Elio believed for the longest time that his life simply existed to appease others. That he was but a puppet entangled by another's strings. A crudely wielded weapon for whoever wanted him.
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His father, Team Rocket, Elio was always destined to be used by others. And he lived his life angrily fulfilling that belief. Violent and maniac he'd lash out at whoever he felt wronged him. Whoever, he felt pissed him off.
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And for a time his brazen bullying worked. No one would stand up to his rage and vanity. Until he came to Hoenn. And suddenly his life was flipped upside down. Zev became his first bitter taste of reality.
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Outclassed and outmatched in every way his whole kingdom of cards came crashing down. And he was left with nothing but a bruised ego and conflicting thoughts. [break][break] Things only seemed to get worse after the Sootipolis meeting, where he feebly tried to regain the "strength" that was left in tatters before, back.
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Only to once again be cowed by those far greater than him. After that, the young mafia heir was left to stew in his own anger and bitterness. And in a moment of clarity, he managed to reflect.
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It took time, of course, as it was not until the events of the Mt Pyre raid that he nearly lost his best pokemon partner - and the needless death of the woman whom he saw as an enemy soon after.
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Elio was given time to think about where his life was going. And what he wanted to do. He came to the cruelly embarrassed realization that he was never "strong".
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And that his "rage" was an overgrown child throwing a massive tantrum at everyone around him. And then he met her, Genevieve Cromwell. And suddenly something within him clicked.
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Feelings and memories he tried to smother with recklessness and hate came to the surface as he found a long-lost desire that his mother's spirit tried to remind him of.
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Protect...
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He wanted to protect others or at least those he cared about. His rage meant nothing if it wasn't refined, and all the strength in the world had no use if it didn't have a purpose.
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So, out of a desire to prove himself, to prove that not only was he worthy of being a member of Team Rocket. But he was also worthy of protecting those few he cared about, he took this mission - even though it required him to work with his first true fear...
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"Yeah." He managed to hide the nervousness in his tone, or so he hoped. He was nervous around Zev but more nervous about possibly botching his mission. Despite that, he steeled himself. "I'm ready."

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Elio unconsciously tugged at his black leather gloves as he listened to Zev talk. Yeah, he got the email, of course, he did. Or else he wouldn't be here. The blond-haired man stared at where his dark-haired superior pointed as he absently nodded. [break][break]Violet eyes grew cold as he tried to suppress his emotions. A feeling he used to experience in the past cruelly reared its ugly head as he felt sickened at the familiar, enticing, emotion. [break][break]"I hope Grant doesn't mind us showing up unannounced, it can be pretty overwhelming meeting old friends unexpectedly." [break][break]Catching on to what Zev was doing, as he had done it himself on more sensitive missions for his father. Though he hadn't worn a 'mask' for some time. It felt unnatural almost like it didn't fit right, figurately of course. But he could adapt. He was good at adapting at least. "Don't worry, I got this." [break][break]Starting his way to the location, down the street, and up a few flights of stairs, they came across the apartment door. [break][break]Knocking on it, Elio found himself adjusting his gloves once again. Only to put on a nice smile as the door opened a fraction. [break][break]A portion of the man's face was visible as their eye widened in shock and fear. "Grant~ We haven't talked to us in months! Mind if you let us in so we catch up?"[break][break] Elio's tone sounded cheerful and friendly, yet had a hard underline of a threat. A 'let us in or we'll force ourselves in' kinda threat. So let's see what the coward would choose...

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He'd done this kind of thing before. From shaking down idiots late on their payments. To intimidation tactics that scared off potential rats from leaking information. To tossing traitors into the kantoian sea for their crimes.
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A part of him felt for a moment that he was back in Kanto. As he found himself slipping into a familiar feeling, a familiar mask.
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Blocking the man's hurried attempt to close the door with his own forearm Elio ignored the purplish black bruise starting to creep and spread up his arm as he used his free hand to pry the door open.
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Using the few moments of shock the cowardly rocket felt as a window of opportunity to open the door and stalk forward fully. Laying out a punch in Grant's face to send him sprawling to the floor. "Get up." He intoned coldly. "It's time we had a talk."

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The kantoian mafioso smiled a bit too pleased to the point it was disconcerting. It was a polite smile, yet in no way was it a kind one. His eyes were far too cold, his violet irises appearing more like murky voids, almost black. [break][break]"Relax~ We just wanna ask you some questions! If ya answer honestly then there's nothing to worry about!" He was lying, of course, this was more of a litmus test. If the former Grunt was a liability or not. "Why did you leave Team Rocket?"

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Elio tilted his head to the side, honestly confused by Grant's answer. Did he flee because of the Meteno plan? It succeeded, so what was the problem? Did this guy genuinely not believe in Team Rocket's abilities? The men and women could pull off miracles if they really wanted to. [break][break]"Crazy? No, we were just confident. And in the end, that confidence granted us victory. As for you-" He gripped the man's hair, yanking it a bit. "-You, are just a coward."
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Letting go with a short laugh his hands held up in a mocking apology he continued. "My bad~! Now, onto the next question~!" He glanced over to Zev, signaling him to come over. Elio already had low hopes for this Grant guy and wanted to let Zev know that they were almost done here.
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His voice got low and tone serious as he looked down on the terrified rocket member. "What do you intend to do now that you're "free"?" Elio wanted to chuckle, you were never "free" from Team Rocket. Not til the day you died. That was just the reality of things. "Perhaps... You intended to sell us out?" He stated even though it came off as a question of sorts.
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But he felt he already knew the answer, Cowards like this... They rarely keep to themselves. Sooner or later... they squealed. Let's just hope, for Grant's sake - it wasn't towards the League.
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"You wouldn't do that to your old colleagues now... right?" He exclaimed mockingly, though the threat was very real. And if they found out the man ratted them out then... well, his soul would rest with Arceus now.

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"Yes."
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Pulling out a pistol from his gun harness he pointed at the hysterical man as his pleas for mercy went ignored. Eyes impossibly callous expressed barely a mote of emotion. Though what was there was complex and visceral. Something that Elio himself couldn't quite comprehend. And so, he pulled the trigger.
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"WAIT, NO-"
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BANG
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A resounding gunshot was muffled due to the silencer on the gun, but the flash of the muzzle and the splatter of blood were very visible in the small, dark, room. Sheathing the weapon he instead pulled out a cellphone from his pocket.
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"Get in here, time to clean up." A muffled voice that was hard to discern gave a noticeable "Yes, sir!" Before the line went dead. Turning towards Zev Elio kept a neutral expression - feeling an emptiness in his soul that wouldn't go away until he was far, far, from this place.
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"Mission complete. Don't worry, my men will handle the clean up." He intoned softly, a lot more reserved than usual. As though on cue several men dressed up in suits with masks, gloves, and sunglasses, walked in with various cleaning products, bags, and the like. Already getting to work as Elio stepped out of the apartment - knowing that Zev would follow.
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Breathing in he let out a sigh, really wishing for a cigarette. He wanted to go visit Genny and cuddle up to her. He instead turned to his superior with a calm expression. The nervousness he felt had all but faded away and in its place a heavy weight in his bones.
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He felt so tired...
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"Well, that's that. Guess I'll see you at work then..." He said though he didn't really sound like he really liked the sound of that idea. "Later."
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In the end, Elio was quite interested in Zev's evaluation of him. But that would be for another time... Hopefully, not anytime soon.

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