"They don't."

Derek responds, relieved he didn't have to be the one to approach her. Instead the gym leader is surprised to find that Katherine offers a greeting, rather than some kind of snide comment. There isn't much he knows about her, other than that Katherine can be quite vocal when it suits her. "If you've got a minute, I was hoping to talk."

Maybe today was a good day, hm? And perhaps what happened at the meeting was a perfect disaster. All of them summoned without wanting to be there. Or maybe it was that a mere ranger headed the little meet that made them express themselves the way they did. After Katherine's belittling remark about his service to Hoenn, it was very easy to get swept away with all the bickering between those parties present.

The bottom line was that there was still more to be done. Not today. And not necessarily tomorrow. But it was on them if anything happened.

"It can wait, but something tells me that with the world-ending disaster behind us, sparing the better half of an hour won't do you or Silph Co. any harm."

Katherine Fairburne

☉

"No, no, the café will do just fine." Nothing could compel Derek to inconvenience her now that she was being so cooperative. He doesn't even have time to notice the mild attitude cast his way, instead following Katherine obediently to the desired location. Derek ordered himself a STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE before getting to the matter at hand.

"Last time we talked, you mentioned waiting for someone to pay you to find Registeel." A bold claim, but for some reason Derek believed it. Mostly, anyway.

"I assume that nobody has sought you out yet?" What with the meteor and all, the gym leader assumed that there was just no time for anyone to commit to such a search. Or that Katherine would even entertain it when their literal universe was at stake.

Even so, some part of him had wished that maybe someone had approached her about the matter.

Something to get the ball rolling.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

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"Correct."
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Katherine is no stranger to lying through her teeth when necessary, but she is almost insistent on entertaining this conversation further, if only to see how far Derek would be willing to go. Despite the mutual animosity, she considered him wise enough to know that her stance on the matter hadn't changed.
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She was usually this firm, after all. He must've had a better proposal if he had come looking for her.
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"Not a lot of people can afford my services, and among those who can, I doubt many are very interested in exploring some temple," it's shared easily with a manufactured, heavily-practised smile coating her lips.
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"Why, are you having second thoughts? Should I text angelo vestri and skyler dross and let them know that we're all going on an adventure?"

[attr="class","bottom"]DEREK HOFFMAN [break]

"Not second thoughts, exactly."

She's right, not many can match her asking price, let alone that of the others she seems to have already enlisted in her would-be campaign. "I don't think my pockets are deep, or connected enough to satisfy you people. But that's because I have a completely different idea of the whole thing." Registeel, as with it's kin, were all a considerable threat to Hoenn even acting on their lonesome. But what if they stopped acting alone?

"Let's assume I did, though. What would it take?"

A small pause to suck on his milkshake once more.

"And what makes you think anyone will ever be able to pay what you're asking?"

Cutting out the middle men, or women, was a common occurrence in these situations. It was true that they were all immensely valuable to the operation, but it wasn't like they had to be there in order for Registeel to be found.

It was happened upon without them once already.

There's no way someone like Silph picks up the tab.

And if Derek were to take advice from the man? He'd probably suggest that the gym leader just find it himself.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

"I have no doubt your pockets aren't deep enough, Derek. I was once a gym leader myself, I know how much you're getting paid," not enough to afford what she seeks. "But if you want to know so badly... Then sure. It'd take a plate. No more and no less."
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It's steep. A price tag of an ancient, mythical relic. One that most haven't even seen with their own eyes.
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"Although... I don't think anyone's clamouring to find some temple or another titan. Well, except for you, maybe. Still, certain people can afford my price..."
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A pause.
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"Unfortunately... I find that the same people are oddly possessive of objects that don't belong to them. It's a real shame."

[attr="class","bottom"]DEREK HOFFMAN [break]

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"but they belong to you?" or her little pocket deity, giratina? somehow derek doubted that. but he could always look into it. if he felt the need.
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"do you even know the people who have these...plates?" for some reason he found himself entertaining the notion further. the idea of accosting them, or forcing their hand through the league's authority. things katherine has likely thought of already. but what hasn't she thought of, really?
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"and what do they look like, anyway?"
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he's barely heard of them. never even seen one.
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but derek has seen registeel blow away two legendary pokemon and the temple they were in. the mural depicting something beyond the regi trio. maybe it was worth tarnishing his reputation to see what lied at the end of this road. besides, he could always drag katherine down with him. if it came to it.
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assuming she had the wrong reasons. ill intentions.
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"You're catching on quickly," the doubt that stains Derek's words is wholly ignored, "Good."
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Although the answer to his question dances on the tip of her tongue, Katherine resists the urge to answer it. After all, the gym leader has yet to earn that.
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"Ah, you shouldn't concern yourself with that. Whether I know who owns a plate or don't means little," although she does, primarily thanks to chryssa glasgow and Chu-e Choi. "What's important is that they know I want them."
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She made that very clear, didn't she?
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His next question is ignored entirely, glossed over with a blink of the elite four's eyes, "Why are you so obsessed with this Pokemon and its temple? And please, don't try to convince me that you're doing this for the good of our home."

[attr="class","bottom"]DEREK HOFFMAN [break]

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"if you say so." in some ways them knowing katherine wanted their plates made acquiring them harder. something closer to impossible, even.
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and if she had one, they could try stealing hers in turn. unless she had some special hiding place for all of them. could be. though with how often she flocked around with fernando, it could be him helping to whisk these relics away to someplace nobody could get them. not without his or her fingerprint.
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or optical scan.
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seeing as fernando was mutilated recently, that made the prospect much less unlikely. giratina has a space for them, then? could be. he'd bet on that.
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"you know a lot about these plates. more than me, that's for sure." not that it could be considered an accomplishment. derek was as green as grass when it came to giratina and it's associated kin. "but don't pretend you know me."
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last time they met, katherine suggested he hadn't served hoenn as well or as long as she had. but even now, she continues to make it seem impossible for his intentions to be so pure.
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"i saw registeel years ago. before regirock even surfaced for the rest of you to deal with." it was just him and noelle lane. and derek hadn't heard from her after blacking out. he assumed the worst.
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"and then it comes back, this time with a body count we can't even total properly." but worst of all? it killed the charizard that had emotional significance to him. even if not it's literal handiwork, those failed gigantifications have only taken place when the regis were present.
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"what exactly am i supposed to gain from going after something like that?" he could think of an answer. one katherine was probably thinking.
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power.
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power like she had. or perhaps the spoils in this temple.
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but did she really think it would be as simple as beating registeel into submission? one had to assume the steel titan would ever yield. as they saw with regirock, it might sooner perish than forfeit itself as some kind of pawn to a mere mortal.
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they were serving something greater, after all. and it was a being, not a purpose depicted on those walls. "and why does what i get even matter to you?"
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"Do you remember what I asked you during the last meeting, Derek?"
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It's hard to ascertain which question Katherine was referring to specifically, and for that, she continues without granting the gym leader a chance to answer. "I asked you how thick your skull is. Do you know why? Because you invited two of your superiors and two known pirates and expected them to roll over, do as you say, and serve you everything on a silver platter."
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The first time, she figured she could spare him the explanation. However, such a luxury isn't offered this time around.
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"So, again, I ask you this: how thick is your skull?"
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"You come here asking for my time. You have questions, and I even answer some of them although you've never treated me with the respect I am owed, or at the very least, deserve if you desire something from me."
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It's easy. It's natural. It's akin to breathing these days; Katherine doesn't think long before each insult is spat. Her tongue's sharp, and her wit quick—always. Needless to say, she's also always had a short temper.
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"I know enough about you, Derek Hoffman. I know that you deserted this region once before. I know that you think you know better, and I know that you don't. But beyond that... I know," the onslaught of barbs continues, "I know you're not stupid enough to think I'm not onto you. You're after its power. You're like a little dog chasing a car. Do you honestly think you're entitled to it because you've seen it before? Give me a fucking break."
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She breathes. Just enough to fill her lungs back with air, just enough to faintly soothe her. "I don't do things half-assed. I won't help you under false pretences. I won't help you when you continue to lie."
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Silence lingers in the air once she's finished, awkward and tense.
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"Now... You have about fifteen minutes left. We can either stop here and go our separate ways or... You can try doing this again. This time, without lying and preferably with less of an attitude. What do you say? Still interested?"

[attr="class","bottom"]DEREK HOFFMAN [break]

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"no, i didn't." the only thing he made them do was show up and talk.
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i asked you all for help. for your cooperation."
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apparently acknowledging that the problem was beyond him meant he had a thick skull.
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"and you all asked what you would get for it."
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there were no superiors in his eyes. just pirates.
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"and you speak too matter-of-factly. like me leaving for a funeral is somehow desertion." how was he supposed to know about the coming war?
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"why can't someone like me be interested in the right reasons?! why can't revenge for my slain pokemon be enough!?" katherine might not care if some of her pokemon died, but derek did.
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and that pokemon belonged to the very person whose funeral he left hoenn to attend. entrusted to him, that it might fight in the pokemon league the way she had hoped to one day. and he got it killed.
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he'd seen it once. then a second time. derek would be damned if he was just going to let it run around freely for a third, fourth and fifth time until one of his 'superiors' was finally there to deal with it. katherine as his example, they didn't seem very eager to deal with the problem.
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hell, he wasn't sure if problem was their word for it.
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"how do you even expect me to go about that? as if i can just take registeel's power? make it my own? you make it sound far too easy."
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one could suppose that was her privilege. maybe katherine was just there to be handed giratina's power. or maybe she knew of some way.
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but derek didn't care about that. it seemed impossible. surreal. unless it was the only way to reign registeel in, he'd sooner see it dismantled like regirock had been.
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"but even if that was my main motivator. what. does. it. matter? are you worried that you won't be so superior if i were to manage? do you think i'm not ready?" no way she was worried for him. maybe herself, or maybe hoenn.
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but definitely not derek.
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"is that all you think there is to gain from dealing with this?" did she not care what kind of toll these legendary pokemon had on the region?
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"The omission of details doesn't make you sound more self-righteous, Derek. It makes you sound stupid. We asked what we would get for risking our lives. As it stands, the titan has yet to be discovered. It hasn't attacked anyone. It poses no threat."
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It's frustrating that she has to repeat things, to place a mirror before Derek, so he sees things as they are - not as he imagines them to be - but it was all within Katherine's realm of expertise.
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"You wish to change that, and naturally, no one seeks to endanger themselves or their Pokemon for nothing. This will be the last time I repeat this because it's getting old. It's very tiring."
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His theatrics and apparent indignation are wholly ignored, for Katherine's never been one to entertain a child's tantrum.
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"Do you believe I've never met people like you before? People like you who think that merely tossing themselves at a god's feet will convince it to bestow its blessing upon them," ouch. She doesn't think very highly of him, does she? Then again, it was mutual. "I am more than convinced that you are as clueless as you claim to be, and I know that wouldn't stop you."
[break][break]
A breath. A slow, deep breath allows oxygen to flow into Katherine's body and revitalizes her train of thought.
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"You imbecile. Why is it so hard for you to listen? I told you why it matters. I won't help you under false pretences, nor will I help you when you continue to lie," her pause is brief, not long enough for Derek to interrupt her. "At this point, the only thing that will convince me is if you grovel, beg for forgiveness, and speak your truth."
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"Only then will I reconsider."
[break][break]
But she's not willing to wait. As much as the Malevolent enjoyed arguing, she won't waste more time on this. She rises from her seat, set to depart soon-- now-- unless Derek gives her a reason to stay.

[attr="class","bottom"]DEREK HOFFMAN [break]