My heart pounds in my throat while the clock ticks inside the silence of my room. I swallow, my mouth feels like it's full of sand.
Sweat is pooling under my neck and I sit up, shivering as I place my feet onto the frigid floor. Soft moonlight filters in through the minute window above me.
I pile my hair on top of my head and wipe my damn neck with a small towel.
Fuck.
I'm not sure that I can do this. It's so taxing. And it's about to get worse. I want to bury myself in a hole somewhere, away from the world.
I shake the idea away, no need to be so depressing. I just need to crush Krent and make him submit to me.
I pull a cigarette from my drawer and light it, taking a long drag. I watch as the smoke billows towards the vent in the ceiling.
I let out a winded sigh.
I think about Masaru and wonder what he's doing. Whether he's asleep.
My eyes slide to the tiny window again and I focus on the sliver of moon glowing outside. A swirl of stars spatter the inky sky around it.
I look at the clock and it reads 5:00am. I roll my eyes and drop the cigarette into a mostly empty can of Fresh Water. It sizzles and I sit back on my bed.
I let myself drift back into sleep and wake up to my alarm clock screaming at 7:30.
Fuck. I drag myself out of bed and put on a black long sleeved dress with a massive red R across the front.
I pull on heeled boots and make my way into Krent's office. He gets up at 8 so I have some time alone before he bothers me.
I pour myself coffee from the automatic drip, add sugar and seat myself in a stiff chair.
I finish the first cup, make myself another and check the time. 7:45.
I sip my second cup more slowly, lost in thought. I'm not sure what Pokémon Krent has or which one he'll use in our battle.
My silence is disturbed by the sound of his alarm and I hear him get out of bed. It takes him a little while to emerge.
Once he does I stand and greet him with his own cup of coffee. He seats himself at his large desk and drinks deeply. I think about how easily I could have poisoned it…
After awhile he looks up at me and grins wickedly. I swallow the sour taste in my mouth.
"We can battle today. I want to thrill the Grunts." Krent grins wickedly again and again I swallow disgust.
"Whatever you want, Krent." I say loftily.
"Fantastic!" He claps his hands together, startling me. "We can battle at noon, before lunch."
I fight to not narrow my eyes. I'm gonna drag the floor with this fucker.
At 11:30 Goro arrives to collect me and walk me to the battle arena. Once we arrive I scan the crowd for Masaru but don't see him anywhere.
My head starts to spin and my knees are slightly shaking. Finally, I see Masaru standing at the edge of the arena, relief flooding his face. A mirror of my own solace.
I hadn't seen him since I beat Crystal in that battle.
Determination hardens inside of me and I face Krent with a cool expression.
"Battle begin!" The entire screaming crowd shouts at once.
I clutch a hand around my ace and release Arrow into the arena. Krent releases Magmortar at the same moment.
A grin spreads over my face when I notice my advantage in this battle. I throw off my Team Rocket hat and hear a bellow of excitement from the stadium.
"Use Flamethrower!" Krent makes a fist and juts it into the air menacingly.
Flames spew from Magmortar's puckered mouth. Red and orange licking out into a savage beam.
"Dodge quick!" I command hotly. Arrow moves upwards swiftly to escape the roaring fire.
"Rock Slide!" I command. A shower of stones dump from the sky and Magmortar throws up its arms in defense as they connect.
"Use Poison Gas!" A wicked smile is spreading over Krent's face. His eyes glowing with something bestial.
Anxiety pulses through me while Arrow flaps his wings in an attempt to disperse the gaseous cloud. He manages to clear most of it, but not all.
He lets out a guttural cry as the poison takes effect. His body convulses with toxic static. Fuck.
"You're fine! Use Rock Polish!" I need to make up for the lost speed and attack power now that Arrow is poisoned.
"Thunderbolt!" Krent shouts over the noise of Arrow's Rock Polish.
My blood runs cold. "Dodge it!" I bite my lip as Rock Polish finishes up and Arrow narrowly avoids a stab of lightning.
"Thunderbolt again!" Krent yells out.
"Use Protect and follow up with another Rock Slide!" Sweat is pouring down my neck and my hands are shaking.
I make eye contact with Masaru, who is watching me intently. I break eye contact and focus on the battle playing out before me.
A sphere forms around Arrow and the spasm of electricity splinters around it. A booming roar escapes Arrow as a collection of rocks rain from the air.
Magmortar takes critical damage as it's buried underneath of them.
My heart catches as the stones move and flames explode from the rubble. Magmortar emerges in a cloud of dust.
I grit my teeth, clenching my fists at my sides. "Aerial Ace! Don't fucking let up!"
Magmortar shakes its, letting out a winded grunt as Arrow connects.
"Flamethrower!" Krent commands in a ferocious tone.
I wince as Arrow takes the blast to the face, toxic static wracking his body at the same time.
Aerial Ace connects, sending a boom cracking through the stadium.
A blast of energy forces me to narrow my eyes and hold my breath. I squint and try to focus on Arrow who's on the floor of the stadium.
One eye closed, he's leaning heavily on a wing while Magmortar staggers to it's feet.
"Rock Slide!" I hear my voice crack.
"Thunderbolt!" Krent's tone remains solid.
Our commands collide and our Pokémon struggle to carry them out.
Arrow summons his attack first, while Magmortar struggles to form electricity in the guns attached to its arms. Stones materialize in the air above.
A rock connects with Magmortar's skull and it crumples to the ground, electricity sizzling from outstretched arms.
"Jun is the victor!" Eerie silence hangs over the crowd and Arrow collapses.
I rush to his side, pulling a vial of antidote from my bag and applying it. The poison static bursts away but Arrow still lays limply on the floor.
"You did it," I whisper and lay my head on his neck. Pulling out his ball I withdraw him into a beam of crimson light.
A shadow falls over me and I look up to see Krent towering over me. The arena is still soundless, the only thing I can hear is my heart smashing against my chest.
I'm not sure what to say or do. I look over at where Masaru was standing and notice that he's striding towards us.
I stand up and meet Krent's gaze. "About my prize."
"About that." He says, all of a sudden dread creeps over me. "I don't think you'll be getting it today," he's reaching for his belt.
Masaru beats him to the draw and Walrein erupts from nowhere, blasting him with an Ice Beam.
Krent's face is frozen in fear as the shell creeps up to his chest. He lets out a scream of rage and I grin.
"I think I'll be taking whatever the fuck I want today." I throw my five remaining Pokéballs into the air and my team is released.
Masaru does the same thing.
I walk into the center of the arena and shout as loudly as I can. "I'm your boss now! Anyone who thinks they can challenge me and win, come forwards. Otherwise submit to your new fucking leader!"
Not a single person stirred. I looked at the closer Grunts' faces and notice terror on some of them. Admiration on others. Good.
Masaru is standing next to me now, his eyes are blazing with excitement. This was easier than I could have hoped for.
"What do we do with Krent?" I ask him.
"Dump him in a cell and forget about him," Masaru spins around and commands his Luxray to collect Krent.
Masaru disappears to do that task and I make my way back to the office I'd been locked in for days.
I immediately start digging through stacks of papers, throwing away things I don't care about. Pictures, random paper work as well as discarded cigar ends. All into the trash.
An hour into this endeavor and a knock sounds at my door. It's Masaru and Goro. I allow them both to come in.
Goro stands nervously near the door while Masaru takes a seat in one of the chairs.
"Can I help you?" I direct the question towards Goro.
He twists his hands, not looking up at me. "Ma'am, I'm just not sure what you'll have done with me." Now he glances up and as soon as he meets my gaze he looks away.
"What do you mean?" I press.
"Will you be placing me in the dungeon as well?" It comes out of him in a whoosh and quickly he bows his head.
"Of course not! I like you. If you'd like you can keep your current steward position. Of course, you'll be serving me now." I glance over at Masaru who's watching us both.
"That would be great! Yes ma'am. I would love to serve underneath you." Goro's bow deepens and I ask him to take and wash the sheets.
He collects them and scurries out.
I turn to see Masaru grinning at me.
"What?" I roll my eyes.
"Nothing," he shrugs but the grin doesn't leave his face.
"Oh Arceus, wipe that smirk off your face and help me clean this place." I toss a crumpled ball of paper at him and he bats it away before it hits.
I move back to the desk and begin dumping more shit into the garbage. Masaru comes over to help and soon the table is completely empty.
"Have you called Silver?" I ask.
"I have. He's fucking ecstatic." Masaru lets another grin spread over his face.
This time I'm smiling too. Making Silver proud swells me with joy.
For a moment I remember kissing Masaru… the heat that ran down my body. I push it away, into the bowels of my mind.
Once we have the office how we want it I order food from the personal kitchen reserved for the Boss.
Steaming bowls of vegetable stew arrive, with a large bowl of salad and chunks of crusty bread and a pat of Miltank butter. I also ask for two large bottles of wine.
We dig in. I'm famished from the lack of food lately and from stress.
Masaru pours us both large glasses of dark wine and drinks deeply from his. A sigh escapes his lips and he takes the office in.
"Pretty nice place he had in here," Masaru finishes his first glass of wine and fills another glass.
I'm still nursing the first half of my glass, watching him closely.
As he finishes his second glass I'm nearing the bottom of my first.
"I wanna do something fun." He says suddenly, sloshing more wine for himself.
"Oh yeah," I hold out my glass for him to fill it. "Like what?"
"I'm not sure," he slumps back. I'm thinking about that kiss again. How fucking hot it was.
I guess I'm looking at him because he raises an eyebrow quizzically. "What?" He shoots.
Fuck. "Nothing," I look away from him and try to quell my beating heart.
He doesn't respond but I see that he's grinning again. Arceus fuck.
I gulp down my second glass of wine and start when there's a knock at the door. I open it to see Goro, struggling to carry all of the folded sheets.
I take them from him and he steps into the office.
"Goro!" Masaru beams, snatching a clean glass and filling it. "Have some wine!" He shoves the brimmed glass into the small man's hands.
Goro looks down at the glass and back up at Masaru.
"Well drink it. I've never seen anyone admire a glass of alcohol so much." Masaru pats his back and plops back into a chair.
"Krent never would have offered me to stay for a drink." A tear slides down Goro's pointy nose and almost off of that and into his wine. Instead it hits the floor silently.
"You'll be treated better from here on." Masaru pounds his third glass of wine and pours what's left of the first bottle into his cup.
Goro swallows hard and nods before taking a delicate sip out of his glass.
I watch all of this silently from over at the desk. My desk.
"Sit down, be comfortable." I offer to Goro.
He wipes his nose, nodding again before seating himself across from Masaru.
I seat myself and light a cigarette, listening idly to their conversation. Lost in my own thoughts. Thoughts about how the fuck I'm going to lead Team Rocket
"Jun?" I snap back to the present, blinking as Masaru says my name again.
"Hm?" I ask.
"Are you okay?" Masaru looks serious, his cheeks are flushed.
"I'm fine, just thinking." I glance down and ash my cigarette, most of it had burned away while I was zoned out. I take the final drag and extinguish it.
I walk to the table near where Goro and Masaru are seated, filling my glass.
"Boss?" Goro asks.
"Please," I hold up a hand. "Call me Jun or anything but, Boss."
"Ma'am," Goro looks at me nervously and I nod. "What do you need me to do for you? My services belong to you now."
"I need you to bring me all the Grunts in charge of certain areas. Your head scientist also if possible." I look at Masaru, who's pouring yet another glass for himself.
My head is swimming and Goro is nodding his head with a vigor. "Of course, ma'am. All simple tasks for me."
Goro excused himself and Masaru stands from his chair, walking towards me. I place my hand on his chest. "I'm exhausted. Help me put the sheets on."
"Of course," Masaru grabs the stack of linens and follows me into Krent's old room. He places the sheets onto a small table and we both sit down on the bed simultaneously.
Suddenly the floor gives way beneath us and we plunge downwards. My heart drops and I let out a shriek as I fall into the darkness.
"What's happening?" Terror has entered Masaru's voice as we streak towards the ground.