the one Rocket Beast she'd actually interacted with,
bryan delarosa. She doubted he'd even notice her down here. Still, she let her gaze linger for a moment, wondering what it would be like to be in that position with him. Maybe even instead of him, if it came to that. She didn't have anything against the Beast—heck, he'd offered to train her—but that was just the kind of organization they were in. It wouldn't be anything personal.
[break][break]The next things she noticed were the non-human observers. Single eyes occasionally flashed from behind the slowly swirling sandstorm, and more could be found stuck to nearby architecture. Unown. Something about them made her skin tingle, like she was being watched by more than just some weird-looking Pokémon. A shadow fell over the steps, and Ruby followed it up to a dark-colored Lugia perched on a nearby roof. Xerneas stood beside it, as well. More symbols of Rocket's power.
[break][break]From there, her eyes scanned the crowd that had gathered. She was surprised that the first person she noticed was
Isaac Merlo, given how short he was. For a moment, she debated on whether she wanted to stand next to him, but then she realized he was awfully close to someone she didn't recognize,
ana fell. Even from here, she could feel the lovey-dovey energy the two were giving off. When the hell had Isaac gotten a girlfriend, assuming that's what she was?
[break][break]A few other familiar faces stuck out to her, namely
mint frost,
Johanna Joy, and... ah-ha,
Aurelie Lefevre was here. The two were basically partners—in crime, that is—at this point, so who better to stand with? That was absolutely the reason, yep. She didn't realize Aurelie was also accompanied by
Xiura Balfaltin (hadn't Ruby seen her on the dunk tank?) until she was too close to back off. Oh, well.
[break][break]
"Hey," was her simple greeting to the blacksmith.
[break][break]Walsh didn't give them much time to socialize, though. He started the meeting by introducing the newest appointments to the higher echelons. And then, to Ruby's surprise, he opened the floor to opinions on the League's plan for the meteoroid.
[break][break]A grunt that Ruby didn't know,
priam conrad, was the first to speak with a resounding
"fuck the league way!" Ruby wanted to live. She'd fought too hard to eke out a life for her and her sister to just lay down and let a meteor crush her. But she didn't trust the League as far as she could throw them. And, okay, maybe she just wanted to vent some of her frustrations with it.
[break][break]
"Fuck the League!" Ruby joined in.
[break][break]
Dione Sutoringu was right; there were way too many kids in Rocket's ranks. It was disgusting that so many children felt like they had to turn to Team Rocket. This was why she had to protect Jade. She didn't want her falling in with this crowd, not when she had the chance to live a normal life.
[break][break]
"If even kids can't trust the League, why should we?" she asked the crowd in general.
[break][break]
Aurelie Lefevre, along with others, wanted to know if Rocket had their own plans for the meteor. According to
Lulu Flint (and it was around this point that Ruby noticed that Darkrai was present, too), the scientists had been working on contingency plans. It sounded like there were interdimensional threats to deal with, too. Again. Freaking
wonderful.
[break][break]She scowled at
Tempest Quinn's words.
"Of course the League starts shit and tries to act like the good guy." Their bullshit was going to get the entire region killed at this rate.
[break][break]Opinions, plans, and grievances rang out around her, but she didn't have anything to contribute until
mint frost suggested actually teaming up with the League.
"You think the League would trust us to do anything with them?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question; of course they wouldn't.
[break][break]
Isaac Merlo brought up a name that Ruby didn't recognize. Ruby didn't recognize a lot of names, but something about that one seemed important.
"Who the hell's Maldacena?" she asked no one in particular.
[break][break]She grinned at
bryan delarosa's stance on the whole thing, which matched her own. It'd be stupid to mess with the League's plans if Rocket didn't have a reliable backup, especially if the League's plans made them look bad in the process. It was a win-win, really. Ooh, and
THEO BECKETT had a good idea about striking the League while they were scattered in the aftermath. Assuming the League's plan actually worked and they didn't all die, of course.
[break][break]She didn't have anything else to contribute yet. She wasn't a scientist or even much of a planner, so she sure as hell didn't have any feasible ideas.
[attr="class","rubytag"]@somanypeopletotag
[attr="class","rubynotes"]
notes.
- The cape and the sandstorm may be extra, but they're symbols of Rocket's power. Ruby's glad she joined.
- Notices the Unown and Shadow Lugia watching.
- Notices several familiar faces but ultimately chooses to stand with Aurelie Lefevre (and Xiura Balfaltin, by proxy).
- Joins priam conrad in saying "Fuck the League!" but doesn't actually want the meteor to hit.
- Agrees with Dione Sutoringu that there are too many children here.
- More griping about the League because of course.
- Doesn't think that mint frost's plan to ally with the League will work.
- Who the heck is Maldacena?
- Silently agrees with bryan delarosa's stance and likes THEO BECKETT's idea of a hostile takeover.
lulu listened, quiet until questions were cast their way. to those like her brothers 
On the lowest tier of stone stairs, the air shifts. A subtle shimmer breaks the barrier between the reality and the phantom realm. A black mist settles over the grey stone as the black boot of the thief steps through. The muffled mutterings of people arguing over this and that become clearer when she phases completely back into reality with the Shadow Gardevoir at her side. 
"Summer," Barnaby greeted softly, his lips to the woman's ear as she leaned in for a friendly kiss to his cheek. "Good to see you here."
