PF RP - A meeting of old Rockets

It was in the middle of the night, and Elizbaeth was taking a walk around the woods. It had been about a month since Team Rocket vanished, and she was happy that she didn’t have to hide herself from others because of that. However, she had no home because she hadn’t decided what to pick yet to get into. She had heard that Hailey had started Team Plasma. While that did appeal to Elizabeth, she wasn’t sure if they would be hated by the entire island, much like Team Rocket. While she didn’t like living in the woods, it was the only thing she could do right now. Maybe bumping into others from Team Rocket could help her.

It was a particularly clear night, Fae noted that before she started to head back to the docks. She felt like, of any night, tonight would be the best for stargazing. Despite being tired from a long day of hard work, she couldn't ignore the allure of the sky. She loved stars, and on a clear night like this it was worth putting off rest to watch them slowly slink on their paths around the sky. She found herself dozing on and off as the night went on, but sat up with a jolt when she heard someone coming through the woods. "Hello?" She wasn't exactly expecting company, she feared for the worst.

Elizabeth soon heard a familiar voice call out to her as she picked up a cold scent. She was trying to remember who they were, but she followed where the voice came from. Soon, she saw who it was. It was Fae. Elizabeth did recognize her. Well, Elizabeth wanted to talk to someone, and she got someone. Strutting over to her, Elizabeth put on a slight seductive smile. “Why, hello little one~ Shouldn’t you be in bed right now?” She asked, very obviously teasing her, which hopefully Fae would remember about her.

Fae recognized the Zorua instantly. They hadn't talked much but she'd always kept a subtly eye on the shape shifter while she was a rocket. She want to be out-maneuvered or messed with, so they hadn't really talked too closely back then but it wasn't a face or voice she could readily forget. Knowing Elizabeth's teasing all to well, she decided to roll with it just for fun, "But this patch of grass makes for a pretty good bed on its own. Besides, how could I miss out on this view?" She hated being treated like a little child though, so she consciously kept the sarcasm out of her voice.

Elizabeth looked down on the grass and giggled. "You have a point there. I've been sleeping on this grass for a while now, so I had to get used to it." She said, sitting down. "So, I know we never talked a lot before, but how've you been ever since the base gave up the ghost?" She asked her, looking around to make sure no one was listening to them.

"I've been worked to the bone on the docks by the Admiral." She kept up her jovial tone, not wanting to hint at her family relations just in case they weren't quite known by all of the rockets yet. "It seemed like an easy place to slip back into things at first, but they're just so busy all the time. Not a moment of rest until sundown and it's all out in the heat because there's not much shade out there." Even though she was alert and paying close attention to the Zorua, she didn't want to seem suspicious. She resumed her previous position, lying in the grass with a little bit of a huff, "I really should try something else soon..."

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Yup. Those sorts of jobs are like that. Doing a whole lot of work, and not many pokecats acknowledging how important those jobs are." She said, yawning. "Oh, by the way, have you heard some news lately? Apparently, Hailey is running something called Team Plasma." She said. Since Elizabeth didn't know anything more about it, she didn't say anymore on the topic.

Fae's ears twitched, "M- yeah!" She looked in Elizabeth's direction again, "I actually went to one of her rallies." She scoffed lightly, "I always knew the Trainers were fairly careerist, but I didn't realize how involved the government was in this town until she really spelled it out." Her muzzle scrunched sourly at the thought, "She has a lot of points, but I don't think Ashes is as corrupt as she says." She pulled at the grass a bit with her claws, "But... still I feel like I'd enjoy working independently and not having to worry that I won't do a good enough job for the rest of the island."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Everyone has their own opinions. Honestly, I would love to see Ashes try any other job for a day so she can see how she does things isn't the best way. If there is one thing I will agree with, is that the leader shouldn't be just the strongest on the island. They need to think on their feet and have a lot of forethought, which she doesn't have if Team Rocket was allowed to exist for so long." She said.

Fae knew that the assertion Elizabeth was making wasn't true. Ashes had more tact and skill than she let on, but Fae couldn't make it sound like she knew Ashes personally as her teacher or it would hint to her true identity. She rebutted from a different point of view, "I agree that a leader should be about strategy and sound thought, but I think that allowing Team Rocket to exist was a tactical move on her part." She grinned lightly to herself, "If she'd eliminated them right away, it would have signaled that she wasn't willing to coexist with any alternative governing forces on the island. Since she waited until Ace really showed her true colors, no one could dispute her decision." A chuckle left her subtly, "Not even many of the Rockets because they started to find Ace's leadership to be distasteful. Even her own new Admin turned on her."

Elizabeth laughed. "Yeah, except do you know all that Ace and the Rockets did to the island, both this one and another? I heard that they torched an old island most of us came from. You would think after that, they would have been gone a long time ago, right? Anyone with a sense of what is right would have raided them long ago to get rid of them before the attacks on the buildings happened, or before the kidnappings which injured many pokecats." She said.

Fae's tail twitched thoughtfully, "That's true, but that wasn't team rocket's mission. One would think they learned their lesson that time, and in the early days of the island there weren't that many cats around to keep everything afloat. They didn't have the resources to take down the rocket's base, with it being a virtual bunker. Without risking a huge loss of life, all they could do was keep an eye on the pokecats." Her tail twitched slightly, "Especially when they had bigger fish to fry. The castle cats were much more of a threat to the island than team rocket was for a long time. And perhaps that's why the Ace was relatively well-behaved for a while as well. She needed the other residents to make the goods she was stealing to sustain her own rank."

Elizabeth shook her head. "If Ashes did care for the island, she would have stopped Team Rocket as soon as possible, regardless if what the situation was like. I know I used to be with Team Rocket, but that didn't mean I didn't see what was going on around me. I wasn't blinded like some others. Considering she killed pokecats with her own paws and led a group that killed other pokecats, those would have been something that she should have worked to prevent in the first place, like caving in the entrance to the base, or finding a way to seal it shut." She said.

It took her a moment to contemplate that, "Perhaps she didn't want to condemn the grunts inside for following a maleficent leader?" Her ears twitched lightly, "She seems to have a soft spot for pokecats who turn their lives around after all, with the Harvester and the former Head Ranger being former enemies." She blinked slowly, drowsily. "Makes me wonder... how she'll get along with Hailey. Will team plasma really be able to peacefully coexist like they claim they want to? Maybe that's all that Ashes was hoping for during the long years when team rocket was hanging over her. A chance that they'd change their minds and views."

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know, but Hailey seems dead set in her ways. Denouncing the way Ashes runs the island, and wanting to form a new type of ruling system for the island, so I can't imagine she would want to let them overtake her on the island lying down. That sort of stuff doesn’t exactly give you good publicity." She said.

"Truth be told..." Fae murmured lightly, "I was there when I saw Hailey decide to help the hostages escape. The look on her face. She knows that measures that extreme are unpardonable. I highly doubt she would to anything to endanger the other residents." She tipped her head as the leaves rustled from a light breeze. "Yet at the same time she wants to be free? It seems to me that if Ashes could convince Hailey to coexist and support the island in her own way, Ashes would lose her last possible formidable rival."
Elizabeth nodded her head. "Most likely. But there is still the possibility that others joining there won't be as peaceful, and might try to turn it into another Team Rocket against her wishes. If that happens, then it'll be history repeating itself, which won’t be good for them or for her." She said.

A spark lit Fae's eyes and she sat up abruptly, but silently. She pondered for a second before muttering, "That's true." She'd felt somewhat at peace with the idea that the Plasmas would be well-led by Hailey, but now a clawing worry wracked her mind. It was entirely possible that someone could try to usurp the Vanillish and use her amassed team for their own gain. Her mind hit a critical epiphany. I can't let it happen. She could tell from her own self-analysis that she'd never be able to sit on the sidelines now that she knew how vulnerable the situation was. I like Hailey, I like what she's been saying so far. I can't let anything happen to keep her from her ideal of peace.  Her attention snapped back to reality and she stood fully with a stretch, "Sorry- my legs were falling asleep." She smirked lightly, "Maybe I should be in bed huh?"

Elizabeth noticed how Fae sat up quickly. She tilted her head. "Are you getting ideas in that beautiful head of yours~" She said in a flirty tone. She meant it to be a sincere thing. Once Fae spoke up about her legs, she giggled. "That's up to you. You can do whatever you want, sugar. Though I'm going to guess and say that you're thinking on joining Plasma too?" She said.

Fae responded with a sly grin, barely visible in the dark. "I just might." She yawned lightly, "Thanks for the chat. See you around and all that." Turning to head toward the town, her paws were sluggish and the path was dark. It was going to be a long walk.

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Okay. Don't be a stranger out there, okay darling~" She said to her as she started to leave. Once she did, Elizabeth continued on her walk, now trying to figure out what she wanted to do with a rank on the island.