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Crows fill his mind. He's scared, practically shaking. It's fear. It's fear every inch of his body from the fingers to his toes, and as he shuts his mouth, he closes his eyes. Kep can handle it. He can, Ashley just grips the hand harder. He's listening. But as Kep lets it out, tells her the story.[break][break]

A full blood panel. An ECG. An Ultrasound. And.[break][break]

No stressful activities for 90 days, strict bed rest, and prescription. Considering their activities, how... engaged they get in them, Ashley makes a sigh of relief. If that meant no fun under the sheets, so be it. He'd... just have to find another outlet for exercise.[break][break]

Could try lifting weights.[break][break]

He feels Kepler's lips, and Ashley's silvers find him, as he can feel that warmth on his fingers. "Sorry. I'm just... yeah." He's on edge. He doesn't know what a full blood panel or an ECG are, and he only kinda knows an ultrasound. That's the baby thingie, if he remembered right.[break][break]

Wait. Boys can't get pregnant. He didn't have a dad to tell him otherwise, but he was sure of it though. Others helped him learn that stuff. Why then...? If it helps to look at the baby, maybe it helps look at other things too.[break][break]

"Means we can't have sex for a few months, you know." He tries to make light of it, poking it for a moment. And looks the other way, as his smile returns slightly. "Guess... I'll have to go to the gym more often. You know." Delayed gratification for 90 days? Now THAT would be a challenge.

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Huh. Electronic... Delibird. Well, he may have lost the poll, and that saddens Ashley in a way he didn't realize it would, but as he ponders where to go from here, he begins to think it over. On the one hand, they could let it go. But it is a robot.[break][break]

C. All the way C. Gotta capture it for themselves, it would make the most sense!

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That was... not the desired effect, and as Ashley watches the Arbok constricts, his face darkens. That was... troubling. The scene fades to black.[break][break]

And then perhaps the most jarring response; picking entrees. Yes, after killing, he definitely loves eating a healthy or unhealthy meal. He finds himself staring at the screen, baffled.[break][break]

And just for the stupid emphasis, he WANTS pasta. C all the way, baby.[break]

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There's a reason every one of them is here, unbeknownst to Ashley. To some degree, each was an important part of his upbringing. When Theo Beckett sits down, a mentor representative of his past. By forgiving Theo, he forgives that part. He's past it. To the point where, when offered a cigarette, he gives a soft smile to Theo- something he'd never do back in Kanto, and especially not now. Though he feels the taste of nicotine upon his lips, the distant memory hard to turn away.[break][break]

"Nah. I'm trying to quit." Still. It's nice to be offered, nicer still with the umbrella that holds back the rain.[break][break]

Next, Zev Harcourt. Though silent in his arrival, Ashley could still tell see he was there, and his visage was symbolic of Ashley's future. To confront what he can become, and how that may change with what he is about to do. He asked Zev to prepare him for this, to teach him how to kill, how to not let it get to him anymore. While he's shaky on the subject, today was fueled by his own personal fire.[break][break]

With a silent nod, his smile for Theo disappears. He doesn't need to do much but a curt nod to acknowledge Zev's arrival. To know where the road to hell leads is comforting, in a way.[break][break]

Gavin Merlino arrives next to Zev, and with a cigarette lit, he was the present. The pendulum between both, and where he stands right now. The conversation at the bar comes to mind. Where one draws the line. How far can one person go? When was too far actually too far? He'd been thinking about that conversation a lot lately. Now, more than ever.[break][break]

Silver eyes are almost pleading towards Gavin, but the answer was always going to be the same in Ashley's head. He just shoots a smirk. All that left was-[break][break]

His soul.[break][break]

Isaac teleports in with a coffee in hand, and Ashley can't help but cheer up, only a little. His hand outstretches to grab his coffee, and he chuckles. "Thanks for coming, Isaac. Really." It's different though. Had Ashley made up his mind? It's hard to say. Isaac, to the three demons of Rocket that sit around them, was the last bit of light inside of him. The part that allowed him to smile still. For him, he held the torch, representing every ally, every friendly face, and even his love for Kep, within his hands.[break][break]

Ashley begins sipping that coffee.[break][break]

"Gentlemen. Thank you for coming today." His tone is serious, silver gaze up to the building. Up to that fine apartment building, up to what is likely the penthouse at the top. Cliche as it is, it's the final destination. "At the top of this apartment complex is a penthouse suite, where seven men are currently visiting on a business trip from Unova. One of them is my birth father. Adam Byron. None of them have a tie to Rocket, and if they did, its miniscule enough that Walsh would look the other way. So-" He wields daggers within his eyes, gazing with cold steel upon that building.[break][break]

"No survivors today."[break][break]

Pushing himself to his feet, Ashley begins to cross the street, back into the rain, death following in his wake. Reinforced concrete and steel drip the rain downwards towards the sidewalk. A card-reader would have stopped their group, a security measure he had seen coming. But, with a swipe of a keycard he has on his person, the card-reader makes a beep, and the door unlocks. When the door opens, an empty lobby greets everyone with a peanut-brown luxury vinyl that mimics a wooden floor. Soundproof too. The beige walls greet them warmly too, with a chandelier sitting within the spacious lobby.[break][break]

At the end of the room, the elevator. And it had one goal. Top floor.[break][break]

When Ashley hits the button, he turns towards the men. "Paid off the doorman to take some time off yesterday and give me his keycard. Just for today. Should be home with his wife and kids today" Like a father should be. His resentment only grows at the mere mention of a functionable family. His bitterness skyrocketing. His left hand balls into a fist, shaking.[break]

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[attr="class","scrpbkdrtitle"]Ashley's Rondez-view Gallery

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Cringe. Really cringe. This guy... why is he on an event? Ashley frowns and turns his gaze upwards. Apparently, he'd miss some of them, and shook his head. "Fuck." And he decides to look over the choices.[break][break]

No way in hell he's pressing B, so instead, he presses C. No way in hell. "Cash and good luck, stat." Why would he dare flirt with the guy who killed nerve-endings in his right arm?[break]

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Another event he hadn't even noticed. Maybe he had just been at the gym too much. Oh well, he's quick to jump on this one too. The choices...[break][break]

Dinosaurs or robots... huh. It's that easy? Ashley thinks, ponders a moment, really gets to meat and potatoes...[break][break]

"Something ancient." He selects B. It's just cooler sounding![break]

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Late to the party as ever, Ashley apparently stumbles over an event, and now a time to prove himself. He frowns, and looks over the choices already picked.

"Well... they're against Rocket... yeah." but he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. A. Walsh should do it.

"Bastard."

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Isaac's eyes hit the dossiers, and Ashley's arms are crossed the whole time. This was an easy sell. A lot easier than he initially thought it would be. An infinitesimally small part of Ashley believed Isaac maybe have too good of a heart for something as potentially damning as a heist.[break][break]

Milk runs don't exist in the world of crime. Something always goes wrong.[break][break]

Still. The team he has in mind, composed of Isaac, Cygne, Gerald, Makoto, and himself? Should be solid. Cygne? Brilliant mind, Isaac agrees. There's the added bonus that she could make sure no more eye-related injuries happened. Mostly due to his own guilt and shame did it happen in the first place.[break][break]

Gerald and Makoto were there as well, and Ashley gives a curt nod at Isaac. He'd never met Gerald, but the idea was to have some more muscle on the floor when the heat comes on. As for Makoto? Someone who can open deposit boxes easily would be preferable to get everything they needed.[break][break]

Isaac asks for details, and just as Ashley opens his mouth, the door opens. Just who he wanted to see, Ashley's lips turn up to a grin. "Sunshine. Glad you could make it." Her jab of him about to explode isn't incorrect, but its the anxiety that comes with it that has his feet unable to stand still. But one look into that beautiful brown tasty bag of bagel goodness is enough for him to stop. "And these, Isaac, are two reasons why I love your better half. Perfect dramatic timing, and bagels." It's a joke, really, but he can't argue with facts. Cygne saved their asses from hospital food too after Mt. Pyre. Woman was truly sunshine on a rainy day.[break][break]

That bagel, that cream cheese, put it together, and Arceus would smile, surely.[break][break]

After helping himself, he starts getting into the metaphorical meta and potatoes. A bite into his bagel, and delight. "Really, I'll be sure to cook for you two on a date one of these days." But as he puts the bagel down, he really starts tearing in.[break][break]

"We're just talking about a bank heist. I wanted to ask you to join in too, Cygne." He takes a moment to let that sink in, give her some time to put some two cents in. Once he had gotten that out though, he closes his eyes. "Split five ways, we would be well in the millions, even if half is given to Rocket as a gesture of good faith. As such, like Isaac said, we use tech from them." Now came for the important bits though.[break][break]

The pushback.[break][break]

"As for the bank itself. Security seems a little on the heavy side. From my scouting, I noticed six security guards on a rotation, two working at any given time on the floor. My guess is that a third is usually watching cameras at all times, so we have to think of a way in." It gets worse too. Gesturing to his phone, the Rotom that stayed inside, Pulse, popped up, and opening the screen, displays to the duo a basic floorplan of the bank. The many lines to the teller windows, offices, a conference room, and of course, the stairs that led to the vault.[break][break]

"Pokemon I took notice of were Houndours and Gastlys. Dogs for the smell and ferocity, and the ghosts are to make sure no one tries to infiltrate the walls. So it's not exactly the easiest to move around them." Ashley has a plan though. "I don't have the full detail on security, but Gastlys can phase through most things. Except for cleanse tags. Therefore, if we have some on us before we go in, we can isolate the vault hallway from the gassy visitors. It means we're left with Houndours." Then came a crude suggestion. "I do know there are treats that help calm dog Pokemon. I'm not suggesting poison, but-"[break][break]

Turning his head, he just gives a smile. "But that's also not accounting for the Copperajah in the room with the cameras and security systems. Hence, I need people who know tech. I'd ask Kep, but I won't let him come in his condition." Ashley cared too much for his dork to let him hurt himself on the mission. No chance in hell was Kep going.[break][break]

"How about it? Want to make some paydirt?" It's an honest question.[break]

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Great minds think alike. As Bongo had presented the Bang Bang Shrimp bowl, so too did Johanna Joy. That was frustrating, but both worked in their complete favor. Thing about cooking the same dish, it is impossible to pull them apart from one another. They are linked, and the moment that it happens, interest can go down.[break][break]

Dammit.[break][break]

Ashley should have seen this coming. He picked an easy dish, something too simple, too in-the-box. He had to go out of the box this time. He had to take it a step further. So when Bongo comes back, and they hear the next prompt, Ashley's eyes light aflame.[break][break]

He's not competitive, but this was his pride. And it would not stand.[break][break]

Shellfish, huh? That meant shrimp was on the menu, and as he looks to Bongo, the two high-five, and like a mad scientist and their big lug, the duo pulled that lever and went back to the pantry. Time to please the Kuzco crowd. This round? They'd throw in some SPICE to keep it interesting.[break][break]

It's clockwork, as Ashley commands Bongo to get the following. Shallots? Done. A stick of butter? Okay. Jalapenos? Fine. And the jumbo Clauncher shrimp? Easy. Rice? Oh, Ashley would love it if he remembered. Did he forget? Bongo had the basket, and it was full and ready, as Ashley grabbed garlic, gluten-free flour, tomato sauce, chicken stock, seafood stock, bay leaves, dried oregano, dried thyme, and cilantro. The moment Ashley checked the basket, made sure of their many ingredients they were back on the floor. It was time to make some magic.[break][break]

Pride is a dizzying thing, because as Ashley speeds to the frying pan, he begins to melt the butter, as he points to the knives. "Half that lime, bud." Bongo was a blunt gorilla, not a sharp but, but he's cut a lime before, and slicing it down the middle, he does the trick Ashley showed him.[break][break]

Thing about a lime is, squeezing it by hand was a pain in the ass. But, to get the most out of a lime, if you cut just a small sliver from the top, a squeezer can get the most out of it. It takes a fine precision, a slice downwards, but he does so. "Shallots too." The butter is melting, and Bongo decides to place that knife to the side.[break][break]

Time to get frisky.[break][break]

Two big hands grab their special tool, a mezzaluna that Ashley had in store for such an occasion, and Bongo had the strength to use it. Two blades, as he cuts the shallots, and begins to rock that blade back and forth, like a chop teeter-totter SLASH that rocked it back and rocked it forth, a FURY CUTTER that would dice these shallots up nice and good to the bits Ashley needs. "Garlic!" Garlic went too under the mezzaluna, a culinary guillotine of complete carnage, not a garlic spared after its peeled.[break][break]

Then came the risk. Bongo nods to Ashley. Ashley nods back. The butter is ready. Time to put on a show.[break][break]

Ashley holds the pan upwards, and Bongo begins tossing in an arc, Ashley moving the pan to catch every bit. First came the shallots, than the the garlic. It's not easy having someone in the kitchen, but they are in-sync. If a Mega Stone was made for Rillaboom, Ashley and Bongo would bond harder with it. And as the ingredients hit the pan, the sizzle-sizzle begins, as its put back on stove-top, and Ashley twists the dial.[break][break]

"Open the sauce can." Bongo is on it, and Mr. Ramsey would find that the can isn't opened by a tool, but by the sheer muscle arm strength, as the gorilla nods, the force of his strong arm causing the top to pop off. He doesn't pour it in yet, Ashley hasn't said to yet, and as he's waiting for the fragrance, Ashley inhales, getting the scent down. Garlic takes a minute, but he's not ready yet. Next? The gluten-free flour, and with a deft hand, he sprinkles it in as he's using his wooden spoon to mix-mix-mix. Once incorporated?[break][break]

"Sauce." Tomato sauce goes in pan, and that pours in, as it begins to incorporate the differing flavors. Ashley's sweating now. The hard part is yet to come, because the shrimp isn't in yet, and the judges are probably curious, but every recipe requires time, and his magic trick isn't done. Once the sauce is in, in goes the chicken stock, then comes the seafood stock, and suddenly, they got the soup. This was half the challenge, but Ashley eyes Bongo with a smirk.[break][break]

"Jalapenos." He says, and Bongo brings the heat, in goes three lovely jalapenos with the stem already cut off. Bongo's working fast, and in they go, now lightly dropped to not make a mess, with Ashley making the bay leaf land off-center. Does it bother him? No. No time for that. He opens the dried oregano, sprinkles it in. "Salt it." Bongo has the salt shaker, and he shakes that salt, shakes it real good in there, as Ashley delivers the final herb in the dried thyme. Herbs are good for you, they provide the texture, the flavor, the spice. As Ashley mixes it together, gets everything coated, the heat turns up.[break][break]

Now the important part. The boil. The boil is important, because this is where it matters. If the broth is spoiled, the shrimp don't stand a chance. Bongo and Ashley don't look at each other for awhile. Once that boil starts, Ashley is quick to reduce to medium, and let it simmer.[break][break]

Thirty. Minutes. Waiting. Is eternity. Stopping. Unable to move. Bongo and Ashley pace. They pace more. Ashley is constantly checking. His worry is high. It's. Taking. So. Long. Every second, infinitesimal. Yet Herculean. The rice. Is done. Just needs. To prepare. For the final.[break][break]

Moment.[break][break]

The timer goes off, and Bongo and Ashley move as a unit. Bongo removes the topper, Ashley is quick with tongs, and he snatches the bay leaf, he snatches the jalapenos, he douses more salt into the mix, and Bongo? Squeezes the lime to put the juice in. C'est magnifique. Bongo prepares the bowl of shrimp as Ashley mixes the soup and gets it boiling again. The jumbo Clauncher shrimp, ready to go in at the beck of Ashley's call, and silver eyes look on with feverish delight at the taste test.[break][break]

In the shrimp goes. And in it will cook. Two minutes, tops. Ashley watches it boil, knowing that the invisible threat of burning lay on the horizon, and with it, Ashley orders one final order. "Three bowls. Ready, bud? Gonna need mezzaluna again." Bongo smirks.[break][break]

Cut-cut-cut-cut-HM01-cut-cut-cut, the jalapeno is in rounds, its chopping, its got the flavor, the taste, and as Bongo eats one, he's crying. They're ready.[break][break]

Bongo begins putting the flooring of each three bowls, setting them with the cooked long grain white rice Bongo remembered, Ashley with the soup and shrimp atop of it, jalapeno rounds from Bongo, cilantro to garnish it with Ashley. It was perfect. Only one. More. Thing. Served? With lime wedges.[break][break]

"Stll hungry? I'm not even tired yet." Ashley wipes his brow. The dishes are done. He can only hope that nothing went wrong. Because if something did?[break][break]

His soul would be destroyed.[break][break]

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Heavy rain. It's matting his silver hair, left to take in every droplet of rain imaginable. Slateport when its raining like this, it's cold. One, due to that oversized chicken that wreaked havoc in Hoenn this winter. Two... because it was a cold day.[break][break]

A ghost from the past, quietly staring forward. He could take shelter under that bus stop. But he chose the bench that's colder today. Edgy as it was, he wanted to feel the cold rain today. Sure, he may have gotten sick after the fact, but he was going to be sicker today. He plays it over and over again in his head.[break][break]

Information about his father. Apparently, after he knocked up Ash's mom, he came into an even better job. Found out that he had a kid, and instead of helping the mother to his spawn... he decided to do something even more deplorable than just turn her away.[break][break]

... well. Here he is now.[break][break]

Ashley's lip is bleeding from his own teeth. Silver eyes never looked so fierce. Maybe thanks to how they were tempered by Zev. Maybe they were always there by Theo. A battle for the human soul today. As he gets himself up from the stop, his gaze is hot, set forward to the streets. Up towards a fine apartment building. An establishment, where Mr. Adam Byron was staying today while on a business trip for his company. Taking him to Slateport City.[break][break]

Exactly what Ashley wanted. Today was as good a day as any. He told Kepler he had errands to run today... which, he did. This was important. He didn't want... Kep to see him at his worst.[break][break]

His conscience was trying to get in the way. All he had to do to silence him, was remind him of the kid beaten by foster parents who never wanted him, left by a father who didn't want him, by a mother with no choice but to try and give him a better life. A kid who cried himself to sleep in an orphanage caressing a torn up Teddiursa doll for any amount of warmth when there wasn't enough blankets to go around. It's a memory he doesn't like to think about. It's one that doesn't need to resurface, but one that steels his resolve all the same.[break][break]

The memory fades away.[break][break]

Eyes to his phone, he would wait, the hood of a black hoodie over his drenched silver hair, destination set at the building ahead. He's no longer holding a chill, relaxed vibe. The person was the opposite. He doesn't consider himself vengeance or judgment. He's not even a punisher. This isn't self-righteous.[break][break]

Today's a cold one.[break][break]

Ashley would ensure that the bastard would feel the heat. He just needed a few people to get here first. So he waits. Stewing in the cold rain.[break]

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His voice did get Ashley in a better state of mind. It provided him stability. Ground. An earth. He felt like he was floating, especially today. His head turns, but his eyes look past Isaac a moment. He's sweating. Why is he sweating? Ashley wipes his brow.[break][break]

Sunny hops onto his shoulder, seated patiently, as Nacho and Luigi look towards Isaac curiously.[break][break]

"Yeah." His gaze focuses finally on Isaac. There's that dread, like he's about to tell Isaac that he's done something wrong. Well, not yet anyways. The room is silent, deafeningly so. He takes a breath in and out, ground himself here in the sub. The sub that feels thousands of feet long but smaller than any box imaginable. Like a prison.[break][break]

He throws two files down onto a small table, and spits it out. "I said it as a joke before. But this time I'm serious." His eyes narrow, but his smile doesn't disappear. In fact, he looks cunning now.[break][break]

"Let's rob a bank. You. Me. Cygne. Heck, these two as well. We can give half to Rocket, and then split it five ways." he declares. The two folders containing dossiers of Gerald Kaiser and Makoto Kurumi.[break][break]

He'd let Isaac take that one first. See how he liked the taste of literal pay-dirt.[break]

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