[For a high-ranking Team Rocket member, who'd climbed up the ranks through a combination of cleverness and sheer brutality, with an illustrious career boasting meeting and even capturing Legendary Pokemon no one had ever seen before, much less captured, even if one of them did escape in the end, while the other was brought back to the base, he was... not as proud or confident as he'd once been.
Paradoxically, for someone who worked in such violent and sordid work, he had maintained an open, warm, and friendly nature, that sometimes disappeared behind explosive anger, with a great deal of internal distance that allowed him to commit acts of violence despite that fact.
But his defenses came down with the loss of his partner. His temper worsened, his friendly manner was largely conceit to make enemies lower their guard, and he'd grown crueler. He couldn't even get along with the friends he'd made, he'd try, but his bad temper had only gotten worse, quick to take a violent turn, and so, others grew distant from him. He half-wondered, eventually, if he wasn't doing it on purpose to avoid having anyone too close he could stand to lose again.
He almost thought he'd make a better agent this way. He might get a reputation of being hard to work with again, but it's fine, he could work solo just fine... and he'd become more ruthless, which, to Team Rocket, was a good thing, so there's that. He joined to make money and it's fine if that's all he does now. Work, get paid, drink, go to sleep. Repeat. There wasn't anything more to it, right now. He just did what he was good at.
He'd been tasked with the capture of another Legendary Pokemon, based on some sighting around this area, he was supposed to investigate and capture if found... There were readings of incredibly high energy readings around this particular area, so he thought he must have found his target. Proceeding towards the location, for the first time in many months, he'd felt something other than gnawing emptiness and a need for distraction. For once, his mind was clear and he felt like there was something of genuine light and beauty in this world. He was fascinated and stayed in his bipedal mecha, entranced behind the glass, and, briefly, forgot his mission and everything else.
An ethereal, beautiful figure in resplendant dress, an otherworldly sight, surrounded by wild Pokemon, she almost looked like a fairy tale princess or some kind of angel... but when she formed a spear of light, he felt frightened and realized, "This can't be human."
Was she a transformed Legendary Pokemon? Maybe it's some kind of trick, some kind of illusion, that he's nearly been brought under the spell of.
And then, she spoke. It didn't appear to be telepathy, the sound was slightly muffled behind the glass, and he saw her mouth move... what kind of Pokemon can do all of that?!
He was growing more and more confused by what she might be... he felt incredibly stupid for doing this, but he brought the glass down, so she could hear him better. If this was a trap, he was still inside, he could still control the mecha, and he could still capture and restrain her.]
[ A fairy tale princess... Now that was a wonderful thought if there ever was one! If she was told she looked just like that, Ereshkigal would nigh instantly swoon. If only that were true... Then surely her charming prince would come riding on his white horse and saved her from her unfair fate!
That was how it usually happened in human romances, at any rate. Books were really her only source of knowledge as to how the human world works... But she knew it wasn't in the cards for her.
What was in the cards instead were those strange creatures...Until she heard a human voice. Was there someone around? She ran to the source of the voice and stopped before the lowered glass. ]
Ah, finally!
[ Is she... Is she sparkling? Yes, yes she is. And she's absolutely unaware of it. That's just something that happens every now and then when she feels really happy. ]
Are you a human of this world?
[thank you!! CW vague suicidal ideation, towards the end]
[Once again, he’s stunned. The scintillating light is so beautiful, he can’t look away, even though, instinctively, he knows he should fear it to be some kind of trap… but the world’s all gotten so dark, dull, and drab for him for so long, he wanted to bask in her light for a little longer…
He actually had to grip at the edges of the cockpit while he stood to see her better… like he might get weak at the knees! It’d be pathetic if he saw it in anyone else. He didn’t want to speak or ruin the moment. Definitely didn’t want to or care about what it was he had to do after, this was… such a comfort to his eyes and spirit.
That sweet voice was addressing him, wasn’t it? His mind finally comprehended the meaning, instead of just treating it like a sweet little song he could hardly hear.]
Uhh… yeah.
[Oh, wow, great first impression! He sounded thick. He sat back down, embarrassed, head down. It took him a moment to bring the machine closer. It had a funny, almost bird-like gait, he lowered the mecha down so he was nearly level with her, although he brought the glass halfway up over the cockpit (when he looked down, the high readings were absolutely focused here—she was the source, alright). She was armed, after all. He wasn’t looking to get stabbed, even if it was—hm, on second thought, not a bad way to go, after witnessing such beauty… it’s not like he had anything else to look forward to…]
[ Now that she could see it in full, Ereshkigal's eyes widened upon seeing the machine in its entirety. What a strange constrict... It wasn't a totally uncommon sight, she knew magi had built some very weird things and the movies Ritsuka had shown her had mechanical constructs even bigger and more dangerous!
This didn't look like something a magi had built though, and seeing how she can't be in a movie... Mhm. It may truly be a different world! Or perhaps a Lostbelt, but she would be able to tell if so.
Regardless, that answer took her aback. ]
A-Are you alright?
[ People usually were super impressed to see a perfect and cool goddess! Well... She thinks they do, she's never actually met enough people to test that theory. Or perhaps he's just nervous like her? If so she can sympathize, but...
... She has no idea how to help! If she did she wouldn't be an anxious mess any more. ]
[He finally did lift his head after a moment, when was fairly certain he looked a bit less, well, embarrassed, but Buson was always a fairly easy read and this was probably the most emotional he'd been in a long time.
So. It's easy to see he looked embarrassed and awkward.]
Sorry. I was just—surprised. Didn't expect a lady to be out here in the middle'a nowhere.
[Well, he shouldn't get too distracted, she wasn't... human, was she? She's probably an illusion or transformation or something.]
What's your name?
[His hands gliding over the controls as he righted himself, before lingering over certain controls. He might be hiding the fact that he intended to trap her.]
[ Oh, is it introduction time? Suddenly, a cold wind start blowing. It sends her hair flying dramatically... Kind of like how you'd see it in a L'Oréal commercial, except here it very much is the real world. ]
I am she who tramples the sacred mountain... [When she speaks, it is in a deeper voice than usual.] Queen of Kûr and Mistress of the Underworld...
[ And lo, she sends her cape flying in a most dramatic fashion as she "reveals" herself. ]
Ereshkigal, Goddess of Death!
[ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
T-That was super cool and scary, right? She's spent days before a mirror rehearsing this introduction! Hopefully he's impressed and in awe of her, as one should be when they face a very cool and likeable goddess. Because she's totally cool and likeable, right? Right? She-She's really trying hard here! ]
[CW dehumanization??? + he *still* thinks she's a Pokemon, I'm sorry]
[The sudden wind was creepy, he'd have to admit. He felt a chill run up his spine! He briefly wondered if he was going to die. But as se went on, introducing herself, the shyness from earlier vanised entirely. What took its place was a casual confidence and a sinister, unpleasant smile. So this was sort of transformation or illusion! She's just anoter beast like Raikou or Rayquaza, legend or not, she could be subdued and subjugated.]
Alright, cool.
Godesses of death, gods of thunder, it's all the same.
[Target locked and... fire!
A metallic claw will shoot out towards her to clasp around her. He didn't fire the second, in case she tried to use that sword to cut it. He still didn't know wat the sword could do, if se was likely to drain life from things, he was going to hold off sending is Pokemon out against her unless he absolutely had to.
If she needed furter restraining or disabling, he had other means.]
[ W-What the heck was happening? Why was his machine attacking her? Had she been way too scary and he'd felt compelled to attack her? She'd just wanted to be cool so people would like her, she didn't mean to genuinely terrify him...!
Yet again, he doesn't really sound scared, does he? No, he very much sounds aggressive. Had she fallen for a trap set up by one of those vile humans? Guh... Ishtar would laugh if she saw her like that, wouldn't she?
Also goddess of death is very much better than the god of thunder, thank you very much. ]
W-What are you doing?! [She's not panicking, perish the thought.] Cease this at once or I shall rain divine punishment upon you...!
[ She totally means it. She's not a violent goddess, but she's not going to let some human capture or kill her! ]
[I wonder how long he’ll be under the impression she’s a Pokemon]
[He likely doesn’t know the one you’re thinking of, Ereshkigal! He’s thinking of Raikou.
Surprisingly, he actually stopped the claw, in mid-air, before it could reach her. He watched her with a narrowed gaze.
He isn’t scared, but he’s considering she might need to be depowered first. He was considering other weapons. Just attacking her like that would be dangerous if he didn’t know what kind of moves she could use. But for now…]
Alright, I stopped. How about you stop and actually show your real form, huh?
You’re trying to protect yourself and distract us by making yourself look like a beautiful woman and I ain’t fallin’ for it.
[… he’s a tad bit too blunt and isn’t just… saying that making it clear that’s what his impression of her is too?]
[ W-What had he just said? That goddess turns red and gets a lot more panicked (and angry) because such shameful words cannot be forgiven! ]
H-How dare you! This is my real form...!
[ Yes, she can transform into a huge skeleton-like monstrous form, but that's not her true form! Her human body is! Well, vessel, but that's the same thing! Hmpf! For such an offense, she has to do something. Besides he's still on the verge of capturing her. ]
That's it, I'm not going to hold back! [She brandishes her spear of light and energy stats gathering around it.] F-For your sinful behavior, I shall exact divine punishment upon you!!
[ She's going to use her Noble Phantasm any second now! He better have something to prevent that or it's game over. ]
[awww, man + ya brought this on yourself, Buson... complete disaster]
[Oh, boy, he's got her really mad, maybe he really did offend some kind of deity and not a transformed Pokemon like he thought...???]
Cool it!
[Yeah, the best he could manage right now is setting off an odd little cube-shaped device, tossing it at her, and attempting to flee with a smoke screen his mecha generates.
The cube-shaped device will send out energy to try and bind her limbs so she won't move... it might not be powerful enough to completely disable her, but hey, it should serve as a good distraction for a few seconds while he makes his escape?!]
[ It does bind her limb, but very temporarily so. If he wants to get ahold her, he will have to use the big guns because as the smoke dissipates? The goddess is levitating mid-air, her eyes glowing golden as she stares at the retreating mecha.
She points her golden lance its way: ]
You are not going anywhere!
[ She's pissed.
And also very careful. In spite of appearances, she's considered one of the wisest goddesses of her pantheon. She knows allowing an enemy to flee is ensuring they'll come back even more dangerous.
On the downside, as the one ruling over the Underworld, she is a goddess of the earth. While levitating mid-air? Her powers are severely limited. But she's not a Pokemon, promised! ]
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deletedreams2022-05-01 03:43 pm
[it's totally fine, sorry for novel and the delay on my end, it came while I was at work]
Paradoxically, for someone who worked in such violent and sordid work, he had maintained an open, warm, and friendly nature, that sometimes disappeared behind explosive anger, with a great deal of internal distance that allowed him to commit acts of violence despite that fact.
But his defenses came down with the loss of his partner. His temper worsened, his friendly manner was largely conceit to make enemies lower their guard, and he'd grown crueler. He couldn't even get along with the friends he'd made, he'd try, but his bad temper had only gotten worse, quick to take a violent turn, and so, others grew distant from him. He half-wondered, eventually, if he wasn't doing it on purpose to avoid having anyone too close he could stand to lose again.
He almost thought he'd make a better agent this way. He might get a reputation of being hard to work with again, but it's fine, he could work solo just fine... and he'd become more ruthless, which, to Team Rocket, was a good thing, so there's that. He joined to make money and it's fine if that's all he does now. Work, get paid, drink, go to sleep. Repeat. There wasn't anything more to it, right now. He just did what he was good at.
He'd been tasked with the capture of another Legendary Pokemon, based on some sighting around this area, he was supposed to investigate and capture if found...
There were readings of incredibly high energy readings around this particular area, so he thought he must have found his target.
Proceeding towards the location, for the first time in many months, he'd felt something other than gnawing emptiness and a need for distraction. For once, his mind was clear and he felt like there was something of genuine light and beauty in this world. He was fascinated and stayed in his bipedal mecha, entranced behind the glass, and, briefly, forgot his mission and everything else.
An ethereal, beautiful figure in resplendant dress, an otherworldly sight, surrounded by wild Pokemon, she almost looked like a fairy tale princess or some kind of angel... but when she formed a spear of light, he felt frightened and realized, "This can't be human."
Was she a transformed Legendary Pokemon? Maybe it's some kind of trick, some kind of illusion, that he's nearly been brought under the spell of.
And then, she spoke. It didn't appear to be telepathy, the sound was slightly muffled behind the glass, and he saw her mouth move... what kind of Pokemon can do all of that?!
He was growing more and more confused by what she might be... he felt incredibly stupid for doing this, but he brought the glass down, so she could hear him better. If this was a trap, he was still inside, he could still control the mecha, and he could still capture and restrain her.]
Right here!
no worries, there's no rush!
That was how it usually happened in human romances, at any rate. Books were really her only source of knowledge as to how the human world works... But she knew it wasn't in the cards for her.
What was in the cards instead were those strange creatures...Until she heard a human voice. Was there someone around? She ran to the source of the voice and stopped before the lowered glass. ]
Ah, finally!
[ Is she... Is she sparkling? Yes, yes she is. And she's absolutely unaware of it. That's just something that happens every now and then when she feels really happy. ]
Are you a human of this world?
[thank you!! CW vague suicidal ideation, towards the end]
He actually had to grip at the edges of the cockpit while he stood to see her better… like he might get weak at the knees! It’d be pathetic if he saw it in anyone else. He didn’t want to speak or ruin the moment. Definitely didn’t want to or care about what it was he had to do after, this was… such a comfort to his eyes and spirit.
That sweet voice was addressing him, wasn’t it? His mind finally comprehended the meaning, instead of just treating it like a sweet little song he could hardly hear.]
Uhh… yeah.
[Oh, wow, great first impression! He sounded thick. He sat back down, embarrassed, head down. It took him a moment to bring the machine closer. It had a funny, almost bird-like gait, he lowered the mecha down so he was nearly level with her, although he brought the glass halfway up over the cockpit (when he looked down, the high readings were absolutely focused here—she was the source, alright). She was armed, after all. He wasn’t looking to get stabbed, even if it was—hm, on second thought, not a bad way to go, after witnessing such beauty… it’s not like he had anything else to look forward to…]
no subject
This didn't look like something a magi had built though, and seeing how she can't be in a movie... Mhm. It may truly be a different world! Or perhaps a Lostbelt, but she would be able to tell if so.
Regardless, that answer took her aback. ]
A-Are you alright?
[ People usually were super impressed to see a perfect and cool goddess! Well... She thinks they do, she's never actually met enough people to test that theory. Or perhaps he's just nervous like her? If so she can sympathize, but...
... She has no idea how to help! If she did she wouldn't be an anxious mess any more. ]
no subject
So. It's easy to see he looked embarrassed and awkward.]
Sorry. I was just—surprised. Didn't expect a lady to be out here in the middle'a nowhere.
[Well, he shouldn't get too distracted, she wasn't... human, was she? She's probably an illusion or transformation or something.]
What's your name?
[His hands gliding over the controls as he righted himself, before lingering over certain controls. He might be hiding the fact that he intended to trap her.]
1/3
I am she who tramples the sacred mountain... [When she speaks, it is in a deeper voice than usual.] Queen of Kûr and Mistress of the Underworld...
2/3
Gods and men alike fear me, for all paths lead to me...
3/3
Ereshkigal, Goddess of Death!
[ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
T-That was super cool and scary, right? She's spent days before a mirror rehearsing this introduction! Hopefully he's impressed and in awe of her, as one should be when they face a very cool and likeable goddess. Because she's totally cool and likeable, right? Right? She-She's really trying hard here! ]
[CW dehumanization??? + he *still* thinks she's a Pokemon, I'm sorry]
Alright, cool.
Godesses of death, gods of thunder, it's all the same.
[Target locked and... fire!
A metallic claw will shoot out towards her to clasp around her. He didn't fire the second, in case she tried to use that sword to cut it. He still didn't know wat the sword could do, if se was likely to drain life from things, he was going to hold off sending is Pokemon out against her unless he absolutely had to.
If she needed furter restraining or disabling, he had other means.]
We'll conquer you all.
You're coming with me!
sniff sniff
[ W-What the heck was happening? Why was his machine attacking her? Had she been way too scary and he'd felt compelled to attack her? She'd just wanted to be cool so people would like her, she didn't mean to genuinely terrify him...!
Yet again, he doesn't really sound scared, does he? No, he very much sounds aggressive. Had she fallen for a trap set up by one of those vile humans? Guh... Ishtar would laugh if she saw her like that, wouldn't she?
Also goddess of death is very much better than the god of thunder, thank you very much. ]
W-What are you doing?! [She's not panicking, perish the thought.] Cease this at once or I shall rain divine punishment upon you...!
[ She totally means it. She's not a violent goddess, but she's not going to let some human capture or kill her! ]
[I wonder how long he’ll be under the impression she’s a Pokemon]
Surprisingly, he actually stopped the claw, in mid-air, before it could reach her. He watched her with a narrowed gaze.
He isn’t scared, but he’s considering she might need to be depowered first. He was considering other weapons. Just attacking her like that would be dangerous if he didn’t know what kind of moves she could use. But for now…]
Alright, I stopped. How about you stop and actually show your real form, huh?
You’re trying to protect yourself and distract us by making yourself look like a beautiful woman and I ain’t fallin’ for it.
[… he’s a tad bit too blunt and isn’t just… saying that making it clear that’s what his impression of her is too?]
no subject
H-How dare you! This is my real form...!
[ Yes, she can transform into a huge skeleton-like monstrous form, but that's not her true form! Her human body is! Well, vessel, but that's the same thing! Hmpf! For such an offense, she has to do something. Besides he's still on the verge of capturing her. ]
That's it, I'm not going to hold back! [She brandishes her spear of light and energy stats gathering around it.] F-For your sinful behavior, I shall exact divine punishment upon you!!
[ She's going to use her Noble Phantasm any second now! He better have something to prevent that or it's game over. ]
[awww, man + ya brought this on yourself, Buson... complete disaster]
Cool it!
[Yeah, the best he could manage right now is setting off an odd little cube-shaped device, tossing it at her, and attempting to flee with a smoke screen his mecha generates.
The cube-shaped device will send out energy to try and bind her limbs so she won't move... it might not be powerful enough to completely disable her, but hey, it should serve as a good distraction for a few seconds while he makes his escape?!]
alas...!
She points her golden lance its way: ]
You are not going anywhere!
[ She's pissed.
And also very careful. In spite of appearances, she's considered one of the wisest goddesses of her pantheon. She knows allowing an enemy to flee is ensuring they'll come back even more dangerous.
On the downside, as the one ruling over the Underworld, she is a goddess of the earth. While levitating mid-air? Her powers are severely limited. But she's not a Pokemon, promised! ]