where everybody stands and keeps score

[EZEKIEL ANSELM]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px;][bg=121212][style=font-family: arial narrow; color: #00BBFF; font-weight: bold; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; border-left: 320px solid #00BBFF;]THIS IS A GAME.[/style] [style=text-align: left; color: #e4e4e4; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 3px; font-family: arial;]DO NOT TRUST YOUR EARS. WHAT YOU HEAR ARE LIES.[/style] [style=margin-top: 5px; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; color: #e4e4e4; background-color: #212121; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid #222222;] [style=zoom: 1; filter: alpha(opacity=70); opacity: 0.7; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; width: 100px; height: 100px; border-radius: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/Gur5C.png); float: left;] [/style] Geez, why did he come back here? He hated this damn city. There was too much noise, too many people, too many alleys. If one more damn hoodlum looked like him like he was their next meal ticket, he would not be able to restrain himself. But, after years of living in a quieter part of Celadon, having left Saffron far behind him, like a bad dream, here he was again. And every second was hell. Every bloody second felt like excruciating torture. To be back in his old turf, to have the memories of his past come surging back to him. His dumbass father, his weak and frail mother, the yelling. The hands in the pockets of his black denim jeans balled into tight fists, lips curling into a silent snarl. He hated thinking of these things, so for a moment he allowed himself to remember Glaceon and Umbreon, back when they were both Eevees. They had been his solace, and without them Ezekiel would have likely not survived his past. He owed them for that, more than he could possibly express. More than he could possibly ever make up for. All he could do was protect and provide for them, and he did that to the best of his abilities. Especially Glaceon. Ezekiel knew he would lose many things if Team Rocket discovered Glaceon. He would lose his reputation, and therefore his income. He would then no longer be able to provide for his team, and because he was a Rocket Executive, no one would hire him for anything. What for? They didn't have a single reason to trust him, and he couldn't blame them. Ezekiel couldn't risk that, but he also couldn't risk Glaceon herself. There was no doubt in his mind they just love to experiment on her, turn her even. And Ezekiel could not stand for that. He wouldn't stand for it happening to any of his other team members either, but Glaceon especially held a special place his heart. They had always been the closest, not that he played favorites per say. Although some might argue otherwise. Ezekiel hoped to make this shopping trip short and sweet so he could hole himself up at home for a good long time, regardless of how unrealistic that was. He was here on recon after all, to check out how high the city's surveillance was. To see if infiltration was possible. He was certain the Academy would be simple enough, send in younger members as students and older members as teachers. Which he was really regretting suggesting, because the head of the executives suggested he be the one to go since it was his idea after all. Yeah well, that's the last time I get any bloody ideas! Damn white-haired punk ass.... Yeah, unpleasant thoughts to go around. He hated them all right now, but especially that jack ass. That one in particular has been giving him a hard time from the get-go, but he's gotten more annoying as of late and it only further miffed Ezekiel. He tried to reign his head in as he approached the large mall, he had groceries to buy. And oh, some furnishings too. He had only moved in a few days ago, and sleeping on a mattress with no sheets was becoming annoying. As usual, he got set up in a minimalist apartment in a poor neighborhood. Ezekiel didn't bring any of the finer things from his home in Celadon, just the key, the clothes on his back, and some supplies. Oh, and his company. Glaceon and Umbreon were out of their Pokeballs for the whole trip, he owed them that much. Since they were going to be cooped up with his smoking for the next few months. He may not be one for drinking, but smoking was definitely calming. He didn't like it, but he was usually too irritable at the time to care much about whether or not he liked to smoke. He walked into a store that seemed to sell a little of everything and started hunting for some cheap bedsheets. Maybe a mattress topper too, that damn mattress was the equivalent of sleeping on Steelix. Which was highly uncomfortable, though he could stand it for a while. He had a tolerance for things that otherwise required money to fix, but his tolerance had waned. He grabbed the bedding and mattress topper that were to his liking and then moved on to the food isle, looking at the non-perishables only. He would get milk and eggs last, right now he needed a large supply of canned food. He felt like some army punk on rations, but he needed to lay low for a while until the next semester at the Academy's college level started. At least his subject was nice, battle technique. Oh he would whip those punk ass kids into shape so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. He did manage to look forward to that. After all, he needed new punching bags to replace the grunts. [style=color: #00BBFF; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px; background-color: #121212; padding: 2px;]TAGGING: SEAN | WORDS: IDK | NOTES: I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF[/style][/style]

[style=font-size: 10px; font-family: georiga; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 3px;]TEMPLATE BY SAMARECARM OF OTE + BTN[/style]

[ARIEL FLORIANUS]

The day was going...slow, to say the least. There wasn't much going on in any way shape or form. Aside from the usual hustle and bustle that went along with being in a city, there wasn't anything of particular note to mention. Now of course, for some, that was a normal day, but for a pokemon gym leader, not so much. Not a single trainer had come by her gym, not even a non-trainer just asking questions. Business wasn't slow, it was dead. She had spent the larger part of her day thus far perched at the end of her gym, gazing out over the obstacles she had placed throughout the gym to challenge trainers physically and mentally to get through to her trainers, and eventually herself. She mentally walked through each step perfectly as she watched, but it was pointless to do so. She could do it with her eyes closed, even if the lights were off, as they usually were for badge seekers.

Her gym was the Dark gym, a rather rare occurrence in and of itself. As far as she knew, from what she saw going around to different gyms in different regions, it had never been done before. Growing up she had always been particularly fond of the darker side of life, and pokemon were no exception. She enjoyed "darkness" in all its different manifestations, both literally, figuratively, and as represented in media and culture. And her gym reflected this. Every gym had something to reflect their style, usually an element or concept to go along with it. Her gym was pitch black, absolutely no visibility. Unless a trainer had some form of flashlight, or a pokemon with Flash, they were practically blind. Furthermore, her gym was also a maze of mirrors in the dark.

The maze itself was actually quite simple in itself, but the lack of late could make it very difficult, especially for those that didn't work well together. Not only that, but if some form of light source could be made, the mirrors would be shown. But these were no ordinary mirrors, these mirrors made horrible reflects of those that looked upon them, making trainers and their pokemon see themselves in haunting and disturbing visage that could easily frighten or intimidate. There were open rooms stationed throughout the maze, where the gym trainers awaited. These rooms were, again, open, but they were an all around mirror that could easily confuse people or frighten them, seeing their own monsterous reflection from every direction.

She was quite proud of this concoction she made for herself, because it made the gym itself a challenge to get through. The rooms containing trainers were lit sparsely with candles, but for the most part, the battles took place in the dark. Her trainers were used to this, but most challengers were not. It forced trainers to communicate more with their pokemon, and it really brought out the bond between them if they could overcome this obstacle. Despite her pride, it did not amuse her when nothing was going on. Her perch, at the end of the maze, was higher up so that she could see what was going on down below, but obviously nothing was. Her trainers battled each other for fun and experience, but it was only entertaining to watch for so long. Her blood red and intense eyes had scanned across the gym floor enough times in the past 30 minutes to accurately redraw it, without light, perfectly, down to every minor detail. She. Was. Bored.

Needless to say, this would not do. She decided she needed to get out, to do something, but she needed an excuse. Not for anyone other than herself really. She could walk right out of the gym with or without telling her trainers that she was leaving, and it would make no difference. She felt, though, that if she just left her position here without some ample reason, that it couldn't be justified. Sure business had been slow, but what if someone showed up. Unless she had a reason for being gone, she would feel bad about doing it. 'Why weren't you there Ariel, a trainer showed up but couldn't go through because you were gone.' 'Oh, I was bored.' Yeah, no, that wouldn't be good. So, she looked around the gym one more time and tried to look for something that maybe they needed. She could possibly go shopping for supplies for the gym, maybe get some potions for her trainers or...something.

She eventually thought back to her own home. She was running out of food to eat...she would have to go grocery shopping sooner or later. It was a crappy excuse, but it was one she was going for for now. She started making her way towards the exit of the gym, eyes forward and intense, almost glowing to pierce the darkness of her gym. As far as anyone else could tell, she was suddenly on a mission to kill somebody. She always looked so intense and focused that nobody could ever tell if she was about to do something serious or random. It was a trait some admired and some hated, but as for her trainers, they didn't really have an opinion. Naturally most of them were intimidated at first, but they basically adapted to it. That was Ariel, and it seemed to fit her preference of the dark. Many had indeed called her the queen of darkness in the past, but she made little reaction to it. Generally speaking, she didn't like titles because they seemed imposing, but that one did secretly amuse her, and she would grin when nobody was looking.

At any rate, she made straight for the mall, a particular shop already in mind that she always went to for groceries. While it wasn't a grocery store, in fact most of its contents was everything but food, she loved what they had. It was almost like a kind of love was put into the food when they bought it that most typical grocery stores didn't have. While they didn't have much variety, the quality was always superb. Naturally it wasn't her only stop, she had to go elsewhere for other items, but she always went there first. She also liked the owners, and would occasionally converse with them. They were an older couple, but they were very kind and good people. Perhaps it was wisdom due to age, but they seemed to get past her imposing nature the moment they met her, and she always found herself unwinding when speaking with them more than anyone else. She would smile, laugh, and all around look more like a real human being with them. They just had that kind of effect on her. It was no surprise that the food they did provide was excellent.

So it was that she moved through the mall to come to this shop. As always she looked straight ahead and marched with even strides. Most people paid her no mind, as it was a big city, but those that were associated with her for various reasons would call out to her, to which she would simply nod in reply. She probably could have suffered to react more, or do something to impede her journey to the store, as she was bored and probably needed to kill as much time as possible, but it didn't occur to her. Even when messing about, she always strived to do things as quickly and expertly as possible, with little distractions. She was disciplined, there was no doubt about that. And so it was that she strode right into the store like a gust of black wind.

She was immediately greeted by the husband of the shop, who hailed to her warmly and happily, to which she bowed in his direction. "Nice to see you too. Your shop looks to be in tip top shape, I'm glad your doing so well." He laughed in that over exaggerated but charming way he did, before saying "Aha, well, its all thanks to loyal customers like you Ariel. We couldn't do it without you." Ah, she couldn't help but smile in return to that. It really warmed her heart, that man and his wife. She bowed once again, giving her respects, and went to shop. Before heading straight to the food though, she figured she might browse a little bit, see what other kinds of things they had.

She found it infinitely fascinating the assortment of things they were able to come across and sell. She wondered what kind of supplier they had, or if they just found stuff and sold it. You wouldn't think they were street pickups looking at them, they all seemed so fresh. It was for reasons like that she more than once wondered if all these things were handmade or something. She was going through one of the shelves when something caught her eye, and she flicked them upwards to see. Blue hair, she saw blue hair. She paused for a moment, thinking back. Something was familiar. Had she met someone with blue hair before? It seemed familiar, but in a way she couldn't place, at all. She huffed in annoyance, but decided to dismiss it, and moved towards the food aisle. Time to get her stuff and get out.

She spent little time collecting everything she needed, as if she had a mental checklist ready to be filled out in a span of five seconds. She just missing one thing though. She didn't really need it...but it was something she could use. Some canned beans. She pondered whether or not she should bother, because she probably wouldn't eat them. They were really for an emergency, such as if she had gone home tonight without shopping and didn't have any food in the house. She eventually figured, why not, and made her way to the canned food section. She was focusing intently on finding the beans, but she couldn't. There was canned everything else but beans. She was about to give up when she saw a single can, and reached for it.

At the same time though, so did another man, and they both grabbed it at once. She blinked, as this was a bit of a surprise, but she quickly recovered and pulled away, turning to face the man who reached. She was about to apologize and say he could have them, but her words escaped her. Standing before her was the man with blue hair. Normally, this wouldn't create such a reaction, but his appearance was almost like a ghost from her past. He looked SO familiar, but she could not recall ever meeting him before. This surprise left her stunned, and she just stared at him, unable to say anything at all. Despite this, she appeared to actually be staring at him as if analyzing, not out of surprise. Her gaze was intense as ever, soul piercing, a sort of natural defense. She wondered if he would say anything, maybe he recognized her better than she...

[EZEKIEL ANSELM]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px;][bg=121212][style=font-family: arial narrow; color: #00BBFF; font-weight: bold; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; border-left: 320px solid #00BBFF;]THIS IS A GAME.[/style] [style=text-align: left; color: #e4e4e4; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 3px; font-family: arial;]DO NOT TRUST YOUR EARS. WHAT YOU HEAR ARE LIES.[/style] [style=margin-top: 5px; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; color: #e4e4e4; background-color: #212121; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid #222222;] [style=zoom: 1; filter: alpha(opacity=70); opacity: 0.7; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; width: 100px; height: 100px; border-radius: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/Gur5C.png); float: left;] [/style] Oh for the love of Christ -- heh, irony -- this was probably the single most annoying thing in the world. How did women take any enjoyment from this? Mentally grumbling as he walked, Ezekiel wished he could be doing anything but this. Anything. Even listening to grunts be stupid. He could be home now, sleeping or strategizing, but instead he had to do these annoying and menial tasks. This whole thing was beneath him really, he was God damned executive for crying out loud! He was one of the Phantom Seven! Reduced to infiltrating a school and performing recon duties...someone was seriously trying to piss him off. And it was this that made him feel lazy. Ah, canned beans.

[/i] He mentally grumbled. The food of kings.[/i] He didn't even notice someone else in the isle until he realized there was a hand on the can he reached for that wasn't his. Ezekiel blinked in a moment of confusion, turning to watch the hand as it drew away. He kind of felt bad, it was a woman who grabbed it after all. He may be a high ranking member of Team Rocket, but he wasn't without his manners and moments of chivalry. Which, for bad guy, was rather unique. "Uh, you can keep it." He said, taking the can off the shelf and tossing it at her, making sure his movements were slow so she would catch it.

That really should have been the end of it, but there was something familiar about this woman that he didn't like...apart from the fact that she was Gym Leader of this retched city. Which he knew because he did his homework on people he was supposed to avoid, and this over-qualified cop was definitely on the top of his list. She kicked major ass if he remembered correctly, but there was no sign of panic in his body language, because he felt none. There was no reason for her to attack him, because there was no way for her to know he was a high ranking officer of Team Rocket. The executives were called 'phantoms' for a reason. But still, there was something so familiar about those red eyes...it captivated him momentarily. And then, it hit him. His eyes widened slightly at the foggy memory, and it was all a little vague still. But it was her, he was sure of it. This was the little girl he ran into when he was boy, being chased by the cops because he had been caught stealing.

Damn it all, she would have to be the Gym Leader now. Of course. Why should he expect a break? Why didn't I recognize her from the pictures?! Dammit all![/i] Why indeed, as he had seen pictures of her while researching his homework. And yet it took seeing her in person to trigger the memory. Well damn, this might complicate things. Because she knew he had been chased by cops as a child, she might suspect him now as an adult. But he played it cool, relaxing his eyes and glaring at the woman, the little girl from his memories. The one girl in this whole damned city who might still remember a bit of his past. "What're you looking at?" He snapped, hoping to break her focus and prevent her from remembering him, as he could tell he looked familiar to her by her staring. "You got the damn can. Was there something else you wanted?" He grabbed a few cans of canned beans and soup without really looking, adding it to the mini-cart he had hanging from his arm. Hopefully his standoff nature and grumpiness would chase her away, he really didn't need the trouble.

Curse he non-existent luck.


[style=color: #00BBFF; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px; background-color: #121212; padding: 2px;]TAGGING: SEAN | WORDS: IDK | NOTES: I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF[/style][/style][/td][/tr][/table] [style=font-size: 10px; font-family: georiga; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 3px;]TEMPLATE BY SAMARECARM OF OTE + BTN[/style][/center]