It's been some time since you last interfaced with the "RKS System". Besides a brief incursion when it was first introduced, you've mostly left it be. It's all just roundabout nonsense, isn't it? Like horoscopes and zodiac and shit. You were content to leave it alone and let brighter minds untangle its many, many mysteries.

But in the aftermath of the Silent Icelands, with the prophecies of Kyurem looming large over Hoenn, you've decided to indulge again. Maybe it'll help to shed a little light in the days to come.

Plus, with all the surgeries you've got lined up, it's not like you've got much else to do in the meantime. The alternative is a packed schedule of bed rest, physiotherapy, and medication, and the less of that you have to go through, the better. So, accompanied by THEO BECKETT, you once again find yourself within a simulated universe.

And this one? It's fucking crazy.

You're barely even loaded in, and you're going a hundred miles an hour on some kind of futuristic robo-Cyclizar. Things barely even have the chance to render before Techno Blasts start to rain down upon you.

"SHIT!"

You slam your foot down on (what you think is) the clutch, crank (what you think is) the gearbox as high as it can go, and put the (what you think is) the pedal to (what you can only assume is) the metal.

---

THEO BECKETT

Relax. Relax? You're getting bombarded by Genesect from all angles, and he wants you to relax?! You'd have snapped at the Underboss for that stupid comment, if you weren't busy fighting for your life.

Your Cyclizar soars down the highway, ducking and weaving between futuristic traffic, narrowly avoiding the attacks as they come. At this point, you're not even convinced you're actually steering this thing. It just seems to be moving on its own, following some invisible path through the chaos, as though being led by some hyper-advanced routing system you can't even begin to understand.

As you pass by a truck with a familiar name emblazoned on the side, yet more hostile Pokemon crash and tumble out onto the road, and things only get more and more hectic. This is a HUGE pain in the ass, and it's only getting bigger with every passing second. You need to get out of here.

"Shedinja!" You grit your teeth as you grab a Pokeball, tossing it up to release the eponymous bug. "Get us the fuck out of here!"

"ꂦ ꀎ ꓄ ꂦ ꎇ ꌗ ꀤ ꁅ ꃅ ꓄ ꂦ ꀎ ꓄ ꂦ ꎇ ꂵ ꀤ ꈤ ꀸ"

The husk sinks down, vanishing from sight as it skulks into some nowhere nook in this dense metropolis. Then, with an Ally Switch, Theo is whisked away. Now floating where he once road, it repeats the process a second time, and before you know it, you're away from the highway and right next to Beckett.

The first thing you do is take a deep breath. Then, you complain.

"Arceus wept... What the fuck, man? We've barely been in here for a minute! Why the fuck does it even start like that?!"

---

THEO BECKETT

"Thrilling" would be one word for it. "Exhausting" would be another. Maybe the most fitting, though, would be "a lot". And if Theo's got the right of it, then it's going to get a whole lot more from here...

"...DT?"

You blink. The fuck does he mean by that? Is he... Oh, like, the letters in Dread Threatening? That's a new one. You're not sure you like it, though. If he wants to stick by codenames and all, then it's no skin off your nose, but c'mon. Is "Dread" really that much more arduous than "DT"? DT sounds like the kind of lazy nickname you'd give to one of the ex-girlfriends you didn't really love.

Still, he's your boss, in the under sense. Not like you can really complain about it. Oh well.

"...Yeah, sure, okay, why not?" You shrug, getting ready to leave. Right on time, too, as your Shedinja returns once more. With a tap of its Pokeball, you return the husk to your possession, before looking forwards. "I'm ready. Let's get moving."

---

THEO BECKETT
PROCEED TO STAGE 2.

And so, you step from a distant future into a not-so-distant past. Within a battle-scarred Verdanturf, as plumes of black smoke rise high in the sky and blazing fires scorch the horizon.

You weren't here for it, of course. No, by the time you first set foot in Hoenn, Silas Blackwell was little more than a name. Whatever power he once held now belongs to Declan Walsh, be it stolen or inherited. You're sure the rise and fall and rise of Hoenn's Team Rocket is an interesting little story, but frankly, you don't much care for a history lesson. You get enough of those from howard slayte already.

Whatever the case, you're content to let Beckett live out his fantasies of murdering this virtual stranger. But of course, it isn't that easy. A hulking Metagross emerges to defend its master, and thus, you obligated to chip in.

With a sigh, you toss forth a Pokeball, and your Gouging Fire charges forth to join the fray.

---

THEO BECKETT

Fictional or not, it's a hard-fought battle, and you're left exhausted by the end of it. Your Gouging Fire is extinguished, your Walking Wake left to dry, and your Raging Bolt ran empty. But what happened once must happens again. First, the Doom Desire. Finally, the defeat.

And when all's said and done? Beckett springs a pop quiz on you like some kind of overeager teacher.

"Shit, you're asking me?" Underneath your mask of bandages, you raise an eyebrow. It's a weird question to ask, especially to somebody who wasn't even in Hoenn at the time. Still, he's expecting an answer, so you'd better give him one. "Well..."

You look over the scene as the curtains begin to fall, before shrugging.

"Failed how?"

---

THEO BECKETT