When Fenelle grabbed Frank's hand, he did not protest. In fact, he grasped theirs fiercely and ran as quickly as possible past the searching eyes and reaching hands. Thankfully, the scenario changed before the two could learn the consequences of their choice. [break][break]

Dazzling color surrounded them. For a moment, as he took in the wondrous room, Frank forgot he was still holding Fenelle's hand. "Find the Ditto and you will be granted escape," he murmured, reading the plaque aloud. [break][break]

Looking down, he finally released Fenelle's hand with an "Oh! Sorry!" Then he took out his phone and texted, "Should we just hit everything and see what happens?" [break][break]

TAGS – Fenelle Miller[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

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[attr="class","itemcolname"]ditto event

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]WHACK-A-DITTO 1

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You find yourselves in a child's toy room, but it is more akin to that of a wonderful emporium. Large alphabet blocks, train sets, SUBSTITUTE plushies and SNORLAX cushions surround and tower above you.[break][break]

There are no exits. However, there is a plaque that reads: "find the Ditto and you will be granted escape."

Exchanging numbers to text was a great idea. Frank quickly swapped his information with Fenelle, keeping his phone out as the simulation unfolded. He was glad to learn that there was some kind of subtitling, though he didn't notice it himself. [break][break]

"Join works for me," he typed. [break][break]

Then he stepped toward the table, saying out loud with all the charm he knew how to muster, "Of course! We're the newest recruits. I'm Frank, and this is Fenelle. Do you have two chairs for us?" [break][break]

But then the hat-wearing lady and her associates stood without warning. And clapped. Frank was so befuddled that he didn't notice the strange eyes manifesting all around them until it was too late. [break][break]

"Oh fuck," he swore, backing up from their outstretched arms.

TAGS – Fenelle Miller[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

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[attr="class","itemcolname"]drk triad event

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]HEXENZIRKEL 1-A

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You attempt to impress the white-haired lady in order to join the Hexenzirkel. She leaves her seat at the table alongside several other shadowy figures that ascend at the same time. They clap. As they do, several eyes begin to emerge in the darkness, blinking, staring at you:[break][break]

Suddenly, odd voices flood your head: "your pr▉▉e▉ce here is an ano▉▉ly and must not be per▉▉ved. we will h▉de you. we will work in the d▉rk to pre▉s▉rve all things."[break][break]

They begin to surround you with open arms...

When Frank heard about the RKS machine, he wasn't sure what to expect. Some kind of virtual reality video game? He wasn't much of a gamer, but he'd heard it was a good way to put in work hours for Team Rocket without endangering oneself. [break][break]

And as much as he craved the thrill of danger, he and his Pokémon were still terrible at battling. Until they all improved, he had to find other ways to contribute. [break][break]

His partner of the simulation run was a grunt he'd never met before, though he learned their name through the pre-simulation briefing. Fenelle Miller. And when he'd tried introducing himself, he learned they were deaf. [break][break]

"Sorry, I don't know sign language," Frank had typed out onto his phone's Notes app so Fenelle could read it. When the first scenario loaded and the strange woman in a black hat spoke, he cleared the message and typed next, "Do you need me to transcribe her dialogue for you?" [break][break]

Either way, the simulation was prompting them to make a choice. He decided to let Fenelle choose this one until better understood the machine's scenarios.

TAGS – Fenelle Miller[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolicon"]

[attr="class","itemcolname"]drk triad event

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]HEXENZIRKEL 1

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]A white-haired lady sits across from you, her hair a sheer white in stark contrast to the absolute black fabric of her clothes. Her aged face and tired gaze falls upon you, though shadows obscure much of her looks.[break][break]

"stumbled upon the hexenzirkel, have you? are you in the right place?"[break][break]

She has company. You're outnumbered.

Frank did not know who Velmos was, nor did he really understand what a Megalopolan was. Still, howard slayte had mentioned a funeral for the fallen general, and Frank thought it might be good for appearances if he showed up with his boss. Dressed in his nicest black suit, he followed his boss into the funeral parlor. [break][break]

As people spoke up—some of whom he recognized, but had not personally met—Frank found himself agreeing with Cillian Quinn the most. Dying afraid must suck, generally. Howard's words were rather poetic, though, and Frank nodded along silently. [break][break]

THEO BECKETT's words were the most interesting, though. They were a stark reminder of the reality of the situation, and Frank mused that grounding quality must be what made someone an underboss. [break][break]

He himself said nothing, hanging in the back of the crowd with his Persian and watching the proceeding with casual interest.

TAGS – funeral attendees[break]
NOTES – Open to interaction!

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As Frank and Cillian caught their breaths, the former nodded, turning over the latter's words in his head. "You're right," he said. "I just need a little practice." [break][break]

He thought back to all the recent situations where he'd found himself at one end of a Pokémon battle: guarding the geological survey machine with @sidney, protecting the safehouse with DANE FAIRCHILD. Both times, he and his associates had won, but either the victory was narrow or the other person had done most of the work. [break][break]

Could Frank do better? Did he have it in his blood? [break][break]

"I think we can head back from here," he said, releasing another Pokémon, his Wigglytuff. "Bring us home, Brando." [break][break]

Psychic energies encased the Fairy-type, teleporting the thieves away from Rustboro and into the deep night.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn[break]
NOTES – mission

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Frank took off after Cillian, hoping the underboss knew his way through Rustboro's streets and alleys. He dared not look back over his shoulder at the collapsing building as they fled. [break][break]

"That was crazy!" he gasped, unable to keep the laughter from bubbling out despite the panic and terror. One wrong move, and he would have gotten arrested again for sure. But Cillian had made sure that hadn't happened, with his quick thinking and strong Pokémon. [break][break]

When they'd run far enough and it was clear no one was chasing after them, the pair slowed down to catch their breath. Frank slumped against a wall, panting, sweat beading his skin. As the adrenaline and white-hot fear faded, a new emotion reared its head behind the exultant triumph. [break][break]

"Sorry I fucked up with the bag," he said to Cillian, looking sheepish. "I don't have a lot of practice with this hands-on stuff." [break][break]

Driving a smuggling van was nothing compared to burglary.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn[break]
NOTES – mission

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Frank took a moment to process what the jerk of Cillian's head meant, his brain scrambling for the right course of action. In that hesitation, the underboss's Zubat swooped out of the shadows. A flash of light later, and a Delphox appeared to plunge part of the warehouse in darkness. [break][break]

The sudden burst of action jolted Frank out of his stupor. Hauling himself onto the catwalk, he grabbed at the Pokéballs on his belt and flung them into the open air. They released their occupants, dropping several Voltorb into the inky blackness. [break][break]

Seconds later, EXPLOSIONS rocked the building. [break][break]

"Go, go!" Frank hissed, urging his Alolan Persian to run ahead. The large cat raced to the window and peered out, checking for more guards. Seeing none, he leaped from the building, with Frank following close behind.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn[break]
NOTES – mission

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The name Asriel Pryde meant nothing to Frank, either. He hadn't known the other man's father, nor had he read through enough old reports to recognize the name. [break][break]

"That's as good of a starting point as any," Frank said, starting down the hallway toward the laboratories. He, on the other hand, did not think a search of the submarine would be too exhausting. It was a limited space, after all. Nothing like searching the whole city of Sootopolis. [break][break]

"Unless you can think of a quicker way to find all the bosses?"

TAGS – Asriel Pryde[break]
NOTES – mission

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