In an ideal world, you never would've had to call in the favour that Oscar Clayton owed you. In an ideal world, it would've slipped your mind one day, you'd never remember it, and you would've forgotten about it entirely. But this isn't the ideal world, is it? No, in fact, you'd call this the opposite of ideal, and that's why you need to call in this favour.

Simply put, you've lost your arm, and you need a replacement. As much as you'd like to think you could adjust to your missing limb, every passing day proves that just isn't possible. You're fighting against forty-one years of your own muscle memory, and it's become increasingly clear that you're losing. So, why keep fighting? You don't need to. Team Rocket has a whole swathe of scientists and engineers in their ranks, and you've got the ability to order them around.

Why keep fighting when you can get a genius to fight for you?

That's why you're here in the late hours of the night, entering Oscar's private laboratory. He gets a whole private laboratory, all to himself? Well, given he's the one who invented of all this Genesect tech, you suppose this is the least he deserves. You really need to get your hands on one of those... But you can figure that out later. First priority is rearming yourself.

Rearming yourself. Heh.

After taking a moment to appreciate your little joke, you shift your focus back to the matter at hand. Heh, matter at hand... Ahem! Anyway, you knock three times upon the metal laboratory door, then take a step back, crossing your arms as you... Fuck, yeah, only one arm, huh? Can't really "cross arms" when all you've got is arm. Just doesn't work.

...Damn.

---

oscar clayton
POST TSDT

Oscar opened the door, initially elated to see Shred before realizing that he was fucked beyond recognition. His face strained as he tried to maintain a smile and not become concerned, not everyone was comfortable with Oscar's doting--especially people he barely knew. "Shred! Good to see you--I mean in general not like um--come in!"

Oscar got out of the way and allowed Shred to step inside his appropriated lair. It was full of half finished gadgets and doodas but none of that shit mattered right now. The important thing was the metal arm sitting on a table that Oscar had pulled up front and center. The arm was once again resting on its stand, its palm facing toward the ceiling. The polished metal plating shined brightly under the lab's lights, no doubt part of its purposeful placement.

Hefty wires were coiled from the arm's shoulder, connecting into a laptop that sat at the edge of the table. Oscar parked himself in front of the laptop and gestured to the arm. "Ta-da! Neat huh? I built it by copying the tech that made Genesect's arms. The plating is made by the same alloy as Genesect, one hundred percent melted steel pokemon. Specifically scizor since it was the most flexible. Thank Aurelie Lefevre for that discovery." Oscar tapped a few keys on his laptop, and the hand would react by fluidly performing several finger curls. "Full range of motion, with easy access into the inner tech to make repairs if needed. It was originally meant for me so it's as fuckin' good as it gets."

Oscar performed a few more keystrokes and the arm went still. He patted the prosthesis's forearm and leaned against the table. "Before we talk about the hard part, what do you think?"

Shred Zeppelin

You're not surprised by Oscar stumbling over his words. Why would you be? You're not an idiot. You know how bad you look. If you were him, you'd be put off by the sight of yourself, too.

That doesn’t mean you have to like it, though.

As you wordlessly step into the laboratory, you immediately take the chance to glance around the room. You're not sure what you're supposed to be looking for, though. Maybe you're hoping to see that generator you nabbed being put to good use? As your eyes scan over unfinished project after unfinished project, however, that hope dies an ignoble death. But whatever minor disappointment you might've felt in that moment is quickly replaced when you lay eyes on the artificial limb in the middle of the room.

Oscar sure works fast, you'll give him that. Being able to put this together in only a few hours is a real impressive feat... Oh, he was originally making it for himself? Huh. That takes the shine off. Makes it feel more like a hand-me-down than a piece of cutting edge technology. Why would he even need a prosthetic, anyway? He's still got all his limbs. What was he gonna do, cut one off...? Weird.

"Not bad." You take a few steps closer to the device, marvelling as it demonstrates its capacity for both swift and precise movement. It's durable, it's flexible, and it's convenient. No doubt, it's an impressive piece of tech. "Not bad at all."

And then, your tone shifts.

"But if this is as good as its gets, then it's not good enough."

Reaching into your jacket pocket, you pull out a severed metal limb, and toss it towards the scientist. Closer inspection reveals it to belong to one of the mechanized Paradox Pokemon - Iron Valiant, to be specific.

Oscar might've invented the best robotic arm of the modern era, but the future was already here.

---

oscar clayton

Oscar felt pretty smug about his cybernetic prosthesis. It was indeed the height of artificial limb technology, the culmination of years of research concentrated into one perfect product. It has been sitting in a closet for a year sure, but it was still top of the line no doubt about it.

Then Shred took a big shit on it. Oscar caught the severed Iron Valiant arm, his eye twitching as his affable facade cracked. "What the fuck did you say?" He said, holding back uncharacteristic irritation. He held the futuristic arm aloft, gazing at how it shined against his laboratory's lighting. Oscar's mouth squirmed like a worm, despite its damaged condition this piece of machinery was flawless. And from the future to boot!?

Oscar took a long minute to process what he was seeing, his mind churning like a slot machine as it decided how to react. Eventually, his squirming mouth would wrench itself into a frenzied grin. He began to laugh, a deep chuckle that grew into a harsh guffaw. "Oh Shred--what a gift you've provided me!"

He pressed the Iron Valiant arm against his own prosthesis, his widened eyes shaking with euphoric glee. "Give me forty eight fuckin' hours and I'll make the greatest piece of cybernetic machinery known to man! Your arm will be so advanced that they'll write fuckin' papers about it! You're gonna be the trillion dollar man Shred, and it'll just be your god damn arm!" Oscar grabbed both arms and pressed them against his chest. He was not asking permission.

"Now kindly get the fuck out, I got work to do."

Shred Zeppelin