The Perfect Disguise (Morri) (F)

[Morrigan]

After hearing Joe's reason for trying to unlock the window, she let out a soft sigh and placed a hand on her waist, "Y-You idiot... I was fine. The only reason I locked you in here was so you couldn't leave, there was a chance that police were still about." She paused for a moment, watching as he bit into his burger, "...Sorry for shouting at you. I guess." she muttered shyly, trying not to sound overly apologetic. She slowly shrugged her shoulders at his remark about the sink and looked over her shoulder towards it, "Dont worry. I'll wash it out again before I go to sleep."

The relaxed atmosphere soon tensed up as Joe began to question deeper into what she had heard. She gulped nervously, his voice growing a little more intimidating, "From what I heard, it's just the Zephyr Badge from that Gym leader here. I guess they are aiming for new trainers which are showing a little potential." As Joe suddenly thundered to his feet, Sharada staggered backwards a few steps, he was a tall and intimidating guy but she knew he was all bark and no bite,"I... I know, dammit! Please dont look at me like that.." She grappled onto a chair tucked under the table and pulled it out, swiftly sitting down on it.

She rested an elbow on the table, nibbling her finger nails nervously as Joe began to circle the room. In a way, it felt the same as when her father scolded her for doing something naughty. His voice boomed down her ears causing her to become even more uncomfortable, "I knew you would act like this." Wearily looking up as he sat opposite her, she tried to think back on what she had heard, "Well, they never said where, they just said some guy approaches you during the night..." She soon cringed as she remembered back to the shadowy figure who was lurking suspiciously outside of the gym. Leaning back in her chair, she slammed her hand against the table, "Shit... There was some guy lurking about in the shadows near the gym. I know it was dark and everything, but I am a hundred percent certain that the guy was wearing all black and was in a cap. Urgh, I should've called you."

Since they were now on the subject, she decided to continue, looking back towards Joe, "I know, you probably think that I am insane, right? But perhaps you should see it my way." She tapped her finger against the tables surface and began using her spare hand to count down the list in her mind, "There is no way we can just happen to find Doopliss. Though it would be easier to find him if we were actually in there, even if its through gossip from other rockets. A ditto is rare enough, but a blue one is sure to turn some heads." She lifted another finger to represent two, "We would need to work our way up the ranks a little, sure, but we'd know where any attacks are taking place and perhaps learn about their future plans. Wouldn't you find it helpful if I could dish you information about their whereabouts so you could stop them before it happens? And then..." She lifted up a third finger before forcing a small smile, "Leads to your father and his location." She leaned back in her chair slightly, still not taking her eyes off Joe, "Now, I'm not going to say it'll be a walk in the park. But please understand, I'm only trying to help you... Heh, of course, me being me I would probably end up being found out at some point and punished non stop and I hardly doubt I could leave just like that." A smile soon spread across her face as she broke eye contact with Joe to look towards the window, "We all make sacrifices right?... Heh, I was hoping that we werent too close so that you wouldnt be overly bothered about this."

[The REAL Joey]

Joey's eyes widened. "Zephyr Badge? Well I got one. Maybe instead of you putting yer neck on the line I can worm my way into the ranks..." He faltered as he went on. "Yeah. Nah. Maybe not. I think just seeing that R sets me off like a firecracker. I'd do insane and deck the livin' daylights out of the guy." He grabbed his leather jacket and showed her the lapel. "See? I did beat Falkner... Maybe you could take my badge? Wait." He looked at Sharada. "Have you even tried facing Falkner? He's nothing to laugh at. Makes a Pidgey somewhat terrorising." He tossed his head from side to side, racking his brains. "Argh, this is a tricky spot to be in. I see advantage and genius to the plan but something in my gut instinctively says no."

As she continued arguing her case, Joe couldn't help but feel reluctant to agree with her. "Dammit. You sure know how to sell your case. I do like your points. Any inside information on them is gonna be like striking gold. You just gotta be sure not to get caught leaking information. They'll probably get REALLY paranoid if my ugly mug keeps popping up thwarting their best laid plans." The final point concerning his father was enough to throw Joey over the edge and support her. "Fine, fine, fine... I've not found out ANYTHING since getting here in Johto 'bout my father 'cept that he is running with them here. I do know he's fairly high up in the hierarchy so maybe you'd dig up something."

All this talk of Sharada joining the Rockets was all fine and well but Joey saw a serious flaw to her idea. "Your Pokemon... They ain't exactly Rocket standard. You'd have to catch something that fits in with their whole image. No offence but I don't see may Rocket members skipping about with Togepi in their hands. Get something... Fitting." As she mentioned about the state of their relationship he laughed. "Well, even if you weren't all that close to me i'd likely still be concerned. I don't like good trainers getting mixed up with them types."

This concern was becoming ever more evident in his eyes. "Look, I know we have exchanged contacts but if anything were to happen you can just page my Poketch and i'll be there in a flash. I don't have any teleportation Pokemon on me but..." He looked to her and shrugged. "I'm sure I could pinch one from someone.. Or a Flying type and just crash land at their base to save you in the nick of time. I think my ma might even have one I could borrow. Either way, if it does get that bad you can more than rely on me to come rescue. The chance to save a dashing damsel in distress AND beat up some Rocket mobsters is like my dream come true." He laid back in the bed and looked up at the ceiling. "I kinda forgot how soft beds could be..."

[Morrigan]

Sharada shook her head slightly at the idea of Joe going in instead of her, she had already seen a few holes in his plan aswell, "As well as you probably punching every guy in sight, you are starting to get a little fame yourself with your own antics. Sooo, that could work in your favour and all, but then again it wont. Im sure the grunt who stole Doopliss will suspect you instantly and what if your dad is up there and recognises you, besides that..." Her voice trailed on and she turned her eyes away from him, pouting her lips angrily, "Where as your all hunky dory about saving me, I dont think I would be as much use... I would probably get caught and just make the situation worse." With a harsh sigh, she shook her head again, "So deffinatly no."

The idea of her happy, cheerful and fluffy pokemon really put an air of doubt around Sharada. He was right, they really didn't fit the image, "...Psh. Yeah, you're right about that one. Perhaps they would allow Togepi on the rare factor but, if anything, I have Cubone and Charmeleon. Perhaps if I evolve some of them..." She suddenly paused as she remembered her Swablu. Out of the whole team, Swablu was probably the most inexperienced in battle, but that was because Sharada loved her so much that she didn't want to see her hurt. Gulping slightly, she shot a serious question to Joe, "If I get in there and it's worse than I'm thinking, would you be willing to hold onto atleast Swablu for me? I have a feeling they would hack into my PC Box or some crap." She then thought about the Zephyr badge and paused as Joe showed his to her, "It's being a bit cocky of me, but I have a small type advantage with one or two that I have. Would you reccomend a serious level boost before I attempt to go in?"

The talk of him willing to come to the rescue put some relief in her heart. With her parents out in Hoenn, it'd take a little while for them to get to her, but knowing that Joe would in the next city or so would make her feel at ease, "Stop trying to sound all hero-y. No offence, but you're not exactly my type of prince charming." she joked, an obvious laughter echoed behind her words. With Joe now back in his bed, Sharada stood up from her chair and walked to his bedside. The look on her face showed that she wanted to say something. She held her hand above him, almost offering a handshake, "Thanks! We may not be the best of friends, but I'll still help you in anyway I can!... I dont think I hate you as much anymore~" Though before Joe could even raise his hand, she quickly took hers away again and took a few skips backwards, "If you wanna go to sleep now, erm, good night and all that." She soon dived to the other end of the room and stared rather unimpressed at the amount of hair down the sink. Running the tap, she began to wash it all away, her eyes staring downwards sadly as she thought about her next plan of action, "...Perhaps I'll head back to Cherrygrove. Mhmm"

[The REAL Joey]

Joey tapped his foot on the ground as they discussed the ins and outs of the plan. "Okay so that's that one ruled out. I'm DEFINITELY not getting involved unless it's a break and enter to come and rescue. Heh, I specialise in those sort of missions anyway." Her concerns about her Swablu were taken seriously by Joey. "Hell, I can understand your problem. The only shiny Pokemon I had was Doopliss and look where he is now. I can keep it safe on my PC... Hold on, if there's a PC near by I could set up a shared store box between us and put some hefty encryption on it. I'm not all that great with that techno jargon but I have a buddy of mine who can." He looked down to his watch and began typing off a message to someone. "Hopefully Looker can sort out the security aspect of it all."

The talk of the fist gym leader made Joey lay back against the wall and reminisce about his battle. "I reckon you'd be okay. Buzzard brains fights a bit tricky that's for sure but you can keep him on his toes with your type advantages and quick thinking. I ended up having Elekid clip their wings with a healthy dose of electricity." He grinned at the thought. "That was a pretty intense fight. He's only got a Pidgey and Pidgeotto so i'm sure if brute force doesn't beat him your numbers will." He thought about these apparent new requirements to beat Team Rocket. "Damn, they're upping their ante somewhat. The only way I remember them recruiting people was on the old nugget bridge.

As she put down his attempts at reassuring her, he sat there and merely grinned. "I'll have you know that the stereotypical prince charming image ain't always what it first seems. Ever heard about the princess who kissed the frog?" He burst out laughing and shrugged. "Either way, I like you. You're a good trainer to your Pokemon and you've helped me out a few times here. Honour among thieves and all that." As she moved away from him he settled more into the bed and looked at her inquisitively. "You plannin' on running? Might as well sleep the night, seein' as you paid for it and all. I'm not a noisy sleeper honest, i'll just wrap myself up in these covers and won't bother you at all." He began doing so, taking off his worn jeans and boots, placing them besides his bed. He left his t-shirt on and then wrapped himself up tight. Just before he truly he settled he pulled his bandanna over his eyes and let out a peaceful sigh.

[Morrigan]

Knowing that Joe and his friend Looker were probably able to create some type of shared box made Sharada grin happily, "Looker, hm?... Well, I'm glad I can rely on the both of you." She let out a small laugh, thinking back to how they first met, "Heh, if we have a shared box, then there is no real need to steal from me anymore. You can use them when you like." She nodded happily to herself, "I trust you."

With the helpful hints about the Gym leader, she soon felt a new wave of confidence urge inside of her, "Alright, I'll try my best! It was pretty tricky to talk to you about this, so I'm not going to waste all of that by losing to him. I'll prove to you that I can win and will cope fine in Team Rocket, all by myself!" She let out a mischievious laugh, taking in his comments about a princess kissing a frog before coming back at him with her reply, "Heh, yeah. The frog guy turned into a handsome prince at the end of the day though, right?"

With Joe now safetly settled under the covers, Sharada turned the tap quietly, the running water trickerling to a halt. She seemed to smile at the thought of leaving now and looked up to the window, showing the cloudy night sky, "Nah, I dont plan on going. But dont worry too much if I'm not here by the time you wake up." She wasn't exactly a fan of waking up early, but a part of her didn't want to think about saying goodbye to him in the morning. Afterall, if the recruiting was a success, any more future meetings would have to be approached with greater care. Tiredly, she walked over to the bed opposite his and kicked off her boots, yawning tiredly before wiggling her way underneath the covers. Burying her face deeply into the pillow, she mumbled a few words to him, though they werent exactly clear, "Goo--ight--oe..."

[The REAL Joey]

While Joe had covered his eyes he was still truly awake; barely. As Sharada seemed to drift off into slumber he checked his poketch and noticed that Looker had replied back to immediately. He flipped through the messaged and chuckled to himself. "Hah, I don't have you as my right hand man for nothin'." He laid back peacefully and thought back to his own gang. While he ran with the Kanto Bikers Federation in his early teenage years and up until only a year or so back, he formed his own after the KBF was disbanded by the police. Some of the people in his gang were old friends from the KBF, some people he had met during a small stint in a correctional facility and others were people he had simply grown up with. Nevertheless, the group was more than just a simple gang. It felt as if it were a family.

His mind eventually finished down its trip along memory lane and turned to things more in the present. He looked around the room. It seemed like it was fairly harsh winds outside, howling against the window. He looked over to Sharada and saw she was moving in her sleep. He let out a small yawn and hatched a cheeky plan in his mind to liven things up a bit. He noticed Elekid was at the end of his bed and gave him a small nudge with his foot. After a few taps the electric Pokemon was awake and moved over to see what the fuss was about. Joey leaned in and whispered something to him.

The Elekid smiled deviously and hopped out of the bed. It then went behind the bed Sharada was in and pushed itself as close as possible. As soon as Joey gave him the thumbs up and made himself look as if he had been sleeping himself, the small Elekid began generating some electricity above his head and let loose a few volts to mimic the sound of loud thunder. As the few bangs were over it stopped and hid itself as best as possible.

[Morrigan]

As Sharada drifted off into a deep sleep, all the ideas about Team Rocket which she had discussed with Joe invaded her dreams. In this realistic dream, it seemed that she was in the group as when she looked down at herself she was in the black uniform with the large red R across her chest. Surrounded by nothing but darkness, she took a single step forward into the abyss and seemed to lose all sense of footing. Falling for what seemed like forever, no piercing scream was able to leave her lips, in fact she was almost frozen until, thud. Landing back on the ground painfully, Sharada opened her eyes to take in her surroundings, a dimly lit room with filthy walls enveloped around her. Staggering onto her feet, it seemed as if she wasn't alone, but the people in there were hardly ones she wanted to be around. Staggering to the center of the room rather weakly, she stared around helplessly as the black clad individuals were beating innocent pokemon left right and center.

But it wasn't until a familiar cry caught her attention when her ears really pricked up. A rather large man was pelting something blue against the wall rather violently, over and over again. Parting her lips, she regained her voice, "Doopliss?!" she called only to have every single pair of dark eyes stare venomously at her from every corner of the room. Gulping nervously, she took a step back only to feel a her back hit a hard wall. With no other place to turn to, her eyes widened, staring in horror as the people slowly walked closer and closer.

The next thing she knew Sharada had shot back awake, sitting up abruptly in her bed, sweat drops rolling down the side of her face and her breathing becoming quite heavy. Rubbing her face gently, she fell back into her pillow but before she was able to calm herself down, the large cracklings of what sounded like thunder and lightning caused her to shoot out of the bed and onto her feet. Grabbing her pillow, she clutched onto it tightly, falling to her knees in the middle of the floor as she buried her face. She was once victim to a vicious storm when out at sea on a trip with her father, leaving a strong fear of thunder and lightning ever since.

Elekid, tucked safely at the back corner of underneath her bed, had still been unnoticed and decided to create one more zap, unaware of her utter fear. Letting out a scream, her attention shot to the one other person in the room. Joe. Diving underneath the bed covers, she clambered over the top of him, popping her head out near his chest and shaking his shoulder violently, "Joey!... Joey!..EEKK!" She dove herself back under again, pulling the covers back over her head and hiding herself by Joe's side after hearing the strong howling of the wind from outside.

[The REAL Joey]

As Sharada jumped up and aimed straight towards his bed, Joey couldn't help but let slip a wry smile at the corner of his lips. It would appear his devious little plan had succeeded. He let his bandanna slip off his face and feigned sleepiness as he looked down to see Sharada looking at him. "Huh? Huuuuh?" He blinked slowly and spoke softly. "What's the matter? Bad dreams or somethin'?" He laid back gently in his pillows and yawned. "You were tossin' and turnin' a little before I drooped off... Bad dreams?" He patted her head gently and chuckled softly. "Don't worry, no boogiemen or creepy ghost types are here. Just you, me and the Pokemon."

He shuffled to the side a little and nodded his head towards the extra space. "If ya like... I'm cool with you grabbing your covers and tucking up next to me. If it makes ya feel any better o' course." He grabbed his bandanna of the pillow and placed it over his face, covering it entirely. Obscured from Sharada, a crafty grin had spread across his face. He had to exert an incredible amount of effort just to stop himself from laughing. "I'm just gonna drift off now..." His body relaxed completely and he let out a little sigh that hovered his bandanna slightly before dropping as he finished.

"If ya did have any bad dreams... They weren't anything about me were they? I know i'm a bit rough on the edges but I ain't that nightmarish am I?" He burst out laughing, partially due to his plan. "Hahaha ahh... Don't mind me. Silly ol' Joe." He laid there for a short while before picking up the subject again. "If it is about that Team Rocket thing... I'm sure ya can do it. You're a real natural when it comes covering it up. I doubt they'll suspect a thing. I mean just remember how many times you were able to make people believe ya while coverin' my ass. Yeah... You'll do real fine." He lie there thinking about Sharada in a Rocket uniform. The red R symbol was enough to make him want to a punch an Igglybuff but he shook his head. "If we do bump into one another and you're in the Rocket get up... I'll have to make it look like i'm showin' no mercy to you either ok?" He thought about it for a second and smiled gently. "I'm sure I can pull somethin' off that looks believable."

[Morrigan]

With a simple nod, Sharada temporarily retreated back to her own bed to grab her quilt before clambering back in with Joe. Using her own pillow to form a wall between herself and Joe, she hid herself underneath her covers. Covering her face with her hands, she listened to Joe's voice, still rather shaken by the thunder and lightning which she thought was coming from outside, "D-Dreams?... I cant r-r-emember..." For a moment she peeped her head out from the covers and over the top of the pillow, staring right towards Joe. She blinked at him several times, she had looked out for him a number of times and he hadnt exactly betrayed her either. With his words of warning about meeting once she was in team rocket, she replied back to him sadly, "I-I know... I'll try my best to play along, so dont take anything I say to heart." Her voice trailed off slowly, thinking that her words were never exactly positive to begin with. Slinking back under the covers, she nudged her head against the pillow before letting out a nervous yawn, "I'm sorry.. Thunder and lightning makes me a bit quivery. I had a bad experience at sea once.. It seems to have stopped now." She slowly pushed her hand underneath the pillow and gripped onto his wrist, "..I feel a little safer with you here."

From then on through the night, there was nothing more than strong howls of the wind thrashing against the windows. Nervous Sharada had a little trouble with the rest of the night, whilst Joe seemed to be out like a light. She never really loosened her grip on his wrist throughout the darkness of the night, knowing that this would be their last friend meeting. Any other night would've gone fairly slowly, but this one seemed to zoom right by. Just before sunrise, a restless and sleepy Sharada decided to carefully clamber out of the bed. It was still fairly dark, but it'd be best for her to leave now instead of suffering by saying goodbye. Carefully slipping back into her jumper, boots, scarf and ear muffs, she quietly lifted her bag and tiptoed towards the table. As carefully as possible she opened the plastic shopping bags which she had bought the day before and began to pack her items into her own bag. Reaching in her bag one last time, she pulled out a small notepad and pen, ripping out a page gently before leaving a note for Joe,

I hope you had a good nights sleep, I've left breakfast for yourself and your team on the table, so make every bite last. I also left you a bit of money too, though it'll probably only be enough for a few days. I'll be heading out to carry on with training before approaching Team Rocket, so dont bother phoning me or I'll block your number. Infact, I'll just contact you when I'm in. I'll try not to let you down.

Shar.

Leaving a sandwich, packets of Pokefood and a small amount of money on the table with the note, she tossed the room keys onto the table and approached the door. Although she didnt want to, she seemed to subconsciously turn to look at Joe, noticing he was still asleep. Pulling up her scarf across her mouth, she bowed her head to him slightly before creeping out of the door. As she wandered through the Pokecenter and stepped passed the automatic doors, she was welcomed by a frosty breeze. Shivering, she turned to the direction of Route 31, thinking that it would be best to do a bit of backtracking. Clutching her bag, she began to walk away, leaving Violet City without looking back.




OOC: Sorry its short, rushed and crappy, I only wanted this to be short Rocket intro thingy. You're more than welcome to reply back again, then we'll lock it~ Thanks for the cuteness lol.

[The REAL Joey]

With Sharada now gone, the bed was much emptier. It wasn't until the next morning when Joey sleepily turned over and drooled into his pillow that he began to realise he was the only person there. His hand began sluggishly padding around the side he put aside for Sharada and then slowly opened his eyes to see she was gone. He let out an exasperated sigh and slumped his head deeper into his pillow before attempting to muster enough motivation to get himself out of bed. He clambered over his bed and swung his legs around over the side, drooping his head into his hands. "Argh... Where's she vanished too?" Rubbing his eyes, he looked around the room and noticed some stuff on the table. "Well, least she ain't the gal who disappears never to be seen again."

He stood up, stretched, then went over to read the note on the table. A small smile fell on his lips as he went over it. "I was feelin' hungry too. Shame she's not so interested in any contact but we DID agree I guess." He folded up the note and slipped it into his leather jacket that was draped over the back of the nearby chair. He fluffed through his hair with his hand and then looked down at the food. "Yo guys, grub's on the table." His Pokemon woke up excitedly and made their way too the table, crowding around it to get their share of the food. Joey sat down and began enjoying his breakfast meal. "Mmmm mmmm mmm." Munched away Joey as he greedily devoured his food within mere seconds.

With the most important meal of the day out of the way, he began dressing himself and getting his team ready for transport. With the room left in a semi-decent state he headed out and exited the Pokemon Centre, not before returning the keys to the room at the front desk. As he stepped outside he stretched once again as the cool winter air brushed against his shaven face. He smiled to himself and began thinking to himself. I'm sure Shar will come up with something. It's pretty cute she's doin' all that just for me." He looked at the area in front of him and scratched his head. "Where to go now. Might just drift around lookin' for some leads myself. That travel to my base." He pocketed his hands and began walking off.

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OOC: All done and dusted my end. Thanks for the cute RP as well too, Morri. *smoochie*