LOCKED TO ardent

[diamondo]

The first thing he noticed was the off-white ceiling and plain walls. It didn't occur to him that there was anything weird about that for a minute or so, instead he sat up, glancing around at the unfamiliar room. The bed he was lying in wasn't particularly hard or soft - not as comfy as the one at Hope's Peak, but it wasn't uncomfortable either - and there was a desk beside the bed with a set of clothes, a note, and two red-and-white balls. Mondo reached for one of the balls without thinking, only stopping himself when his memories of the previous days came flooding back like a tidal wave.

Fujisaki. How could he forget, even for a moment? Fujisaki had come to him, seeking help, expressing a desire to become stronger, and what had he done? He'd blacked out. No, that wasn't right - he'd blacked out and killed the kid. Mondo's fists clenched and he drew his hand back. That's right, then there had been a trial, just like the first time someone was found murdered in Hope's Peak Academy. Monobear had called them all down there and they had gone over the evidence. Well, if by "they" he meant Naegi, Kirigiri, and that jackass Togami. First they had outed Fukawa as Genocider Syo, then they'd blamed Togami for altering the crime scene, and then...

...And then the truth had come out. If he hadn't been so careless with what he was saying, Fujisaki's secret would have been safe and he wouldn't have hurt Ishimaru, his aniki. Of course he had noticed the way Ishimaru reacted - the screaming, the denial, the tears, the desperation - and Ishimaru had voted for someone else. Even when he had acknowledged his defeat, Ishimaru hadn't. Ishimaru had believed in him until the very end - but he shouldn't have. He had betrayed not only Fujisaki's trust, but Ishimaru's as well.

It was a good thing he hadn't gotten away with murder though. Mondo doubted he could have lived with himself if he had. Even the execution wasn't that bad - from what little he remembered of it. It could have been worse; he could have been chained to a signpost and bludgeoned to death by millions of baseballs. He still had nightmares about Leon's death. He didn't even know Leon all that well. No, Mondo's death had been relatively quick and he'd gotten to ride a motorcycle one last time. There was something freeing about that, something he doubted he could ever really put into words. His last action had been his favorite. Maybe that was suiting.

So why was he here? Why was he waking up? He was dead, he was sure of that. He was equally sure that this wasn't Hope's Peak. There weren't any windows in the room, which meant that he could be underground, but he doubted Monobear would have let him live after the murder. He hadn't gotten away with it; he hadn't "graduated." So where was he?

Mondo finally got up, snatching the note off the top of the clothes folded on the desk. There was a large, red "R" on the shirt front, but Mondo ignored that for the time being to scan the note. Apparently he was now working for an organization known as "Team Rocket." That title meant nothing to him and he set the note aside, picking up the clothes next. It was a very standard uniform that looked like it would be way too tight-fitting for his taste and Mondo set that aside as well. Finally, he picked up the red-and-white balls, turning them in his hands curiously. He wasn't a Super High-School Level Baseball Player, but he might be able to use them as weapons if he needed to. He tucked those in his pocket and turned to the door. He expected it to be locked. It wasn't.

The hallway was just as nondescript as the room, though the ceilings were a bit low for his liking. Mondo picked a direction at random and started down the hallway, absently wondering if he could find some way back outside. It felt like it had been a long time since he had seen the sun.

He was stopped on his way by a shorter, scrawny man wearing that uniform (yeah, it definitely looked like it would have been too tight on him). The man frowned at him and pointed one gloved finger down the opposite hallway. "You should be heading to your first day of training! Why aren't you in uniform?"

"Fuck off," Mondo replied, shoving the smaller man out of his way. The guy definitely looked older, so he could assume that this wasn't the school. No one else was in the school after all, right? Just the fifteen of them - well, eleven of them now (did he even count anymore?) - and the person controlling Monobear. Mondo brushed that thought aside; this wasn't the school. That was what he would focus on.

He didn't find his way out. His sense of direction had always been good, but that was on the roads, in the open air. He had always gotten turned around in Hope's Peak as well, but never like this. He couldn't believe he'd managed to wander in a circle, finding himself back in front of the room he'd woken up in. Maybe this was some kind of trick; he couldn't move on until he'd gone to his first day of "training" or whatever.

The man in the Rocket uniform came walking down that hallway at just that moment. "Gotten yourself lost, huh?" He sneered. "Just follow this hallway and hook a left. The training facility's there. You'll meet the other new recruits and get started on your two weeks of training."

Two weeks? Like hell he was going to hang around for that long. Mondo rolled his eyes and followed the man's directions, ignoring the shout for him to get back and change his clothes.

The training facility was more decorated than the hallways or the room, and well-lit at that. There were several other young men (wearing that hideous uniform), all gathered in the center of the room, talking quietly. It looked like the instructor hadn't shown up yet. Mondo was tempted to leave, but this might be his best chance to get information on this place. He frowned for a moment, before walking up to join the others. He stood at least a head taller than them, which made him stick out even worse than the clothes he was wearing. Not that he cared.

"What's this "training" gonna consist of anyway?"

None of the other men seemed to know, and Mondo began to wonder just how badly things were going to go. It wasn't like it could be any worse than Enoshima being stabbed through by spears in the gym, right?

Comments

[diamondo]

"Why do we need an animal?" But Ishimaru said something interesting and Mondo focused on that instead. "Oh yeah, the games and shows and trading cards? So this is kinda of like that? Huh." It sounded weird, but judging from pantslizard over there, this was seriously a thing that was happening.

"So we've got a little monster-- ah, wait."

Mondo pulled out the second ball and released that creature. This one was a dark little helldog who barked in greeting. Mondo immediately got down to his knees to pet the dog.

"Ah, hey, look at that! Someone knows me pretty well, huh? What a handsome little guy you are! Hey, who knew they'd have helldogs here?"

[ardent]

Ishimaru laughed at that. "Some of them are very well-matched to their trainers! Others...not so much, as whomever hands them out at the beginning is a bit strange like that, but yours seem very well-suited, aniki!"

He pocketed the 'Dex again. "We train them to fight against one another - they seem to enjoy the challenge! And when they become powerful enough, we face Trainers of a higher caliber than the rest; that's how we obtain those badges! It's more of a personal challenge or an achievement than anything, but it's also our means of defending ourselves or proving ourselves to the locals - they place a lot of importance on these creatures and what one can do with them!"

[diamondo]

"Hey, my pants aren't that loose!" But Mondo laughed, ruffling the puppy's fur before standing back up. "What did you end up with? You've been here awhile, so I'm guessing you've got more than the two you started with, right?"

Ishimaru's explanation sounded about right for those monster-catching-and-training games, though he wasn't sure how this was possible. Ah well, it didn't really matter, did it? "You've got quite a few of those badges. But I don't get it; why do we need these little guys to protect ourselves? I can take on anyone with my fists. I don't need monsters to do the fighting for me."

[ardent]

"That's just how things are done around here, it seems - and besides, there are some of these monsters that would be too much of a match for any of us!" Or, well... "...except perhaps for Oogami-kun, but she's a different case altogether!"

However, he was quick to pull out two of the Pokéballs he carried on his person, holding them out in front of him, one in each hand; he clicked the button on one of them, releasing the creature inside in a burst of light - a rather large, imposing-looking red ape, with massive fists and flames appearing to flicker out of the fringe near its eyes. "This is Ando - he's the one I started out with, though he was much smaller at the start! Once they've been trained enough, most of these animals will change form into something more powerful."

And with that, he opened the second, releasing a...well. 'Massive and incredibly pissed-off-looking blue sea-serpent' was probably the best way to describe it, though Ishimaru didn't seem fazed by her. "...in Sachiko's case that's probably something of an understatement, she's changed quite a bit...but hard work and determination resulted in her current form!"

[diamondo]

"Huh, well, I guess if that's how this world works..." Still, he wasn't keen on the idea of having others do his fighting for him. Mondo dismissed that in favor of studying Ishimaru's creatures. The first one was rather impressive, but it was the second that earned a small noise of surprise.

"Whoa, no way, is that like, the Loch Ness Monster or something? What the fuck is that thing?" Despite the words, Mondo looked rather excited. "There are creatures like that here? And you can just train them and capture them and all? That's awesome!"

[ardent]

Ishimaru rolled his eyes a bit at the Loch Ness Monster assertion. "It's more likely based on the myth of the Dragon Gate - it evolved from what this world would equate with a carp."

At least he managed to refrain from flat-out calling Mondo stupid this time around; there was no point in directly insulting his aniki, after all. "But yes, there are creatures like this all over this world; it's our responsibility to capture them and train them!"

[diamondo]

Mondo almost asked what the myth of the Dragon Gate was, then he decided that he really didn't want to know. Ishimaru would probably go on about it for a godawful amount of time, and quite frankly, Mondo didn't care.

"How are you supposed to capture and train all of them? I mean, are they like fish, and they're everywhere? Or are they like... I dunno, an endangered animal? Is that why we're supposed to catch them? To keep them safe? And just how many of these things are there?"

[ardent]

More eyerolling; as much as Ishimaru loved and tolerated his brother, he couldn't exactly deny that he was a bit...dense at times.

"I don't think we're supposed to catch and train literally all of them, because I believe there are hundreds! As for why we do it...!"

...well...

"...it's clearly because..."

...because...

"...well...!"

...huh.

"Outside of our job, I can't say that I'm entirely sure what the point is."

[diamondo]

"Oh." Well then he shouldn't have said that they were supposed to catch and train all of them!

But Ishimaru's uncertainty earned a laugh, and Mondo once again moved to slap his aniki on the back. "Hey, I'm sure you'll figure out what the point is eventually! So, tell me more about our 'job' here."

[ardent]

Oh, come on, everyone keeps insisting that we need to catch all of them for some reason...!

However, he seemed to recover quickly enough from that stumble, the usual confidence finding its way back into his tone quickly enough. "It's like I told you - training those creatures is how we prove ourselves. The more of them you have, and the more powerful they are, the more power you have among the others. Our job here is to ensure that those we work for are the most powerful in the region. Do you understand?"

[diamondo]

"Yeah, I got that. But what about our superiors? What do they want with the region? I mean, since you're working for them, they can't be evil or anything, but I dunno, I don't really work well when I'm given orders."

[ardent]

"They believe they've found a way to leave this place. A machine of some sort, that controls who's brought here and who is permitted to return to their own worlds. That's what they want, and it's what I want as well. However, we haven't been able to locate it just yet. That's as much as I know about it right now."

[diamondo]

"Ah, so that's how you plan on bringing everyone here!" Mondo said, slamming a fist into the palm of his hand. "I get it! So you're working with them to get at the machine!"

[ardent]

Clearly, the excitement was contagious. "Exactly my plan, yes! I've been promised a chance to save the others; I intend to remain in their good graces well enough to accomplish this!"

[diamondo]

"Sounds great! I'll do what I can to help, but like I said, I'm not all that great at taking orders, but if it's for everyone else...!"

[ardent]

"Ah, don't worry too much about that - I can see if they'll allow you to work with me on assignments! I've taken several away from the base since I arrived; I don't imagine they'll have much of a problem, though I'll obviously still have to file a formal request!"

[diamondo]

"Yeah, I can't imagine you doing anything differently..." Mondo laughed again. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll be more useful on assignments than dealing with training new recruits or whatever else you guys do. Speaking of which, what kind of assignments have you been on?"

[ardent]

"I've been sent to handle some of the people who hand out those badges you saw earlier. They oppose our goals and will stand in the way of what needs to be done; I ensure that they can't fight back."

That was...probably the most glossed-over explanation in the history of anything ever; there wasn't a nice way to word it and Ishimaru knew it. At the same time, while his tasks may not have been nice, they were still entirely necessary; as far as he was concerned, that was what mattered.

[diamondo]

"Sent to handle...? You aren't the sort to get in fights."

Those words didn't sit right with Mondo. He frowned and moved to run a hand through the back of his hair.

"What exactly did you do?"

[ardent]

"I..."

Ishimaru faltered for a moment there before forcing the confidence back into his tone. "As I said before, power in this world lies with one's Pokémon! If one doesn't have these animals with them, they can't fight, nor can they oppose you!"

He was avoiding the point and he knew it; why couldn't he make himself say it? Mondo was a delinquent - his Super High-School Level talent said that much directly - so surely he would understand something like this, especially for a good cause...but just the same, he couldn't bring himself to admit to it directly. Not yet.

[diamondo]

Mondo tipped his head a bit, frown still in place. "So what you're saying is, if they don't have their creatures, they have to listen to Team Rocket? So you guys steal their... Po-kay-mon or whatever?"

It makes enough sense, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that Ishimaru is involved in all this.

"That's not like you, aniki. You wouldn't normally put up with something like that, no matter what."

[ardent]

And deep down, Ishimaru knows that. He does. He can see exactly what's wrong with it and why he should be opposed, but that doesn't change the fact that it still doesn't...feel wrong. He can't explain it very well, and his first instinct is to become defensive; he folds his arms tightly, his tone quickly becoming agitated.

"I don't harm them or these animals of theirs; I've made it plain that I will do nothing of the sort. I've been shown a way to do it that doesn't bring harm to anyone - it's as harmless as convincing them to hand them over to me."

[diamondo]

"It's still stealing. You wouldn't put up with that kinda shit in Hope's Peak. Why are you helping people steal here? Look, I know that machine's important and helping out Team Rocket will get us to that machine faster, but there are some lines you just don't cross, you know?"

Like killing someone. The thought nearly made Mondo wince.

"There's gotta be some other way to get to that machine. If we need to steal, leave that to me, alright? You're the Super High-School Level Hall Monitor, you shouldn't be doing anything that's against your code of conduct, right?"

Something about this was bothering him deeply, but Mondo couldn't put his finger on it. What he did know was that he felt the need to interfere, to help out with this organization - which he knew nothing about - just so Ishimaru wouldn't have to sacrifice his reputation. But that's what brothers did for each other, right?

...Besides, he was pretty sure that Ishimaru would make a fucking awful thief.

[ardent]

It was fortunate for Mondo that Ishimaru wasn't an inherently cruel person, as he wasn't the only one who had that thought regarding there being certain lines that one just doesn't cross; thankfully enough, Mondo moved past it before Ishimaru could really dwell on it.

However, his next statements didn't sit well with Ishimaru, either, though it was for a different reason entirely.

"Aniki..." There wasn't much of a way for him to articulate it, no way to really explain his point satisfactorily; it didn't help that Mondo seemed to be insisting that this was something he shouldn't have been doing in the first place. Why didn't he understand that it was necessary? "It's also my job as the Super High-School Level Hall Monitor to protect all of you, isn't it? What I'm doing doesn't oppose my principles. The code of conduct, perhaps, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made!"

[diamondo]

"Hey, don't be ridiculous. I'm here now; you don't have to support all of us on your own. Look, you're really good at all that... administrative shit, right? Why don't you focus on that? I'll get used to this world and I'll take care of stealing and whatever the fuck else it is this organization wants of you. You don't need to break any of your codes for this organization. We can avoid all that if we work together, alright?"

The idea of Ishimaru consciously deciding to ignore the code of conduct really bothered Mondo. He didn't want to see his friend do that. He knew how important those rules and regulations were to Ishimaru, and while it was nice to know that their classmates were even more important, he didn't see any reason why this wouldn't work. He could take on the illegal jobs and Ishimaru could continue working within the organization without compromising his own (very strict) set of rules. Things would work out just fine, right?