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It was as if the universe was finally rewarding her after a lifetime of betrayal, that of which she felt she ultimately did not deserve for her wretched sins, unlike the tumble Matias ultimately did deserve in her eyes. Marilyn nodded at her words, for she felt deep down that he was an unpleasant fellow; a curious one cloaked in jaded crypticism, the young ones she hated above all else. At least, the ones that were not loyal to the organization she now had been indebted to by an exchange of countless blessings.[break][break]

Her heart beat in her chest as if the tea leaves were growing from the inside out, thumping wildly in delight. Respect for the younger generations that had flourished while she was behind bars was a tough one to gain, true respect, but the words guided out of Elisabeth's lips caused her to feel it tenfold. In her eyes, she was now one of her honorary grandchildren, one who deserved everything simply for her willingness to not underestimate or limit her true potential. Sure, she was overconfident, fueled by grudges and the time that she had lost, but being enabled was a whole other ballgame.[break][break]

Watching the woman speak with a nostalgic demeanor to the staff, cheque in hand, the granny's perception and excitement made it feel like the exchange lasted much longer than it truly did. "Oh Elisabeth, this will be a day I will never forget, and it is an offer only fools would refute," a tear of joy escaped her eye, promptly taken care of with a handkerchief, ".. I will be quick to make this place into a home for everyone, for all the tea connoisseurs our organization has taken under its wing." Looking around, she took in everything she wished to keep and everything she wished to change, her mind full of ideas, concepts, and imagination running wild.[break][break]

"I owe you the world for this opportunity, dear. And if there's anyone you need to be taken care of," she raised her hand and motioned her nails together as if she was cutting at her throat with scissors with implication, ".. I'll do it, no hesitation! I've always said that I never leave empty-handed, but truthfully, I always pay my debts one way or another. I will never fail you."[break][break]

As she clasped her hands together in jovial nature and thankfulness, the Sinistea that floated amongst the table began to glow a decadent violet light, a shimmering ethereality that brought its teacup to blossom into a teapot. Guiding the Polteageist into her hands and rubbing its antique structure, it felt so right; she had finally retained one of the most precious things she lost, able to pick up the kettle she had been forced to leave in the dust of her twenties.

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The perturbed Flutter Mane loved nothing more than gnawing on dirty, crusted sheet metal while in its enraged state. Digging its sharp fangs into some that had gathered onto the side of the submarine, which was in desperate need of a cleaning, it savored the flavors as the other eccentric pokemon went to work! There was certainly a bunch of peculiar pokemon in attendance today, a cleaning crew for the gods some may say, but the ancient paradox wouldn't have had it any other way.[break][break]

Having been dislodged from its makeshift chew toy by the Genesect, the ghost type tumbled through the skies momentarily before unleashing bright energies from its ruffles. A DAZZLING GLEAM cut across the side of the now Binacle-free surface, a wish to give it a sleek, beautiful shine.[break][break]

It would have continued to bring a shine to the outsides of the submarine had it not spotted the magnificent Regice, of which it knew nothing other than the fact it explicitly appeared as a popsicle. Yummy, a big, beautiful popsicle that had to have a special flavor due to its ability to move! Having been fed popsicles all the time to calm down, its eyes widened as it shot toward the Regice with all the determination in the world, tongue out to give it a sloppy lick.[break][break]

And then the Flutter mane got stuck on the side of the legendary, unable to dislodge like it had been able to from the sheet metal. But the taste? Glorious, scrumptious, effervescent, never been tasted before, stellar, amazing, delicious.

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All Marilyn could do was roll her eyes at the young woman's response, clearly too exhilarated to have any respect or class when it came to interacting with elders. Though they were both of the same organization and in a simulated reality, the interaction with the executive would be one she would never forget, and not for the better of reasons. Like all the other young of the world, this one seemingly underestimated her capabilities outside of the body that contained her; if the executive would cross her in the real world as she did with her willingness to abandon, she would be sure to plan a way to create a garland of her teeth and hair.[break][break]

The wretched dreams of tearing at her were distracted by the burning city, alongside the invisible walls inside the gym's interior they had now found themselves within. It was strange, being threatened by a younger, refined man of clear, criminal intent; why would he wish to harm those who were members of Team Rocket, one of the largest criminal networks in the world? She was unaware of his prominence in the organization, his kingly chesspiece, simply due to working with his underbosses instead. She wanted to prove his words false, but the invisible walls were enough to block even the ghastly Flutter Mane from tumbling through.[break][break]

"How obnoxious," she said, directed toward both Xenon's words and his strange cowardice, though promptly following in the steps her companion would take. "Lead the way, young one." A quick snip of the boss's weaponry cut at the paradox pokemon with a lunge, causing it to seethe in agony. If this was in the real world, surely she would have sent her Golurk to level the place from the outside in. But there was fun in the artificial sense, the outlandishness.

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Marilyn's eyes widened when the check hit the table, glimmering as if she had stumbled upon a vault filled with the most precious metals found deep within the world's crust. "You'd.. do that for me?" She said in shock, tears of joy welting upon her face, ".. oh my, my heart feels so full, I had never imagined this would come!" Taking a shaky, viscerally delighted sip of her tea, she tried to imagine what it would be like taking to another tea house. All those mistakes she ruminated about during jail that had departed returned, and if she were to go through with it, she knew she would never make another. Her excitement nearly caused her to dump the remainder of the glass across the table, though she was able to catch it just in time. It felt even better than that night her husband kissed her under the mistletoe, their first holiday together.[break][break]

"I'd love to provide such a space for all of the living assets! And ears, hungry for curious words." Words wandered into her daydreams of the brilliance, the swirling of the tea leaves that had once been tainted with arsenic. "There was a fascinating loophole with my release that may not require a new identity for me, but I'd love to reach out for one just in case, too. And you say Sootopolis? Would.. they be okay with such things? At this point we're plotting the downfall of the very business we are currently patrons of, though this city would be an exquisite location." She shot a glance at the workers of the establishment as they spoke, giggling when picking up the irony, speaking softly so the onlookers had no choice but to refrain.[break][break]

But her bitterness ran deep with how she viewed the world, encased in the shell that was her withering body. Holding her hand out to welcome the tea pokemon into her palm, she swirled her sharp nails around the rim of its glass, pondering aloud. "Would it be possible for me to do both? I'm a greedy granny at heart, dear," she chuckled, ".. a jack of all trades, or something like that. I do not wish my aged body to hold me back from dealing with the front lines, even though I require plentiful rest following the release of adrenaline! Tea house when the muscles need a break, front lines when it's feeling all good. Does that sound promising?" Having already proved to herself she was indeed capable of taking to the lands with a wish to carry out violent orders, her ego had already been boosted, wishing to further fuel the flickering violet flame. A tiny granny with dreams tenfold of her size.[break][break]

"Around that resurfaced island that day.. I defeated one of the members of the Elite Four in the skies, though his name escapes me.. a Silph, I believe it was? Not a Connors. A little jaded, cryptic fucker. He tumbled, and I giggled."

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When Marilyn heard the talks of rifts and the lands that existed behind them, she dismissed them as entirely fictitious, insolent dreams that the younger generations nagged on about with no reality tucked within their cracks. But here she was, traversing the thick smog of what was said to function as a middle ground for deceased spirits on their way to the afterlife. At least she wasn't alone with only the supernatural she brought with her, though, and at least it wasn't some cushy world of pastel puffs and cushions. It was much more fitting for a woman like her to have this one be her first otherworldly designation, humming in delight as the eerie figures of the dead drifted through the skies toward something.[break][break]

She felt moderately comfortable, as she was always fond of commanding spectral beasts of a spiritual nature. Not one to fear the dead, as those that conquered old age typically were open-minded, at least, in that regard.[break][break]

"I think it would be delightful to run into some of the spirits I'd know," she responded softly, her cane reverberating against the rocks beneath her, ".. perhaps Lucy, Bartholemew, Robert. Would be magnificent to see the look on their rotted faces, scumbound. This mist, though.. it reminds me of chalk, I'd prefer to get out of it so I can smoke my cigar."

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The smiles of her companion were infectious, bringing her to grin from ear to ear as she looked up at him; there was a considerable size difference between the two, bringing her to giggle, too. Watching as the decadent, modest woman left her seat at the table alongside those endowed in the shadows, she was initially unaware of what they wished to accomplish with their clapping but was flattered nevertheless. "Ah, takes me back to all that damn clapping back when I was released those months ago, ahh," she said with a gargled giggle, ".. I love guns, ghosties, and glory, baby. And I'm not ashamed to take gifts from you all, got anything to hand over, mm?"[break][break]

Marilyn anticipated ample gifts to be provided to her, the same as those given when she showed promise and potential in her endeavors as a mere grunt. But the words that followed hers were just as oddly endearing as they were completely odd, ignoring her confident claims; what did they mean, their presence was an anomaly in such a seemingly artificial world? What would be able to perceive them in such a technological simulation, when Team Rocket were the ones to commandeer such devices? At least the voices claimed they would offer to hide them from such things, but her curious mind led her to wonder.[break][break]

"What in Arceus' wretched name?" She said, being cut off by the emergence of hands and arms in the endless black, manifesting outward like flying french hens. Their grasp was warm, strangely comforting. Trying to catch a glimpse of her companion with a wish to make sure he was alright, the limbs cut off her vision one by one until there was nothing left. Trying to shout, her words came out muffled. And then they fell, brought to their next destination of the foreign sensations.

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