07-06-2016, 06:15 AM
Ditto's blood went cold. Giovanni. Here. Standing right in front of him. The Giovanni who funded the project that ultimately gave Ditto life.
The Giovanni who apparently was his greatest nemesis in this universe.
He stared, incredulous, unable to clasp the composure that so swiftly fell apart upon laying eyes on the Team Rocket boss. His throat dried up, eyes unblinking and wide, heart thundering in his chest. It took him a full ten seconds to have a thought that wasn't holy shit it's Giovanni holy shit it's Giovanni.
This was the man that Ditto worshipped, that he aspired to be. Every other human brought bile to the back of his gullet, but Giovanni was a man of vision, of ambition. Giovanni sought to manufacture the ultimate life form, and he succeeded in Ditto. He just didn't understand it, obviously, since he spent so much time and so many resources on bribing Mewtwo. Forgivable, though. As much as Ditto wanted to hang, draw and quarter Mewtwo, in his base form he was a more impressive sight than the shapeless shapeshifter.
But what did he do now? Did he confess to Giovanni, revealing his true form, and tell him everything? Or did he keep his mouth shut, ignoring the mobster's barbed threats, protecting the small racket he had struggled to develop so far? Both appealed in equal measure, though the thought of siding with Giovanni awoke childish glee and appeased the burning need for approval from his hero.
His 'father' had remained silent for the last ... how long had it been? He had simply stared at Ditto, as if expecting a momentary lapse of concentration. Maybe an eye twitch, the bite of a lip, even a sudden explosion of admission. Ditto couldn't decide what to do as sweat beaded on his face despite the cool air.
Giovanni lost the mirthless grin, keeping his steely gaze on his doppelganger. "So ... you must hail from my universe. Perhaps even Kanto. A die-hard fan, or someone looking to usurp my name and prestige to further their own goals?"
Technically, it was a resounding yes to both of those questions. Ditto swallowed, but an arid throat made the motion feel like trying to pass a tennis ball. He had to think of something, anything, that wasn't admiration or blind panic. He needed a plan. Why did his sense flee him now, when he needed it the most? He loved the crime boss, but he was all too aware of the brutality of his MO.
Giovanni turned to the huge window, making up the entire left wall, and strode to it. He grasped hands behind his back and peered out into the decaying society that was Tier 5. "Do you know why I do what I do?"
Ditto wanted to answer, but he had nothing clever to say. Even a yes seemed to tie his tongue in knots.
"I hail from a place that seeks to turn wild and savage beasts into children's pets," he said, eyes not leaving the window. "The Pokemon of the world do not deserve the kindness of humanity. They stand in our way and fight back every step of our progress. Most can kill a man without much effort. A Weedle for example, a small worm no taller than my knee, could inject enough poison into me with its barb to stop my heart in minutes. And yet we let these things flourish in the woods and fields next to our towns."
"And that is one of their smallest order. An Onix, a snake of rock and earth twenty seven feet long, could crush an entire town if it so chose. People see these monsters as something to befriend, to coddle, to bond with." Giovanni spun back to Ditto. "But I see the terror they can inflict. Team Rocket wasn't established to steal and rob and murder. Those were the unfortunate methods I had to enact, since my views were not widely held. Pokemon had to be dealt with harshly, if humanity was to survive."
Giovanni walked back before Ditto, each step measured and confident, hands sliding into trouser pockets. "So it intrigues me that someone has taken the name of my organisation and stolen my identity. For such an unpopular and wanted gang as mine, it is indeed interesting to find out why someone would associate themselves with it."
Ditto was running out of time. Giovanni wasn't going to stay patient with him much longer, and this was the most patient Ditto had ever seen him. But no option was palatable. All ended a scheme or an ambition. Perhaps it was best to be truthful, if every choice was a poor one. At least then Giovanni would know what Ditto had put himself through to imitate the great man.
"Giovanni," Ditto finally croaked, his throat parching further as he spoke. "I'm ... I'm your greatest fan."
Giovanni smiled, genuine this time. "I gathered."
Ditto groped for words, still resistant to spilling his identity. Instead, an idea came to him. If Giovanni is so free with information, maybe I can weasel some more out. "Why are you doing ... this?" Without hands to gesticulate, Ditto made use of his eyes, rolling them around the room.
"Establishing myself as a crime lord?"
Ditto nodded, saving his raw throat from a word he could motion.
"Why not? It's what I know how to do, and I'm great at it. Money and power are never undesirable."
"But without Pokemon," Ditto said, "your organisation has no purpose. No end goal."
Giovanni's countenance didn't change, though Ditto noted a sharpness to his eyes. "Times change. I'm not in Kanto anymore. If a goal is no longer achievable, then the smart man picks a new one." He leaned in closer. "Now, I think I've done enough talking. It isn't polite to hold your tongue when asked a question."
"Why did you-"
Knuckles crashed into Ditto's jaw, painfully cutting off his sentence. Pain throbbed in his mouth, a warm trickle of blood running down his chin.
"Enough questions," Giovanni said, his voice low.
"OK!" Ditto shouted, louder than he intended. "Look, I'll tell you." Why did Spook Eye have to be Giovanni?
Taking a breath, Ditto settled. The best lies, he had heard someone say, had the truth at their centre. "I founded Team Rocket here. I remember how great it was in Kanto, and I hate the fact that Omni stole me away right when ... uh, I was just enjoying my life. My plan was to build Team Rocket into a force that could rival him, starting by taking over Coruscant." He paused, sniffing. "A lofty goal, I know. But I'm not the tyep to just sit around and mope."
"Who were you in Kanto?" Giovanni said, tone still threatening.
Ditto clenched his teeth behind sealed lips. He couldn't say. At first he thought it'd be releasing to tell Giovanni all about him, but then the memories came flooding back. Memories of talking to other humans in his true form, and the scorn he got just for not being one of them. Imagine what Giovanni would think if he saw Ditto's gelatinous, blobby body. Panic set in. He had to get out of there!
Breaking his golden rule, Ditto shone with white light. Giovanni took several cautious steps backwards as the Pokemon's body reconfigured itself. The binds about his legs and arms broke beneath the bulging limbs as they expanded. A tail jutted from his back, snapping the chair in two. Several moments later, the Giovanni clone had vanished, replaced with a tall, orange skinned dragon.
Giovanni goggled, mouth agape. "A ... Dragonite?"
Ditto regarded his 'father' for one more second, then jumped through the glass window, shards falling with him. He set out his wings and fled into the skies.
Damn it, that was close. He didn't want to do that. Transforming in front of anyone gave away his most useful trait; anonymity. Giovanni knew Ditto was a shapeshifter, and since he stupidly chose another Pokemon form, it wouldn't take long for Spook Eye to put two and two together.
Ditto glanced once more over his shoulder. Giovanni watched him flee from the window, unmoving.
The Giovanni who apparently was his greatest nemesis in this universe.
He stared, incredulous, unable to clasp the composure that so swiftly fell apart upon laying eyes on the Team Rocket boss. His throat dried up, eyes unblinking and wide, heart thundering in his chest. It took him a full ten seconds to have a thought that wasn't holy shit it's Giovanni holy shit it's Giovanni.
This was the man that Ditto worshipped, that he aspired to be. Every other human brought bile to the back of his gullet, but Giovanni was a man of vision, of ambition. Giovanni sought to manufacture the ultimate life form, and he succeeded in Ditto. He just didn't understand it, obviously, since he spent so much time and so many resources on bribing Mewtwo. Forgivable, though. As much as Ditto wanted to hang, draw and quarter Mewtwo, in his base form he was a more impressive sight than the shapeless shapeshifter.
But what did he do now? Did he confess to Giovanni, revealing his true form, and tell him everything? Or did he keep his mouth shut, ignoring the mobster's barbed threats, protecting the small racket he had struggled to develop so far? Both appealed in equal measure, though the thought of siding with Giovanni awoke childish glee and appeased the burning need for approval from his hero.
His 'father' had remained silent for the last ... how long had it been? He had simply stared at Ditto, as if expecting a momentary lapse of concentration. Maybe an eye twitch, the bite of a lip, even a sudden explosion of admission. Ditto couldn't decide what to do as sweat beaded on his face despite the cool air.
Giovanni lost the mirthless grin, keeping his steely gaze on his doppelganger. "So ... you must hail from my universe. Perhaps even Kanto. A die-hard fan, or someone looking to usurp my name and prestige to further their own goals?"
Technically, it was a resounding yes to both of those questions. Ditto swallowed, but an arid throat made the motion feel like trying to pass a tennis ball. He had to think of something, anything, that wasn't admiration or blind panic. He needed a plan. Why did his sense flee him now, when he needed it the most? He loved the crime boss, but he was all too aware of the brutality of his MO.
Giovanni turned to the huge window, making up the entire left wall, and strode to it. He grasped hands behind his back and peered out into the decaying society that was Tier 5. "Do you know why I do what I do?"
Ditto wanted to answer, but he had nothing clever to say. Even a yes seemed to tie his tongue in knots.
"I hail from a place that seeks to turn wild and savage beasts into children's pets," he said, eyes not leaving the window. "The Pokemon of the world do not deserve the kindness of humanity. They stand in our way and fight back every step of our progress. Most can kill a man without much effort. A Weedle for example, a small worm no taller than my knee, could inject enough poison into me with its barb to stop my heart in minutes. And yet we let these things flourish in the woods and fields next to our towns."
"And that is one of their smallest order. An Onix, a snake of rock and earth twenty seven feet long, could crush an entire town if it so chose. People see these monsters as something to befriend, to coddle, to bond with." Giovanni spun back to Ditto. "But I see the terror they can inflict. Team Rocket wasn't established to steal and rob and murder. Those were the unfortunate methods I had to enact, since my views were not widely held. Pokemon had to be dealt with harshly, if humanity was to survive."
Giovanni walked back before Ditto, each step measured and confident, hands sliding into trouser pockets. "So it intrigues me that someone has taken the name of my organisation and stolen my identity. For such an unpopular and wanted gang as mine, it is indeed interesting to find out why someone would associate themselves with it."
Ditto was running out of time. Giovanni wasn't going to stay patient with him much longer, and this was the most patient Ditto had ever seen him. But no option was palatable. All ended a scheme or an ambition. Perhaps it was best to be truthful, if every choice was a poor one. At least then Giovanni would know what Ditto had put himself through to imitate the great man.
"Giovanni," Ditto finally croaked, his throat parching further as he spoke. "I'm ... I'm your greatest fan."
Giovanni smiled, genuine this time. "I gathered."
Ditto groped for words, still resistant to spilling his identity. Instead, an idea came to him. If Giovanni is so free with information, maybe I can weasel some more out. "Why are you doing ... this?" Without hands to gesticulate, Ditto made use of his eyes, rolling them around the room.
"Establishing myself as a crime lord?"
Ditto nodded, saving his raw throat from a word he could motion.
"Why not? It's what I know how to do, and I'm great at it. Money and power are never undesirable."
"But without Pokemon," Ditto said, "your organisation has no purpose. No end goal."
Giovanni's countenance didn't change, though Ditto noted a sharpness to his eyes. "Times change. I'm not in Kanto anymore. If a goal is no longer achievable, then the smart man picks a new one." He leaned in closer. "Now, I think I've done enough talking. It isn't polite to hold your tongue when asked a question."
"Why did you-"
Knuckles crashed into Ditto's jaw, painfully cutting off his sentence. Pain throbbed in his mouth, a warm trickle of blood running down his chin.
"Enough questions," Giovanni said, his voice low.
"OK!" Ditto shouted, louder than he intended. "Look, I'll tell you." Why did Spook Eye have to be Giovanni?
Taking a breath, Ditto settled. The best lies, he had heard someone say, had the truth at their centre. "I founded Team Rocket here. I remember how great it was in Kanto, and I hate the fact that Omni stole me away right when ... uh, I was just enjoying my life. My plan was to build Team Rocket into a force that could rival him, starting by taking over Coruscant." He paused, sniffing. "A lofty goal, I know. But I'm not the tyep to just sit around and mope."
"Who were you in Kanto?" Giovanni said, tone still threatening.
Ditto clenched his teeth behind sealed lips. He couldn't say. At first he thought it'd be releasing to tell Giovanni all about him, but then the memories came flooding back. Memories of talking to other humans in his true form, and the scorn he got just for not being one of them. Imagine what Giovanni would think if he saw Ditto's gelatinous, blobby body. Panic set in. He had to get out of there!
Breaking his golden rule, Ditto shone with white light. Giovanni took several cautious steps backwards as the Pokemon's body reconfigured itself. The binds about his legs and arms broke beneath the bulging limbs as they expanded. A tail jutted from his back, snapping the chair in two. Several moments later, the Giovanni clone had vanished, replaced with a tall, orange skinned dragon.
Giovanni goggled, mouth agape. "A ... Dragonite?"
Ditto regarded his 'father' for one more second, then jumped through the glass window, shards falling with him. He set out his wings and fled into the skies.
Damn it, that was close. He didn't want to do that. Transforming in front of anyone gave away his most useful trait; anonymity. Giovanni knew Ditto was a shapeshifter, and since he stupidly chose another Pokemon form, it wouldn't take long for Spook Eye to put two and two together.
Ditto glanced once more over his shoulder. Giovanni watched him flee from the window, unmoving.
![[Image: jimsig.jpg]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2017/07/07/jimsig.jpg)